School Census: Pupils’ Nationality

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Baroness Sharples

Wednesday 12th October 2016 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My Lords, the census covers a range of things, and we should be aware that children of foreign nationals can face additional challenges upon starting school in the UK. They are not likely to speak English fluently and may not have been here for the full school choice or application round, so they are more frequently placed in schools that, ideally, they would not choose. The education system they have arrived from may be different from the English system, so they may be behind our expected standards simply because they have yet to cover elements of our curriculum. Understanding nationalities helps us to put the right policies in place to help those children, and there are safeguards in place.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

Can my noble friend confirm that the number of children with English as their second language has risen from 6% to 16% in one year?