Rachel came to Newport City Council to undertake language assessments with staff.

It was an interesting experience for both the individual staff and the organisation. From talking to the individuals beforehand, many of them were concentrating on their deficiencies, but they became more confident after talking to Rachel and came to appreciate the recognition she made of their attainment i.e. what they were able to do.

Rachel’s audit gave us the insight into what is possible to achieve with a little professional support – not only did she assess their language skills, but through discussing with her, staff were enthused and motivated to use and improve their language skills. The audit has also raise the organisation’s understanding of the development needs of individuals, as well as led to providing training to develop the skills of Council staff further.

It was a pleasure working with Rachel. She has a vast range of experience and strengths with the ability to work with individuals as a tutor or mentor, whilst also being able to work with organisations at the highest level as a strategic consultant.

Rachel has a deep understanding of the field of language planning and is confident working with organisations whatever their stage of development!

The report produced by Rachel was extremely useful and professional in appearance.

Rachel makes good use of her time to ensure that your organisation achieves the best value for money and she is happy to talk more widely, giving advice on areas wider than the work being commissioned!

Conwy County Borough Council was preparing its Replacement Local Development Plan in 2019 and commissioned RHD Consultancy Ltd to work on a series of Welsh language impact assessments. We reviewed the existing Welsh language planning policy and undertook research into the revised Technical Advice Note 20, as well as recent developments in legislation and planning policy including Planning Policy Wales (2018). This work informed our development of a new Welsh language planning policy. Using statistical analysis, we identified the sites that are strategically important for the Welsh language and also developed an innovative approach to impact assessing the sites coming forward for planning. We undertook a thorough impact assessment of the Preferred Strategy and of individual proposed sites for development. Our Welsh language impact assessment was published alongside the Preferred Strategy for consultation, as part of the statutory planning process.

Courtesy, Grow, Encourage is the new Welsh language strategy for the Welsh Revenue Authority which was prepared by RHD Consultancy Ltd. WRA was a newly established tax revenue authority for Wales in 2017 and they asked us to create an innovative and forward looking strategy for the next five years. We worked closely with the senior leadership team and all staff in a collaborative way, taking a co-construction approach. We led on-line engagement events, workshops with teams, interviews with managers and leaders, and surveys with staff, and worked collaboratively to develop the strategy. Approved by Board and launched in September 2020, this strategy is ambitious and clearly shows how WRA plans to contribute to the Welsh Government’s ‘Cymraeg 2050’ objectives.

Testimonial – Ceri Sullivan

“The WRA is a relatively new organisation which was established in October 2017 and so we are awaiting the arrival of our Welsh Language Standards. As a non-ministerial Government department we are complying with Welsh Governments Welsh Language standards where proportionate, but we felt that we needed a strategy and a set of principles that reflected us – our culture and ways of working.
We met with Rachel initially to discuss our requirements and the services RHD Consultancy offer, Rachel’s enthusiasm and thoughts and ideas were exactly what we were looking for.
As a small organisation of approx. 80, we very much believe in engagement with our people and we were keen to take that same approach to ensure our staff feel a sense of ownership over the strategy. Rachel was full of ideas on how this could be done and carried out many 1-2-1’s and group engagement sessions to reach all staff and get their feedback at different stages of development – she was then able to use this feedback to shape our strategy.
Our strategy was welcomed by our people, our Executive team and our Board of Directors, it is something that feels like us and it meets the needs and preferences of our people and customers whilst complementing our statutory requirements – we are now in the process of starting implementation!”

Plantlife is a conservation charity working nationally and internationally to save threatened wild flowers, plants and fungi and they own around 4,500 acres of nature reserves across Wales, Scotland and England. Plantlife has 11,000 members and supporters and HRH The Prince of Wales is their Patron. Wales is home to 23 Important Plant Areas, ranging from ancient mine workings rich in rare metal-tolerant lichens, to the ranging landscape of Snowdonia with its threatened upland flora to Skomer Island, rich in marine seaweeds.

RHD Consultancy Ltd was commissioned by Plantlife to review its Welsh language policy and Scheme which were prepared under the Welsh Language Act 1993, and required updating to meet the most recent legislative requirements. We conducted a full review and presented papers with recommendations on the organisation’s approach, vision and policy.
We also provided consultancy advice on how to embed and implement the strategy across the UK offices. We provided 1-1 coaching sessions for staff and worked together on drafts, revising and editing as required to ensure that the policy was compliant with recent legislation as well as met the needs of the organisation. As a result of our work, the new policy was approved by Management Board, which sets a clear strategic direction and is compliant with legislation and helps takes the organisation forward for the future.