Ceredigion needs more Welsh-speaking foster carers, a committee has been told.

Councillors have been told that work is needed to recruit more Welsh-speaking foster carers for children in Ceredigion with only one carer currently at the highest level for speaking, listening, reading and writing Welsh.

An update on the numbers and recruitment of foster carers who can speak Welsh had been requested by Ceredigion County Council’s healthier communities overview and scrutiny committee.

A report was presented to the committee’s latest meeting on 6 October, which stated that there are under five children within the mainstream or kinship foster placements in the county that identify Welsh as their preferred language, but as education is Welsh-medium it is recognised that many more need support with the language.

There are six carers with level zero Welsh listening and speaking skills, with increasing numbers unable to read or write in Welsh, nine are at level one, five at level two and two at level three, the committee report shows.

That is from a total of 31 registered foster families and 16 kinship carers, people who are known to the child concerned and assessed in the same way as foster carers, the committee heard.

“Even if the children had not chosen Welsh as their preferred language of choice, it is important that we support our foster families so they are able to help with homework and the cultural element of living in rural Wales,” Nerys Lewis, direct services manager said.

She added: “There’s work for us to do to develop the Welsh element and it’s important to report that the awareness and readiness to learn elements of the language is there within our foster families.”

The need for more foster carers in general is a national issue, the committee heard, with Ceredigion trying to be “innovative” to ensure children remain immersed in the Welsh culture even if they are not in a Welsh speaking family,” said Donna Pritchard, Porth Gofal corporate lead officer.

A campaign called Foster Wales has been set up to encourage more people into foster care with all of Wales’ 22 local authorities taking part.