General Teaching Council Northern Ireland

School Inspectors find good provision for newcomer pupils

Department of Education

This was the finding of an evaluation carried out by the Education and Training Inspectorate. Chief Inspector Stanley Goudie said: “The last school census carried out showed we have around 7,000 newcomer children speaking 40 different languages. To ensure these children are able to participate fully in school life, it is essential that adequate supports are in place. Our evaluation, which included visits to 25 schools, showed that overall the provision of support is good.

“A key strength is the range of resources and services provided by the Inclusion and Diversity Service (IDS) to support schools which have newcomer children in their classrooms. We also identified a commitment from schools to improving the provision for the children, including working for early integration into the school community.

“We identified a small number of areas which could be strengthened, but expect the recently published policy “Supporting Newcomer Pupils” to further improve the quality of service provided.”

The report is available from the Education and Training Inspectorate website