Skip to content

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.

…go back to FAQ