December 17, 200718 yr English now minority language in 1,300 schools leaving teachers struggling to cope Last updated at 09:10am on 17th December 2007 Comments (43) Union bosses want more money available to schools who are struggling to accomdate so many foreign pupils Rising immigration in Britain now means that there are more than 1,300 schools across the country where children with English as their first language are in the minority. Official figures show that 1,338 primary and secondary schools are made up of mostly foregn speaking pupils, placing huge strain on the education system. In 600 schools, less than a third of pupils speak English as their first language, sparking criticism from education chiefs that the situation was 'out of control'. Teachers' union bosses said they feared that the huge growth in pupils without sufficient standards in English was causing problems for teachers. Concerns have been raised that weaker standards of English in the classrooms was lowering education standards as teachers struggle to make themselves understood. More money needs to be pumped into schools to address the problems, say education bosses, who warn that it could cost the taxpayer as much as £30,000 for a single non-English speaking pupil - many of whom they say need councelling sessions to help overcome trauma experienced in the countries they have arrived from. Philip Parkin, general secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers said that maintaining high standards in schools was becoming harder in the absence of multi-lingual teachers, saying it "makes it much harder to deliver the curriculum." "Schools that are in that position need considerable support in order to give those children help with English and with our curriculum," he told the Daily Telegraph. "The Government needs to be looking at funding the employment of teachers or teaching assistants, in addition to the staff they have, who are bilingual or multi-lingual. Data from the Department for Children, Schools and Families reveal that there are currently 1,338 schools where at least 51 per cent of the pupils do not have English as their first language. There are 569 schools in which more than 70 per cent of the population have English as a foreign language. A similar figure - 574 of the country's 17,361 primary and secondary schools - have a make-up of pupils where between 51 and 70 per cent speak English as a second language. Last month it was revealed that London schools are taking up to eight new arrivals from eastern Europe every week, leaving teachers "pulling their hair out" trying to cope. The National Union of Teachers said today that while its members welcomed immigrant children, staff were not getting the required resources. Mick Brookes, general secretary of the Teachers Union said that the rapid influx of immigrants would mean huge numbers of resources being put into place, such as councilling as well as English lessons. The problems are concentrated in London, with 20 councils who name the highest population of non-Englaish speaking pupils. A third of schools in Leicester and Blackburn have a non-English speaking majority while in the Birmingham, that figure is as much as a quarter. "These are children who cannot speak the language," he said. "Others are refugees who may have witnessed some horrible things. "These children may not need support to speak English, but often they require councelling to talk them through the trauma they have witnessed." Shadow forign secretary David Davies attacked the Government for not doing more to support schools which have been affected by their immigration policy. "We have been warning the Government for years now of the consequences for schools of the very high rate of immigration. "This shows how many schools will face real difficulties." In recent years, the immigrant population has risen sharply with the number of foreign workers coming to the country from Eastern Europe. Since 2004, 600,000 eastern Europeans have moved to Britain, while official figures releasedhave shown that one in five birth last year were to forign parents. However, the Government hit back at claims that it has not done enough to support schools or recognise the effects of high levels of immigration. "We have listened to the unions' concerns and are increasing funding in the ethnic Minority Achievement Grant to £206 million by 2010. "We have also intorduced new guidance for teachers to work with new arrivals. There's actually surplus money in the school system to deal with any 'exceptional circumstances'."
December 17, 200718 yr ....Everyone is foreighn now a days. How many people have you met that are pure bread brits or true blue Aussies?
December 17, 200718 yr Author ....Everyone is foreighn now a days. How many people have you met that are pure bread brits or true blue Aussies? Dame Edna??:rolleyes:
December 17, 200718 yr Author There's something wrong with that bird... Might be something to do with the fact she's a man in drag!!:rolleyes:
December 17, 200718 yr Oh dear.... JK, I knew that... There is still something wrong with her...I'm sure the he is fine...
December 17, 200718 yr Author Oh dear.... JK, I knew that... There is still something wrong with her...I'm sure the he is fine... Well she is a bit scary, that's for sure!!:P
December 17, 200718 yr Do you get 'The Dame Enda treatment' on TV over in England? We had it here for about three weeks and then they cancelled it because too many people were shooting their TVs with revolvers...
December 17, 200718 yr Author Yes - she has series over here. She was also on the final "Parky" last night.
December 17, 200718 yr Author Does she do the whole 'Dame edna treatment'? Do you have that show? I think we did. The one with her "daughter"??
December 17, 200718 yr You did.... Ok, I was joking about the revolvers.... but seriosusly, that show was painful!
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