Welsh Language Scheme

Introduction

At Age Cymru, we proudly embrace the Welsh language as a fundamental part of our mission to ensure that everyone in Wales enjoys the best possible experience of later life.

We understand that language is more than just communication—it’s about identity, comfort, and connection. That’s why we’re committed to offering our services and information in both of Wales’ official languages, ensuring that older people feel respected, included, and empowered to shape the decisions that affect their lives.

We know that many of the people we support—especially those who are older or more vulnerable—feel most at ease speaking Welsh. We want them to feel confident and encouraged to use the language that feels natural to them, and we’re here to support that choice every step of the way.

This scheme is a key part of our wider Diversity and Inclusion strategy and reflects our active support for the Welsh Government’s goal of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050. We’re excited to play our part in this national journey and will continue to monitor and strengthen our efforts to ensure that our services are truly bilingual.

Looking ahead, we’re working towards achieving the Welsh Language Commissioner’s ‘Cynnig Cymraeg’ (Welsh Language Offer) quality standard. This will formally recognise our commitment to promoting and delivering services in Welsh, and we’re determined to meet that standard with pride.

At Age Cymru, we treat Welsh and English with equal importance. Everyone who contacts us—whether by phone, in writing, or in person—has the right to do so in the language they feel most comfortable using. We’re here to make that choice easy and meaningful.

2       Providing services

At Age Cymru, we want everyone who connects with us to feel welcome, understood, and respected—whether they choose to communicate in Welsh or English. We’re committed to making sure our services reflect this, and we’re taking active steps to ensure that the Welsh language is visible, accessible, and celebrated across everything we do. 

Written Correspondence 

• We’re always happy to receive letters in Welsh, and we’ll respond in Welsh too—without delay. Our response times are the same for both languages, because we believe in treating them equally. If someone speaks to us in Welsh, we’ll continue the conversation in Welsh through follow-up correspondence, unless they tell us otherwise.
• Whenever we know that an individual, group, or organisation prefers Welsh, we’ll write to them in Welsh whenever possible. For wider communications, like standard letters sent to multiple recipients, we’ll provide bilingual versions unless we’re sure that everyone prefers one language.
• All marketing and promotional materials will be accompanied by bilingual correspondence, ensuring that Welsh speakers feel fully included.

Telephone Calls

• We welcome calls in Welsh. When you ring our main numbers, you’ll be greeted bilingually—“Bore da / Good morning” or “Prynhawn da / Good afternoon”—so you can choose the language that suits you best.
• Our team follows clear guidelines to support Welsh-speaking callers, and we maintain an internal directory of Welsh-speaking staff to help transfer calls smoothly. If we’re unable to continue a call in Welsh, we’ll work with the caller to find the best solution—whether that’s a follow-up from a Welsh-speaking colleague or another preferred option.
• Answerphone messages on our general numbers are bilingual, and we respond to Welsh and English enquiries within the same timeframe.

Clients 

• We encourage all clients to engage with us in Welsh if they wish. Whether it’s in person, by phone, or online, we’ll do our best to continue the conversation in Welsh. If that’s not immediately possible, we’ll agree on the best way forward—such as arranging for a Welsh-speaking team member to follow up.

Meetings 

• We want our public meetings to be inclusive and welcoming. All publicity and written materials will be bilingual, and if more than 10% of attendees request Welsh or we know contributors are Welsh speakers, we’ll provide simultaneous translation from Welsh to English.

Publicity, Promotion, Stationery & Signage 

• Welsh is a visible and valued part of our public presence. From leaflets and brochures to social media posts and exhibitions, we ensure that both languages are presented equally—in size, style, and quality.
• All printed materials, including letterheads, business cards, and compliment slips, are bilingual. Our signage—both inside and outside our buildings—is also bilingual, helping everyone feel at home.

