The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has recently published a report on migration in which it calls for much more national leadership to make the case for English language support in schools. The report Back to basics: Towards a successful and cost-effective integration policy authored by Jill Rutter notes that current UK policy is failing both migrant groups with less successful integration trajectories and communities where integration is not working. It also warns that UK policy is not learning lessons from groups and communities where integration has been successful.
In respect of school education, it reports that :
In England, the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant, as a ring-fenced fund, has been abolished. While some schools have maintained pr evious levels of funding for English language support, others have not. In the absence of a ring-fence much mor e national leadership is needed to make the case for English language support.
Children’s educational needs vary, but one vulnerable group are those young people who have had an interrupted prior education befor e coming to the UK who need support to be tailored to their needs. This needs to be set alongside better car eers advice for 13–19-year-olds who may lack the cultural knowledge about the UK education system and job market. The extended school programme also offers potential for providing support to migrant children (see below).
Institutional segregation is an issue in some areas and it is important that the academy and free school programme does not causes greater segregation by social class and ethnicity.
The report also makes available GCSE outcomes by particular ethnic groups, indicating that whilst Sri Lankan Tamils and Iranian students generally outperform the UK average, Portuguese and Turkish heritage students do not. It urges the government to invest in ESOL and make English language learning available immediately on arrival in the UK, noting that this approach would be spending money to ensure savings in the long term.
