Literacy and languages grants programmes

Gornest Lyfrau/Bookslam is an annual competition for learners in years 3 to 8. It encourages young readers to read for pleasure and discuss the books they read. 

County winners go on to the national round in the summer term where they will take part in a variety of fun and creative challenges, as well as an author session. 

Winning schools will receive a trophy along with one of the following prizes:

• 1st prize: £200 worth of books 
• 2nd prize: £150 worth of books 
• 3rd prize: £100 worth of books

For more information and to register, visit the Books Council for Wales Bookslam website.

This project focuses on developing a love of reading among teachers so they can inspire learners. The Book Council for Wales will collaborate with Gwawr Maelor from Bangor University on the project. She will share her expertise and ideas, and offer reading strategies for teachers to trial in the classroom. 

• The Book Council for Wales will establish 3 regional teachers’ reading groups.
• The project will help teachers to further develop their skills and confidence in discussing and enjoying literature.
• Teachers and their class will have the opportunity to join 3 online author sessions.
• Every school taking part in the reading group sessions will receive a carefully selected pack of books.

More information is available on the Book Council for Wales website.

A scheme to encourage children to read and enjoy fun activities at their local library through the summer holidays.

Children can read in whatever format they enjoy, whether that’s stories, comics, graphic novels or audiobooks. Children can earn prizes and receive a certificate at the end of the challenge. They can also enjoy the satisfaction of achieving something over the holidays.

Participation in the Challenge is free at your local library. All children are welcome to get involved. You can find more information at your school or local library.

The Book Council for Wales has many talented authors and illustrators available to run a wide range of workshops. Workshops are aimed at inspiring imagination and encouraging learners to read. For more information, visit the Book Council for Wales website.

World Book Day encourages children and young people to develop a lifelong love of reading through books, stories and shared reading experiences. 

By celebrating books and reading, World Book Day inspires children and families to consider themselves readers and to read together more regularly. 

The Books Council for Wales works with World Book Day to celebrate books and reading. They offer:

• 1 tokens for learners to choose their own book
• inspiration, and ideas to celebrate reading and having fun with books
• bilingual resources for schools to download to celebrate World Book Day

You can find more information on the Book Council for Wales website.

The Young people’s panel includes 10 young people aged 17 and 21, from a range of backgrounds and communities. Members meet 3 times a year to share ideas and feedback on reading campaigns and activities. 

The panel use their knowledge and experience of reading habits to contribute to the work of the Department of Children’s Books and Reading Promotion in the Books Council of Wales. Their feedback and ideas inform the development of reading promotion activities for young people. 

The panel also helps create reading lists and recommendations for young adults. This ensures that the campaigns and content are shaped by young people and reflect their interests, helping to encourage more young people to read.

Contact the Books Council of Wales for more information.

The Book Council for Wales works with RhAG to deliver monthly reading promotion sessions for parents across Wales. Sessions are held on Zoom and a WhatsApp group helps parents stay connected and share information between meetings. 

Parents can:

• discuss the benefit of reading for pleasure at home
• share and discuss a range of books
• ask questions and share advice

The sessions promote resources that support reading at home and help identify the gaps in provision. 

As a result, parents are better equipped to support their children’s Welsh language education and reading. This helps learners develop their reading skills and confidence. 

The Sut i Ddarllen (How to read) podcast promotes reading through conversations, personal experiences and book recommendations.

The podcast is hosted by Francesca Sciarrillo. Each episode explores the role of reading in people's lives, including its benefits, challenges and impact. 

Through conversations with a range of guests, the podcast shares experiences, reflections and book recommendations that encourage more people to enjoy reading.

Overview

CAL:ON Cymru is a national, bilingual literacy programme led by Bangor University. The programme will support schools across Wales to improve the teaching of reading and writing through:

• professional learning
• literacy guidance
• language and literacy programmes
• digital assessments in Welsh and English

Professional learning 

CAL:ON are developing a suite of resources to help schools improve the teaching of reading and writing. The resources are:

• based on the best available evidence about effective literacy teaching
• designed for the Welsh education context
• available in Welsh and English

The resources include:

• online learning modules for practitioners and school leaders
• practitioner workbooks
• workshops and support sessions

Separate resources and training will be available for practitioners in primary and secondary schools. CAL:ON will evaluate the resources with schools during the 2026 to 2027 academic year, before refining them for wider access across Wales.

National literacy guidance

CAL:ON are also developing bilingual national literacy guidance. This will support teachers, school leaders, and local authorities in 4 areas of literacy learning and teaching:

1. Phonics 
2. Whole-school approaches to literacy 
3. Writing 
4. Assessment 

Researchers and practitioners are jointly developing this guidance. It will:

• align with the Curriculum for Wales
• eflect the needs of schools in Wales

All resorces will be available in September 2026.

Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

CAL:ON is working with ITE providers across Wales to strengthen training in reading, writing, language, and assessment.

This work will help new teachers develop a strong understanding of evidence-informed literacy teaching. It will build literacy expertise across the education system in Wales. 

Language and literacy programmes

CAL:ON will begin trials of language and literacy programmes in Welsh schools from September 2026.

