50k pupils don’t speak English as first language

RECORD numbers of pupils do not speak English as their first language amid concerns that teachers are not adequately trained to deal with multilingual classes.

Over the past decade the number of English as an additional language (EAL) students in Scotland has doubled to nearly 50,000.

Around 170 languages are spoken as a first language by pupils.

The number of EAL students is set to increase even more this year as 35,000 Ukrainian refugees are resettled north of the Border.

Already 491 Ukrainian pupils have been placed in Edinburgh schools as part of the Scottish Government’s resettlement scheme.

Education experts warn more must be done to prevent the linguistic diversity of classrooms from disrupting learning.

Professor Lindsay Paterson, an education expert at the University of Edinburgh, said: ‘Multilingual classrooms can be a great thing. There is an opportunity for children from different backgrounds to learn about new cultures and languages. But teaching multilingual classes is much harder than teaching in only English-speaking classrooms so financial resources and upskilled teachers are needed.’

The Government’s annual school census shows a record number of Scottish pupils do not speak English as a first language.

Nearly 50,000 students were classed as EAL in 2021, compared with only 22,740 in 2010.

Meanwhile, the number of specialist EAL teachers has dwindled to a handful over the past decade, with only seven registered last year, the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) said.

Dr Yvonne Foley, who specialises in education and sport at the University of Edinburgh, warned that teachers need extra support to help them cope. She said: ‘Educators don’t know where to turn for support because of the lack of EAL specialists. Investment in EAL training is urgently needed.’

The GTCS recently ran a recruitment drive encouraging foreign teachers to relocate to schools and teach EAL pupils. So far 329 foreign teachers have signed up but this represents only 0.6 per cent of the teacher workforce.

Providing for EAL students is a legal requirement under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. But trainee teachers typically receive only one EAL lecture on their training courses as it is not a compulsory part of the curriculum.

A GTCS spokesman said: ‘Young people must have access to specialist EAL support to enable them to learn effectively.

‘The resettlement of families displaced by the war in Ukraine has increased demand for EAL support. It is essential that funding gets to schools quickly so the needs of EAL students can be catered for.’

‘Young must have access to EAL support’