Record levels of pupils who are unable to speak English
SCOTLAND’S schools are struggling with a record number of foreign children who cannot speak English.
Almost 47,000 pupils are not fluent in the language, which is nearly five times the 2006 total.
In the past year alone the total has soared around 6 per cent, according to Scottish Government figures.
Ministers claim schools are well equipped to cope with the influx of migrant pupils.
A total of 158 languages are spoken in state schools north of the Border, up from 144 in 2017, illustrating the rapidly changing ethnic mix.
Last night, Scottish Tory education spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘The latest significant rise in children who do not speak English as their first language clearly brings additional pressures to our education system.
‘Under the SNP, however, this pressure has intensified because the number of classroom support assistants has also declined dramatically.’
The total of pupils not fluent in English in 2006 was 9,486. This year the figure is 46,951.
Teachers faced with such pupils may have to use flash cards with pictures of objects to determine their ability.
While foreign youngsters can sometimes be among the keenest to learn, without classroom assistants teachers can find it difficult in busy or disruptive classes to ensure that non-English speakers are not left behind.
The language figures follow alarm at falling classroom standards.
Recent Scottish Government figures show one in four primary school children is failing to achieve expected standards in literacy and numeracy amid a staff recruitment crisis. There are 2,842 fewer teachers north of the Border than when the SNP came to power in 2007.
Union bosses claim moves to slash class sizes are at a ‘standstill’, with pupil numbers rising faster than the Government can hire staff.
It sparked fresh outrage over attainment, with a Scottish Government report showing 29 per cent of youngsters are leaving primary school without reaching the required levels of literacy, while 24 per cent fail to achieve expected numeracy levels.
Meanwhile, figures from the Programme for International Student Assessment, a study measuring progress on reading, maths and science, show Scottish pupils lagging behind their peers in former Soviet bloc nations. Nicola Sturgeon pledged in 2015 to put her ‘neck on the line on the education of our young people’.
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association has previously warned of a ‘decline in specialist provision and classroom assistants’.
A spokesman for the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union said: ‘Schools have in their classrooms a significant number of young people for whom English is not their first language.
‘These young people are entitled to the same highquality education as all other pupils, and may require some additional support to enable them to make the most of their education.
‘A decade of austerity-related cuts have stripped out specialist staff and resources from schools, with significant implications for pupils and teachers alike. A spokesman for staff union Unison said: ‘These figures are not surprising and show the short-sightedness of so many local authorities in reducing numbers of pupil support assistants.
‘Our members are facing increasing pressure to deliver for pupils despite the shrinking size of the workforce.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Education plays a central role in ensuring our young people are able to embrace diversity, helping to create an open and multicultural Scotland, built on the foundations of trust, respect and understanding.
‘Teacher numbers are now the highest since 2009 and the most recently available figures show there are more than 13,000 pupil support assistants providing invaluable support to pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language.’
‘Additional pressures’