Plurilingual and Intercultural Education Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Department for Education

Plurilingual and Intercultural Education

Baroness Chapman of Darlington Excerpts
Tuesday 18th October 2022

(2 years ago)

Lords Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Barran Portrait Baroness Barran (Con)
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

I absolutely agree with my noble friend. That remains an area of important focus for the department.

Baroness Chapman of Darlington Portrait Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
- View Speech - Hansard - -

My Lords, languages unlock so many opportunities for young people, and a weight of research suggests that they positively affect all other subjects a child is studying. In light of this, we on these Benches propose after-school clubs for every child, which schools can choose to use—and often do use—for fun, accessible language provision. Will the Government consider adopting a similar measure, especially given the raging cost of living crisis?

Baroness Barran Portrait Baroness Barran (Con)
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

As I mentioned, the Government’s focus is really on trying to improve the uptake of languages, particularly at GCSE level. That is why we have piloted the new curriculum. We are optimistic that it will be much more engaging for young people. That is in no way to diminish the value of after-school clubs, but the Government’s focus is on the former.