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English is now minority language in 1,300 schools leaving teachers struggling to cope
Last updated at 14:37pm on 18.12.07
Union bosses want more money available to schools who are struggling to accomdate so many foreign pupils
English is the second language among children in 1,300 British schools, it emerged.
The figure reflects the increasing pressure that immigration is having on the education system, say experts.
In one district of London, almost nine out of ten schools have an intake where the mother tongue is not English for a majority of pupils.
The statistics, obtained from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, highlight a problem which needs immediate action, teachers say.
It is estimated that the cost of educating a non-English speaking pupil could be as much as £30,000 a year.
This compares with £4,000 for a primary school child whose mother tongue is English.
Philip Parkin, general secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers, said: "There's been an explosion in numbers of children without English as their first language in the last couple of years."
An inevitable consequence of this, he added, was that teaching time was taken away from English-speaking pupils, because of the extra needs of the foreign students.
Mr Parkin said: "To have one child who does not speak English is hard enough for a teacher to deal with, but when you have 20 or so, then that really is a problem."
"There are schools in the country, particularly in London, that have dozens of languages in one school."
In Newham, a deprived area in the east of the capital, 87 per cent of schools have a non-English language majority.
Newham had Britain's highest proportion of non-whites at the 2001 Census. The borough also contains the second highest percentage of Muslims.
Of the London boroughs, Tower Hamlets has the second highest proportion of non-native speakers, with 76 per cent, followed by Westminster, with 72 per cent.
A third of schools in Leicester and Blackburn have more than 50 per cent of pupils speaking poor or no English. In Birmingham, the figure is a quarter.
The total number of schools in England where a majority of pupils do not consider English as their first language is 1,338.
The statistics show that in 574 of the 17,361 primary schools in England, children without English as a first language make up 51 to 70 per cent of all pupils. In a further 569 primaries that figure tops 70 per cent.
Some 112 out of 3,343 secondary schools fall into the 51 to 70 per cent category with another 83 recording over 70 per cent.
Mr Parkin said: "There is no additional funding for a child with little language skills, which is effectively a special need."
"The Government needs to be looking at additional funding for the employment of teachers or teaching assistants who are bilingual or multi-lingual."
"As far as I know, nothing is being done to look at these issues."
Reader views (15)
I wonder how many of the Labour govt responsible for the tidal wave of immigrants actually send their children to a school like this? Oh, none; they send their kids to private schools so they don't have to suffer from the hideous mess that their parents created.
- Mark, Reading
Why don't we get teachers from EU areas that themselves don't speak English, similar to how we're going to run our football team.
- Frank, England
The indigenous people of Britain need to seriously consider who they are going to vote for at the next general election. This will possibly be our last chance to keep the Britain we know, as all the mainstream parties will allow an ever growing number of immigrants to come here.
- Dardellion Montblanc, London, UK
Emma mentions 10 languages. A friend of mine moved primary schools 3 or 4 years ago, from Plaistow to the Isle of Dogs. It was a while before she realised she wasn't used to teaching a class with fewer than 10 languages. The key is whether or not the pupils are keen to learn English and their parents back that. If so, problems will be overcome in a little less than two years. I'm a Governor of a very successful school where 94% of pupils have English as a second language.
- Alan Griffiths, Forest Gate, London, UK
This is a disgrace. Immigrants should be able to speak at least basic English before they arrive here. Our English speaking children are the ones bearing the brunt of New Labour's mindless open door immigration policy and suffering. Education, Education, Education? More like Translation, Translation, Translation.
- Shirley, London
The Labour government have brought about this situation with their open-door immigration policy, which they still defend. However, I wonder how many Labour MPs would be willing to send their own children to one of these schools.
- Sue M, Watford, Hertfordshire.
God help England.
- Paul Walker, London England
All aspects of immigration are out of control!
- Brian, Bristol
It was obvious to anyone with a spoonful of intelligence that this situation was bound to come about.
- Alan Eaves, Buckhurst Hill Essex
The only good thing about this is that maybe immigrants will not choose Britain as a destination. Afterall, what is the point of having an English speaking country if English speaking is the minority? No one can be expected to learn anything if everyone speaks different languages.
The downside of this is that it is it is the people whose only language is English who will suffer, but it will be too late then.
- Kim, London
No problem - it only means our children will finish up speaking goggledygook such as Blair, Brown and entourage have used for the past ten years or so.
- El-Cid., Hull, East Yorks.,
I am a teacher in an inner-city primary school that has a large proportion of children with English as an additional language. It isn't money that is needed to help in these circumstances, although money can help employ a EFL specialist, it can't make our day to day job in the classroom any easier, especially when it isn't just one additional language spoken in the classroom but many - I have 10 additional languages spoken in our class so translations and things like buddy systems don't work. I feel sorry for the English speaking kids as they are being held back by the inevitable slower pace of teaching. I don't know what the solution is but it is a big problem.
- Emma, London, UK
To be a teacher in nu labour's Britain you need to be a cross between a volunteer overseas charity worker and a nightclub bouncer.
- Squiz, Islington
It's scandalous that British-born children should suffer the consequences of this government's appalling handling of immigration. No wonder educational standards are falling, despite increasing amounts of money being pumped into education by Nu Labour.
- Ab, London
More money does not need to be pumped into education, the amount of immigrants being pumped into Britain needs to be stopped. Why are we the collecting ground for all and sundry?
- Fly, London
