‘Teachers need more help to make schools inclusive’

More help and training for teachers working with students from different countries or cultural backgrounds are vital to making schools more inclusive, researchers have said.

The provision of extra English language help for newcomer children ends after two years. Since 2012 the support has to be provided from schools’ overall allocation of learning support for pupils with a range of learning difficulties instead of a ringfenced staffing allocation.

Researchers point out that other than their language needs, migrant children depend on a share of existing supports in schools for disadvantaged students in general. This makes Ireland different from other European countries whose support measures for migrant students were assessed in a 2013 European Commission study.