Teaching unions have panned a bill that make “immersion” Welsh language education “universally” available across Wales as part of efforts to secure one million Welsh speakers by 2050, saying that no assessment of how the changes will affect teachers has been undertaken and that the move will require “significant funding.”

Ministers said the Welsh Language and Education Bill aimed to “close the gap” caused by children’s ability to speak Welsh varying depending on where they go to school.

The law would make “immersion” Welsh language education “universally” available, while Welsh language education would also be increased in schools across the country currently taught through the medium of English.

Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Energy, and Welsh Language Jeremy Miles said the bill’s publication was a “step towards” the government’s ambition of creating a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

"As a government, we’re committed to building a Wales where the Welsh language thrives in every community," he said.

But unions have hit back at the Bill.

A letter was sent to the education secretary by leaders of NAHT Cymru, ASCL Cymru, NEU, NASUWT, UCAC, and Unison.

In their letter, unions said: “This piece of legislation has been introduced, regardless of the commitment to assess how policy and legislation will affect the education workforce.

“Integrated Impact Assessment that accompanies the Bill is wholly inadequate in our view and falls far short of what we believe to be a true assessment of the impact on leaders, teachers and teaching assistants.

“While we are supportive of the aims and aspirations of the Bill, it is deeply disappointing that this commitment has not been delivered on.”

Laura Doel, national secretary at NAHT Cymru, said: “It is extremely disappointing that the Welsh Government has put the horse before the cart in introducing this Bill without any recognition or formal assessment of how it will impact the workload of school leaders, teachers and teaching assistants.

“School leaders already work to develop the ability of their staff to speak and teach Welsh, but the support they receive to do so is currently inadequate to deliver on the ambitions of this Bill - especially at a time when schools are struggling not only with heavy workload, but also severe challenges with staff recruitment and retention and the pace of the reform agenda.

"Much more investment and support will be needed if this worthy aspiration is to become a reality.”