But my child doesn't speak Gaelic - how will (s)he cope?
Most children do not speak Gaelic when they start school or nursery and receive Gaelic-medium education. The system does not expect children to be fluent when they enter school or nursery and staff undertake lots of language activity - songs, stories and especially structured play - to develop children's Gaelic skills in the early years. After a few months in nursery or playgroup provision children can understand spoken Gaelic to a good degree and after a few weeks in primary school can use the language, becoming fluent before the end of primary two.
