Process evaluation of Cymraeg for Kids: final report

Its objectives are to support parents, prospective parents and other family members in using Welsh at home, transmit Welsh to their children, and to support children’s linguistic development in a social and educational context.  

This report presents the findings of a process evaluation of Cymraeg for Kids (CfK), a Welsh Government-funded programme that aims to increase the number of children in Welsh-medium education.

The aim of the evaluation was to examine whether the programme has been designed in a way that enables its objectives to be met, and to assess how the programme is being implemented in its current form.

Main findings

• Welsh Government and Cymraeg for Kids officers have a consistent understanding of the programme’s aim and objectives, but also recognised that they are wide-ranging and have been refined as a result of the contractor’s interpretation of them. 
• Parents are not always aware of progression routes from Cymraeg for Kids to other Welsh-medium early years provision. 
• Progression routes to Cylch Ti a Fi and Cylch Meithrin groups are not available in every area where Cymraeg for Kids activities are delivered.
• There is a need to review arrangements for the collection of monitoring data, to support the evidence base for a future outcome evaluation of the programme. 
• Most stakeholders who had worked in collaboration with programme officers had positive views on their experiences of working in partnership. However, evidence also suggests that the strength of partnerships can depend on the relationship between individuals and available capacity, and that arrangements can be ad-hoc as a result.