Publications

• Every new publication we produce is available in Welsh and English. Most will be bilingual in a single document, but if separate versions are needed, we’ll make sure both are equally accessible and of the same high standard.
• All Welsh-language content is carefully proofread by qualified professionals to maintain quality and consistency.
• This includes everything from leaflets and posters to toolkits, certificates, and digital content—because we believe Welsh should be part of every platform we use.

Forms

• We aim to produce all forms bilingually. If a single bilingual form isn’t practical, we’ll issue Welsh and English versions at the same time, ensuring both are easy to access and use.

Press Releases

• We’re committed to increasing our capacity to deliver press releases bilingually. Welsh-language media will receive releases in Welsh, and wherever possible, we’ll include a Welsh-speaking spokesperson to represent us.

Recruitment Advertising

• We actively encourage Welsh speakers to apply for roles at Age Cymru. Using the Welsh Government’s Welsh Language Skills Framework, we assess the need for Welsh language skills in each role.
• Job adverts in Wales-based newspapers will be bilingual unless there’s a clear reason not to. For roles where Welsh is essential, we’ll advertise in Welsh with a brief English explanation. We may also advertise in Welsh-language publications even when Welsh isn’t a requirement, to show our support for the language and reach a wider audience.

Governance 

• We regularly review the skills of our Board members and are actively working to recruit more Welsh speakers. This helps us reflect the communities we serve and ensures that Welsh has a strong voice at every level of our organisation.

3     Implementing the Scheme

Quality 

Services provided in English or Welsh will be of an equally high standard and provided within the same timescale.

Staffing

For this scheme to be successful, Age Cymru must have enough appropriately skilled staff able to speak Welsh. It is the responsibility of the Senior Management Team to keep under review the posts where a Welsh speaker is essential or beneficial to providing services in line with this scheme.

Welsh-speaking staff are encouraged to wear the Welsh Language Commissioner’s ‘Iaith Gwaith’ badges. This is to help customers identify Welsh speakers (mainly when out in public events). Staff are also encouraged to use the ‘Iaith Gwaith’ logo in e-mail auto signatures for the same reason.

Language Training

Language training will play an important part in increasing the number of staff able to work confidently in Welsh, and Age Cymru will encourage staff to attend appropriate courses.  The Welsh Language Officer will run internal Welsh language sessions if there is a demand.

The following priorities for training have been identified:

• encouraging all staff who wish to do so to learn Welsh to enable them to manage straightforward enquiries from members of the public;

• assisting and supporting staff who have the necessary level of commitment to undertake language training to learn Welsh or to improve their Welsh. This may include helping towards the cost of any courses and/or allowing staff to attend the course during work time.

Technology

Age Cymru’s website will be bilingual as far as is practical. The website has the ability to toggle directly between the Welsh and English languages.

The Welsh and English pages of the website are revised and updated simultaneously as far as it is practicable.

4     Monitoring the Scheme and Reporting on Performance 

Age Cymru will monitor the performance, and the commitments made in this Scheme. 

Complaints, both written and oral, from members of the public, resulting from a failure to comply with the Scheme, will be included in the complaints monitoring process. Other elements in the monitoring system will be:

• the proportions of English language and Welsh language correspondence answered within the target deadline;
• the use of interpretation at public meetings and events;
• the proportion of publications and forms produced bilingually, and the reasons for others not being bilingual;
• the number and distribution of Welsh speakers in Age Cymru;
• the number of members of staff taking Welsh language courses;
• the extent to which Age Cymru face is fully bilingual e.g., signs, letterheads.

This scheme will be reviewed for its appropriateness annually

5     COMPLAINTS STATEMENT:

Age Cymru accepts complaints in Welsh or English.

Age Cymru will monitor how well it is meeting the commitments in this Scheme. If it falls short of these commitments, we hope that members of the public will tell us. Complaints about Age Cymru’s services in Welsh should be addressed to:

Age Cymru: 

               The Head of Operations

               Age Cymru

               Mariners House

               East Moors Road

               Cardiff

               CF24 5TD

               Tel: 02920 431555