Helpwr Heddiw/  Helpwr y Dydd’

(Today’s Helper/ Helper of the Day)

Helper Heddiw is used every day at Parc Lewis Primary School to increase pupils’ confidence in communicating clearly in welsh with a variety of audiences including teachers, peers and familiar adults in everyday situations.

The advantages of using Helpwr Heddiw / Helpwr y Dydd

• All pupils are provided with opportunities to use Welsh in meaningful contexts.
• It ensures that everyday Welsh is productive as well as receptive.
• Welsh becomes a natural and working language in the classroom.
• It provides assessment opportunities, i.e. to assess ’Helpwr Heddiw’s’ contributions and the responses of others.

How does the Helpwr Heddiw system work?

• Every pupil in turn is given the opportunity to be ‘Helpwr Heddiw’
• The duties of ‘Helpwr Heddiw’ involve assisting the class teacher to direct activities/ everyday situations through the medium of Welsh.
• To facilitate the work, sets of questions/ commands/ statements are prepared on cards– and kept in a container which is referred to as ‘Bocs/ Bag Helpwr Heddiw’.
•  Begin by introducing a manageable number of patterns, which can then be extended.
• As more language patterns become familiar to the pupils they can be added to the ‘Helpwr Heddiw’ language bank.
• These language patterns are used everyday and it is important that ‘Helpwr Heddiw’ elicits responses from other class members and staff on duty in the playground.
• The language used should be extended in accordance with what is expected of the pupils, thus ensuring progression and development.