DATA from the UK Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) shows that in 1,338 primary and secondary schools in England there are fewer children with English as their first language than those who consider it a second language, the Daily Telegraph has reported.
There are currently 17,361 primary schools and 3,343 secondary schools in England. In 600 of these schools, less than a third of pupils speak English as their first language. The figures lead to warnings that the rising number of foreign pupils without a decent grasp of English was putting intense pressure on teachers and undermining education standards.
The general secretary of the UK Professional Association of Teachers, Philip Parkin, said rising levels of immigration and a lack of multi-lingual teaching staff were “providing serious challenges” for schools trying to maintain standards. “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 multilingual,” he added.
According to a DCSF spokesman, local authorities will receive more funding through the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant, which is set to increase from ￡179 million ($356 million) in 2007 — 2008 to ￡207 million ($411 million) by 2010 — 2011. The funding is allocated according to pupil numbers. “There’s actually surplus money in the school system to deal with any exceptional circumstances,” he added.
Children with English as a second language are particularly concentrated in certain areas of the country, especially London. In the borough of Newham, nine out of 10 schools have a non-English first language majority.
The UK Association of Teachers and Lecturers acting deputy general secretary, Martin Johnson, said， “The majority of these areas have a history of succeeding waves of migration and as a result the schools are well used to coping with children with different mother tongues.”
Early this month, Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minister repeated calls for immigrants to learn English.
