MSPs to be asked to back Comhairle’s Gaelic education policies

The Scottish Parliament will this week be asked to commend Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on its Gaelic Medium Education (GME) policies.

MSPs will consider a motion on Tuesday proposed by Na h-Eileanan an Iar MSP, Alasdair Allan, that calls on the parliament to commend the Comhairle for becoming “the first council in Scotland to enrol pupils entering P1 into GME as the default choice” for children, with parents opting their child into English Medium Education if they do not want their child in GME, and to back the Comhairle’s “progressive step to consolidate the national language in its heartland communities”. 
The motion also states that there is “an overwhelming consensus” among academics and researchers “in support of the cognitive benefits of bilingual education”, and backs “evidence that GME pupils, on a whole, outperform their English medium education peers in English reading by P5”.
Last December, the Comhairle adopted the GME policy which was aimed at achieving ‘a significant rate of growth in Gaelic’ in the islands with other measures backed including a requirement for head teachers to ‘encourage’ parents to commit to GME for their children entering P1.
The policy also backed plans for the development of Welsh-language style ‘immersion centre experiences’ for the parents of children entering GME, along with the plans for the appointment of a dedicated 0-3 years GME Development Officer for the Western Isles, and the targeting of ‘engagement with prospective parents and pregnant Mums’ over the options for GME.  
The Comhairle’s new policy set a target of  70 per-cent of children going into GME.
But, Alasdair Allan’s motion this week comes after an angry exchange between MSPs over the Comhairle’s policy decision in January as primary and nursery education enrolment commenced in the islands. 
Scottish Conservatives’ shadow education spokesperson, Liz Smith MSP, had suggested last month that the Comhairle’s ‘Gaelic first’ policy could put children in the Western Isles “at a distinct disadvantage to their peers”, and described the policy as a “deeply troubling step”.
Ms Smith said that, while “Gaelic is a rich and beautiful language, and one that should be encouraged at school” that should not, the MSP stated, “be at the expense of English”.
Ms Smith also raised concerns over what she saw as a potential lack of GME teachers.
Ms Smith’s comments had been met by a barrage of criticism from the Comhairle and MSPs, including a Conservative from the Highlands and Islands, and later Ms Smith tweeted:  
“May l apologise to those members of the Gaelic community who have been offended. My concerns did not relate to the quality of GME teaching & learning, both of which have such a strong record.”
The Comhairle responded to Ms Smith’s statement saying that it “appreciates” her apology and “recognises that the initial statement she made contained her own personal views and not the official position of the Conservative party.
The Comhairle concluded: “It is clear that [Liz Smith MSP] remains concerned about the Comhairle’s position and, as previously stated, she is welcome to come and meet with us to address these issues. We can then all look forward to working together to develop and promote the Gaelic language.”
Alasdair Allan MSP responded to Ms Smith’s comments saying that “the level of ignorance on display” in the Conservative MSP’s original remarks was “staggering”, and said: “children educated in Gaelic, far from being ‘disadvantaged,’ come out of school bilingual, and evidence points to them having higher attainment in all areas, including English.  I had been under the impression that all parties in the parliament supported both Gaelic and Gaelic medium education.”
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP, Donald Cameron, also issued a statement confirming  his “long-standing support” for Gaelic-medium education.