Learning to cope in 90 tongues! (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford schools finding ways to help ethnic pupils

9:09am Thursday 19th March 2009 in Bradford By Ben Barnett

Princeville pupils Aisha Ahmed from India, Courtney Braybrook from England, Mumtaz Mafud from Indonesia and Peter Milak from Slovenia Buy this photo »

More than 70 per cent of children at nearly a quarter of mainstream primary schools in Bradford do not speak English as their first language, according to the latest figures.

An A to Z of 90-plus different languages are mother tongues of some 16,623 pupils at Bradford’s 40 most linguistically-diverse primaries, according to figures obtained by the Telegraph & Argus in a Freedom of Information inquiry.

A first language other than English is recorded where a child was exposed to a different language during early development and continues to be exposed to this language in the home or in the community.

Now the Government is putting more money into helping the issue.

A Department for Children’s Schools and Families spokesman said: “The language of instruction in English schools is, and always has been, English. We have listened to concerns of headteachers and are increasing funding in the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant to £206m by 2010, to bring students weak in English up to speed.

“We also equip schools to offer effective English as an Additional Language (EAL) teaching for new arrivals, with a comprehensive support package.”

At Princeville Primary School, off Legrams Lane, just seven of the school’s 453 children are naturally English speakers – the smallest proportion of pupils with English as their first language at any primary school in the district.

Fifteen other languages, including Vietnamese, Bosnian and Gujarati, are spoken by pupils with the most common first language being Punjabi.

Children at Springwood Community Primary in Manningham are the most diverse speakers where 28 different languages are the first language of pupils including Bengali, Czech, Russian, Punjabi and Somalian.

Sue Colman, the Council’s assistant director of learning services, said: “There is a lot of evidence to suggest that if a child who is more than functional in their first language, will become more than functional in a second language. If children are literate and conversant in their language, that skill is transferable. This is not to say there is not a challenge to address – we want every pupil in every school to thrive.”

But Keighley MP Ann Cryer said children learning a second language at school are being undermined by parents at home.

She said: “I’ve been talking about it for years, of the importance for Asian families to speak English at home and I’m told I’m interfering, but it’s their children that suffer.

“There are families where one parent can speak English but the spouse can’t and it’s difficult to sustain a conversation so they speak in Punjabi.

“To get leave to remain in this country you have to learn English, for too many years this wasn’t the case.”

Figures obtained by the Conservative party show that nationally, from 2004 to 2008, the number of children in primary schools with English as a second language has increased by 113,500. Shipley Tory MP Philip Davies said: “Everyone criticises Bradford schools and Education Bradford for the fact they are near the bottom of the league tables but there is little wonder when schools are having to deal with many children who do not speak English as a first language.

“The responsibility is largely down to parents, who should be encouraging their children to speak English or learn some of the language before they go to school.

“How do you teach a child when it cannot speak English? Teachers are in an impossible situation. Unless we see some transformation we will end up with a situation where children are sent to separate schools to learn English.

“We cannot have other children held back because so much time and effort is being spent learning basic things that they should know already.”

But Councillor David Ward, education spokesman for the Council’s Liberal Democrat group, said it was a “red herring” to suggest language was a barrier to learning.

“The key issue is not whether pupils speak English or not,” he said.

“A lot of new arrivals from Eastern Europe are learning English very quickly and it’s not holding them back.

“What’s more important is the levels of deprivation in Bradford and it’s the link between poor attainment and areas of deprivation that’s crucial.”

Questions & Answers

The Telegraph & Argus asked John Gaskin (above), managing director of Education Bradford, to respond to questions about the issue.

Q: How can you raise achievement in schools when 70 per cent of pupils do not speak English as a first language at 40 of our primary schools, and the majority do not share the same first language as their teachers?

A: When we provided the figures, we explained that they are of the child’s first or home language, this does not mean, as stated in the questions, that the children cannot speak English. Many are bi-lingual, some are even tri-lingual with English as one of their languages. For those who do not speak English we have an assessment and support system.

Q: How many language support staff are employed at primary schools in Bradford? What languages do they speak and how much do they cost the Council a year?

A: We do not have and would not be expected to have this data. Schools employ staff directly and they employ appropriate staff to meet identified needs. In some cases this will include recruiting staff who share the child’s first language. Education Bradford employs eight peripatetic primary teachers to work with new arrivals who do not speak English. Seven of these speak community languages of Bradford.

Q: Is Bradford receiving any extra funding from the Government to support this provision?

A: Bradford receives a grant of about £7 million to support this work. Over 90 per cent is devolved to schools. The rest pays for specialist consultants and teachers who work for EB and with schools. The whole team consists of 12 teachers, one learning mentor and six consultants.

Q: In primary school classes where there are a large number of children who speak different languages, which language does the teacher speak?

A: The teacher speaks English. There are some occasions where a teacher or teaching assistant uses the child’s first language to explain a concept and to help them to join in the lesson or provides a translated vocabulary list to aid the learning of English. In some schools pupils will be taught basic words in community languages to assist children who are new to English. These ways of working are used in other places in the UK and are not exclusive to Bradford.

Q: What help is given to support pupils who are the only, or one of very few, who speak the same first language at a school?

A: There is a one-off grant for all new arrivals, which can be used to enhance staffing or provide appropriate resources. Schools with new arrivals are offered support from the Ethnic Minority Achievement team, even where numbers are small. Schools where the children come from Central and Eastern Europe also receive support in translation, liaising with families and settling children in from the New Communities and Traveller team.

Q: Is language the biggest barrier you face in raising the achievements of primary school pupils in Bradford?

A: Enabling all children to become proficient in English is arguably the most important priority throughout the country. The importance of being confident in using spoken and written language for social and learning purposes is obvious.

The most important factor is not whether children have English as their first language but how rich their language experience has been in their early years.

Some children with English as their first language and some with English as an additional language do not have the opportunities that others have to develop their use of language at home. Much of the investment in Early Years education is aimed at ensuring these children are given the experiences they need to develop their language.

This emphasis is continued throughout the primary years to ensure that children can use English socially and, crucially, that they can use it effectively to learn other subjects.

Schools in Bradford have developed considerable expertise in enabling children to be effective and confident learners of English including those who are new to English, many of whom make exceptional progress.

Q: Outside of the classroom, how are children, who speak another language, helped to interact on a social level?

A: Primary schools have a range of strategies in place to encourage children to interact socially whatever their language skills, e.g. peer buddies, playground helpers, support staff. Most children acquire social fluency to the level that they can mix with their peers within a few months.

• Click here to see the tables