15 June 2020
This week, S4C in partnership with the Welsh Government has launched an education pack to accompany a children's history series on S4C.
The pack, which is based on the history series Amser Maith, Maith yn Ôl contains 100 teaching hours for children aged 5 to 9 and supports the existing curriculum and the new educational curriculum that will be formally introduced to classes in 2022. This is the first time that such an education pack has been produced in Welsh with support from Canolfan Peniarth.
With Welsh history at the centre of it all, the pack is available to teachers, parents and pupils on the Hwb website. It includes 72 interactive activities to accompany all the episodes of Amser Maith, Maith yn Ôl and meets requirements across the education curriculum.
Owen Evans, Chief Executive of S4C: "I am delighted that S4C has been able to work in partnership to offer these innovative resources.
"The 2018 Euryn Ogwen Williams' report suggested that we work more closely with the Welsh Government in education and to support the target of one million Welsh speakers. This resource will contribute to that. Everything is available on Hwb, and to support families during the lockdown period, many of the episodes are also available to watch on the Ysgol Cyw and S4C Clic websites."
The resources were produced by Canolfan Peniarth, following a grant from the Welsh Government to fund the project.
Kirsty Williams, Wales' Education Minister said: "Access to learning materials from home is more important now than ever. We are in a good position in Wales, with our broadcasters and education partners creating learning materials that complement our online resources. We are delighted that our Hwb platform will help make this resource available to children across Wales."
A total of 24 episodes of Amser Maith, Maith yn Ôl, a Boom Cymru production, aired on S4C's Stwnsh service from 2018-2019. It is a series that presents daily life in Wales over different periods of the past, including the Celtic, Tudor, Victorian and during World War One.
Angharad Garlick, Head of Boom Plant, Boom Cymru, said: "We at Boom Plant are delighted to have been able to support this development, and our partnership with Canolfan Peniarth and S4C has ensured that the series and all resources will be available on the Hwb. We hope the resource will be very useful to schools and parents and children while they are home."
In addition to the resources available to children in Welsh language schools, the National Centre for Learning Welsh has developed a resource to coincide with one episode of Amser Maith, Maith yn Ôl for children learning Welsh. This is the first time that the Centre has developed teaching material to accompany a children's television programme and is due to be piloted in schools after the lockdown period.
Dr Sioned Vaughan Hughes, the author of the teaching materials, said: "My hope is that the resource will inspire young children to take an interest in and be proud of the history and heritage of Wales.
"After watching the programmes, the children have the opportunity to reinforce their understanding of everyday life in Wales in the past, by doing a range of activities, such as writing, numeracy, drama and creating."
Editorial Notes