The programmes support learners at different stages of education and focus on areas such as:

• language development
• phonics and decoding
• vocabulary
• reading fluency
• reading comprehension

The programmes currently being trialled are:

• OxEd Whole Class Programme 
• RILL Whole Class Programme 
• RILL Pull-Out Intervention 
• Read to Learn

Further information about each programme is available on the CAL:ON website.

The trials will run at the same time to measure the effectiveness of each programme. The outcomes will help improve the programmes before they are made available nationwide in 2027. 

Assessments 

CAL:ON provides 2 digital assessments that are currently free for schools to use:

LanguageScreen

• LanguageScreen assesses oral language skills, including vocabulary and listening comprehension.
• It is available in Welsh and English for learners aged 3 to 15.
• Schools can try a practice assessment. 

ReadingScreen 

• ReadingScreen assesses reading accuracy and fluency.
• It is available for learners aged 4.5 to 15.
• Assessment results are provided through automated reports and dashboards, helping schools identify need, monitor progress, and evaluate the impact of teaching and interventions.
• Schools can try a practice assessment. 

Get access to assessments

If you are interested in using these assessments, please complete the expression of interest form. OxEd will create your school account and sends login instructions to account owners and admins.

Schools can use the report from LanguageScreen and ReadingScreen to: 

• identify learners who may need additional support early
• evaluate the impact of teaching approaches and interventions

Get access to the resources and programmes

If you are interested in accessing any of our resources and taking part in the trial phrase in September 2026, please contact calonysgol@bangor.ac.uk

Overview

The MFL Mentoring (Multilingual Mentoring) project promotes multilingualism in schools across Wales to:

• help tackle the low number of learners studying international languages at GCSE level
• support the multilingual teaching and learning approach promoted by the Curriculum for Wales

Project activities

The project has 2 streams of activity.

Mentoring

• Students from 9 Welsh universities work with secondary schools across Wales.
• Students deliver engaging mentoring sessions and workshops to learners in Years 7 to 9. 
• The sessions focus on exploring languages and cultures together rather than teaching grammar or vocabulary.
• The sessions help learners understand how languages can support their future education, careers and opportunities.

Teaching and learning resources

• This projects provides bilingual learning and teaching resources for primary and secondary schools across Wales.
• The resources support schools to develop their multilingual practice to help deliver the Languages, Literacy and Communication (LLC) Area of Learning and Experience (AoLE).
• Learning international languages helps learners develop literacy, creative, and other skills that support the Four Purposes of the Curriculum for Wales.
• The project helps prepare learners for life and work in a global society.

Access resources

• Primary teacher resources
• Secondary teacher resources 

Participate in the mentoring project

Schools can register their interest in participating in the mentoring project.

Find out more

• Watch a video about our work on YouTube. 
• Visit the MFL mentoring website to find out more about the project and sign up to our newsletter.
• Follow us on Instagram, X, and LinkedIn to keep up-to-date with the project.

Overview

'Literature fires the imagination' is a professional learning programme for international language teachers in Wales. Let by the Stephen Spender Trust, the project helps primary and secondary teachers use literature and creative translation activities in their language teaching. 

The programme offers:

• professional learning for primary and secondary international language teachers
• practical creative translation techniques that can be used in the classroom
• tools and resources for language teaching in English and Welsh
• access to a peer support network for international language practitioners across Wales

Professional courses are delivered online through three 90 minute after school sessions. Teachers explore how international literature and translation can engage learners and support language learning.

More information about the project is available on the Stephen Spender website.

How to register

All courses are free to attend. You can apply via our application form. 

Resources

All resources developed through the project will be made available on Hwb.

The Ein Llais Ni Programme places Welsh oracy (speaking and listening) at the heart of the school curriculum.

The programme supports practitioners to:

• plan meaningful speaking and listening activities
• develop learners’ confidence in discussion and presentation
• use effective oracy teaching approaches across the curriculum and develop future bilingual speakers
• improve progression in speaking and listening standards across the curriculum

Professional learning and development

Teachers and school leaders can access resources and support through the EinLlaisNi website.

A range of professional learning sessions are available for Welsh medium and bilingual schools. Ein Lais Ni are also developing sessions for English medium schools.

Current professional learning opportunities 

3-day CYDAG programme 

• Available in North Wales and South Wales.
• Practitioners receive training, try approaches in their classroom and return to share progress and learning.

Cluster collaboration programme

• Primary and secondary schools work together over 2 or 3 terms.
• Schools receive training and share their development journey.

Tailored school support

• Tailored workshops and support for individual schools or groups of practitioners.
• Support is developed with schools, local authorities and Welsh language partners.

 Resources

Professional Learning webpage

Video overview of the programme

Overview

E-sgol delivers live online lessons in French, Spanish and German for schools across Wales. 

The sessions are designed for learners aged 7 to 11 but are available for all ages.

Schools can join live lessons at scheduled times or watch recorded sessions later. 

Sessions last 30 to 40 minutes and include opportunities for your class to take part interactively. Please be ready to take part physically, verbally and using your smart devices.

Cameras and microphones will not be in use during the sessions. There will be an opportunity to ask questions via the chat function.

All sessions are recorded and added to our YouTube channel in case you are unable to attend a live session.

How to join

Register via our website or contact huw.davies@e-sgol.cymru

Resources

German 
French 
Spanish