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Welsh Government
Data Provider: Welsh Government National Statistics 'Ability to Speak Welsh' & 'Speaking Welsh at Home', as assessed by parents, of pupils aged 5 and over in primary schools by year

The data mainly represents parents perceptions of their children’s fluency and will not necessarily be the same as the ability shown by the pupil in their school work.

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Measure1
Year[Filtered]
Ability to speak Welsh[Filter]
Speaking Welsh at home[Filtered]
Click here to sort2014/15Click here to sort2015/16Click here to sort2016/17Click here to sort2017/18Click here to sort2018/19Click here to sort2019/20Whilst most of the usual data validation processes on the 2020 school census data have taken place, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the data did not undergo the usual final validation process. As part of the Welsh Local Government Finance Settlement, the data is usually returned to local authorities for final validation. Typically, overall numbers of pupils and teachers will not change significantly during this period, with the most likely change being in the characteristics of the pupils themselves e.g. free school meal entitlement. Users should therefore be more cautious when comparing data on characteristics of pupils and staff over time, in particular where small cohorts are involved.Click here to sort2020/21The schools census would usually take place in January. School closures between December 2020 and March 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic meant that the census date was delayed to 20 April 2021. The number of pupils was higher in April 2021 partly due to the later census date which meant that more pupils had entered nursery classes by the census date.Click here to sort2021/22The schools census would usually take place in January. Due to the level of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in January 2022, the census date was delayed to 15 February 2022.Click here to sort2022/23Click here to sort2023/24
[Collapse]Can speak Welsh but not fluentlySpeaks Welsh at home5,2205,5555,5555,8256,2056,2256,1206,4206,3656,380
Does not speak Welsh at home41,89039,30036,97535,75034,42034,34032,92531,94530,47528,280
Not applicable / cannot speak Welsh3,2756,6658,7859,91011,53512,18512,38013,09514,12014,910
[Collapse]Cannot speak WelshSpeaks Welsh at home.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable
Does not speak Welsh at home.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable
Not applicable / cannot speak Welsh119,720121,240123,040125,220124,410122,055122,485123,450122,915123,225
[Collapse]Fluent in WelshSpeaks Welsh at home15,50015,54015,51515,18514,91514,39014,00013,23012,66511,925
Does not speak Welsh at home13,51012,80012,03011,2409,8859,4258,9757,9857,5156,755
Not applicable / cannot speak Welsh7551,2202,0352,5003,1453,1853,3652,9903,0952,995
[Collapse]Information not obtainedSpeaks Welsh at home.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable.The data item is not applicable
Does not speak Welsh at home151754040807050705595
Not applicable / cannot speak Welsh1,8052,4452,7852,9603,0203,2053,4103,3103,1803,310

Metadata

General description

See other items

Data collection and calculation

Schools’ data are derived from the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) returns and STATS 1 returns supplied by schools open on Census day in January each year. The returns are authorised by headteachers and validated by Local Authorities.

Frequency of publication

Annual

Data reference periods

From 2007/08 or more recently if the data item is not available for earlier years.

Rounding applied

* = Pupil numbers greater than zero but less than five. Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.

Title

'Ability to Speak Welsh' & 'Speaking Welsh at Home', as assessed by parents, of pupils aged 5 and over in primary schools by year

Last update

31/07/2024 31/07/2024

Next update

July 2025 (provisional)

Publishing organisation

Welsh Government

Source 1

Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC), Welsh Government

Contact email

school.stats@gov.wales

Designation

National Statistics

Lowest level of geographical disaggregation

Wales

Geographical coverage

Wales

Languages covered

English and Welsh

Data licensing

You may use and re-use this data free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government License - see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence

Statistical quality

School Census returns are authorised by headteachers and validated by Local Authorities.

Whilst most of the usual data validation processes on the 2020 school census data have taken place, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the data did not undergo the usual final validation process. As part of the Welsh Local Government Finance Settlement, the data is usually returned to local authorities for final validation. Typically, overall numbers of pupils and teachers will not change significantly during this period, with the most likely change being in the characteristics of the pupils themselves e.g. free school meal entitlement. Users should therefore be more cautious when comparing data on characteristics of pupils and staff over time, in particular where small cohorts are involved.

Name

SCHS0316