A PLAID Cymru AM has called on the BBC to produce a Welsh news programme for children and young people through the medium of English.
Mid and West Wales AM Nerys Evans said that BBC’s news programme for children in English, Newsround, is often irrelevant to children and young people in Wales, and has already raised the issue with BBC Wales executives.
The Plaid education spokesperson has written to the Director General of the BBC, Mark Thompson, asking the corporation to build on the success of its Welsh language news programme, Ffeil, by producing a similar English language version for children in Wales.
Former chair of the Assembly Broadcasting Sub Committee Nerys Evans AM said: “The BBC has a long tradition of producing high quality news programmes especially targeted at children. Unfortunately however, these days their ‘Newsround’ programme can be irrelevant to their audience in Wales.
"Reports related to education, health and many other fields do not reflect the reality which we live in because the Welsh government follows its own agenda in these areas. Therefore, the day to day running of Wales' public services is not routinely covered by Newsround, and I fear this situation puts children in Wales at a disadvantage and can result in misinformation on key issues relevant to their lives.
“The BBC already produces an excellent Welsh language news service called ‘Ffeil’. The programme, which is shown on S4C, has imaginatively covered developments in key policy areas in Wales for many years as well as major political events.
"It is worth remembering that while young people may not always be able to take part in our democratic processes, they are often intensely interested in elections and the workings of government, and ‘Ffeil’ has fulfilled an important role in making these issues accessible to a younger audience. I believe that it is now time for them to provide a similar service in English for viewers in Wales.
“Education for our younger generations is not just a matter of providing a school curriculum. News and current affairs play a big part in us all learning about the society we are a part of. I hope that the BBC can see that there is now a clear case for providing their young Welsh audience with a news programme that is relevant and representative of the world we live in.”