Overview of the National Plan
One of the key features of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) is the duty placed Act 2005 on Bòrd na Gàidhlig to prepare a National Plan for Gaelic. The purpose of developing a National Plan was to ensure that there would be a comprehensive and widely understood overview of what actions are needed to ensure a sustainable future for Gaelic, and which bodies should take those actions. The ultimate goal of the National Plan is to stabilise and then grow the number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland.
The Bòrd’s National Plan identifies four interlinking aspects of language development which need to be addressed, and within them sets out a number of priority action areas:
Language Acquisition
Increasing the number of Gaelic speakers by ensuring the language is passed on and by securing effective opportunities for learning Gaelic, through:
Language Usage
Encouraging greater use of Gaelic, providing opportunities to use the language, and promoting access to Gaelic forms of expression, through:
Language Status
Increasing the visibility and audibility of Gaelic, enhancing its recognition and creating a positive image for it in Scottish public life, through:
Language Corpus
Strengthening the relevance and consistency of Gaelic and promoting research into the language, through:
HMIE is committed to playing its part to ensure that the National Plan is implemented, and in this section we set out how we will do so.
Overview of HMIE’s support for Gaelic
HMIE will work to carry out the targets of its Gaelic language plan with rigour.
Gaelic is an integral part of the work of HMIE.
HMIE makes maximum use of its existing Gaelic-speaking team including an HM Inspector, several Associate Assessors and an Assistant Inspector to inspect nursery classes, primary schools, secondary schools and further education colleges and to carry out Gaelic-related tasks. HMIE has appointed an additional a Gaelic-speaking inspector. During inspections, HMI identify with schools how well they are doing and what they could do better in relation to:
Currently school reports are published in English and Gaelic in pre-school establishments, primary and secondary schools where Gaelic is taught as a subject and in colleges as appropriate where Gaelic provision exists.
HMIE has organised conferences for Gaelic medium teachers and has published reports such as Improving Achievement in Gaelic, HMIE, 2005. With funding from Bòrd na Gàidhlig, HMIE has published a range of documentation related to The Journey to Excellence (JTE) including: leaflets; posters; How good is our school? Third Edition; Child at the Centre, Second edition; and The Journey to Excellence Parts 1, 2 and 4. Further documentation relating to Curriculum for Excellence will be translated into Gaelic. HMIE is currently producing a series of short film clips of good practice in the Gaelic-medium classroom to be added to the JTE website. These publications will facilitate the use of Gaelic communication by teachers as they engage in self evaluation and also by HMIs and Associate Assessors as they undertake inspections, promote professional development and advance improvement.
HMIE follows its Safeguarding policy to protect those at risk.