THE Scottish Government is coming under increasing pressure to provide extra funding to help schools in Glasgow cope with a sharp increase in pupils from Eastern Europe.
Glasgow City Council has written to ministers requesting financial assistance to deal with the influx of the pupils, which has topped 2000 since 2005/06.
In particular, the council is growing increasingly concerned about its ability to cope with an influx of Roma families, from Slovakia and Romania, with pupil numbers rising by more than 1000 from these countries alone in the past five years.
New research by the council has shown the concentration of the families in areas such as Govanhill is hampering schools' attempts to raise standards.
While school staff are trying to engage with Roma families to ensure the best education for their children, the report highlights a number of cultural difficulties that are preventing this from happening. Resources are crucial because, for example, there is only one translator for Roma people for the city.
"In both the primary and secondary establishments it has been noted there are significant attendance issues for the Eastern European pupils," states the report, which will be considered by the council's children and families policy development committee on Thursday.
"There are a number of concerns surrounding the Roma community in particular, such as medical issues, extreme poverty, hygiene and child protection issues.
"The establishments have noted sporadic attendance within the Roma population and frequently pupils are absent for long weekends and half days following lunch time.
"The sporadic attendance has had a negative effect on pupils' learning and on the schools' attendance figures. Both attainment and social aspects of pupils' development have been significantly impaired due to lack of attendance."
The report says one of the major concerns was cultural difficulties stemming from widespread historical persecution of Roma communities. These include a fear of the education system, suspicion of authority figures and lack of understanding of the value of education.
Other reasons for disruption include poverty, with children working to raise money or helping out at home rather than attending school.
"Within the Roma community there is a significant issue with the younger children as parents appear to find it difficult to send their children to school at five years old," the report adds.
"This is due to parents' previously negative experiences of education and due to children being older when they start school in their home country.
"Frequently, families move address and this makes it difficult for the schools to track down the family in order to get the pupil back into education."
The council argues the additional financial help it receives to provide support services for areas of multiple deprivation does not take account of Roma families.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We are keen to work with Glasgow City Council on this. That is why the Scottish Government has allocated £435,000 over the next three years from our Equalities Fund for projects that provide additional support for the Roma community in Govanhill."
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