A film ‘premiere’ was held at Llanfairfechan Nursery School as Mudiad Meithrin and partners from Early Years Wales and Conwy County Borough Council came together to launch a short film celebrating the work of Mudiad Meithrin’s Plethu project.
The children at the Playgroup had the experience of seeing themselves on the big screen and had the opportunity to sing and dance with Dewin, the beloved character of Mudiad Meithrin, as part of the celebrations.
In the film “Cynllun Plethu – O Leisiau bach i ddyfodol mawr” we see children playing and learning through the medium of Welsh, and the staff of Llanfairfechan Playgroup discussing the benefits of using the Welsh language in the playgroup.
According to Karen Hall, Leader of Llanfairfechan Playgroup, “The language plan has been a great addition. The children are very eager to use Welsh and parents have been very supportive as well. Many parents have said how much Welsh they hear from their children at home.”
Matthew Jones, Head of Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan, added, “It is important that the Playgroup promotes Welsh because the school is on quite an exciting path at the moment where we are in the process of changing our language category.”
Since May 2024, Mudiad Meithrin and Early Years Wales, with the support of Conwy County Borough Council and Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan, have been working together to provide language support to Llanfairfechan Playgroup as part of the Plethu scheme to facilitate the transition when changing the language category of the nursery school to a Welsh-medium school.
Plethu is part of Mudiad Meithrin’s Sefydlu a Symyd scheme, and officers from Mudiad Meithrin visit the Playgroup every fortnight to model language patterns. The aim of the scheme is to develop and expand Welsh-medium childcare and play provision.
Sali Edwards, Sefydlu a Symud Officer for Mudiad Meithrin, said, “It was a pleasure to visit Llanfairfechan Playgroup today to see how much they have developed their use of the Welsh language. It is an excellent example of what can be achieved with a full package of language support and the enthusiasm of both staff and children. Several childcare and play provisions are participating in the Plethu scheme across Wales. This is a golden opportunity to introduce Welsh in the early years to create more independent and confident Welsh speakers in the future.”
Link to film – https://youtu.be/zi0x0Q1csKo?si=gVfOHLxA58EgGEZ8
