Ten days ago these columns lamented the prospect of Scotland "heading for the dead end of monolingualism". The declining number of students studying modern languages is worrying, not least because of the prospect of Scotland hampered in the global marketplace.
Ten days ago these columns lamented the prospect of Scotland "heading for the dead end of monolingualism". The declining number of students studying modern languages is worrying, not least because of the prospect of Scotland hampered in the global marketplace.
Another day, another education story. Two, actually. First, news that average primary class sizes fell last year from 23.6 to 23.3, thanks largely to demographic factors. Only 12% of P1 pupils are in classes of 18 or fewer, the Scottish Government's target for P1, 2 and 3. Many of those are in small rural schools. The government talks of delivering on its promises but at the present rate of progress that will take 17 years. Its concordat with councils only commits it to delivering on the pledge "as quickly as possible". Given the cost of meeting the commitment in terms of both staff and, in some cases, extra buildings, prospects are bleak, especially as the original commitment assumed a 40,000 fall in primary pupils by 2019. But Scotland's population is now rising, so the government cannot rely on inertia and demographics to cut class sizes.
The second story concerns one of the reasons for the reversal of expectations: a rapid rise in the numbers of pupils for whom English is a second language, up 6000 in one year. From a standing start, Polish is now second only to English in half of Scottish local authorities. When east European workers began arriving in Scotland four years ago, it was assumed that most were young and single and would eventually go home. Now many are putting down roots and bringing their families. In a country in need of both skilled and unskilled workers, we should welcome this development, but the scale and speed of the revolution are outstripping plans to provide support. While there are some excellent initiatives, particularly in Glasgow, the teaching of English as a second language is poorly resourced and for many languages there is no provision whatsoever.
With the right support, both in English and in nurturing their mother tongue, these pupils could become a vital resource in Scotland's future development. Bilingual children are more likely to do well in other languages. Many come from fast-developing countries in eastern Europe, the Indian sub-continent and the Far East whose populations are tomorrow's global consumers.
Evidence for the benefits of small class sizes is mixed at best. If Scotland is to train extra teachers, it is appropriate to ask if sacrificing all of them on the altar of smaller early-primary class sizes makes sense, especially at the likely cost of larger classes in upper primary and secondary. Would some of those teachers be deployed better in supporting literacy and helping Scotland's new young migrants? Without a helping hand, these children cannot learn and their problems can have a knock-on effect on their classmates. Pressures vary from place to place but this is a national problem and the Scottish Government must take steps to tackle it. Not to do so is not devolved responsibility. It is irresponsibility.
