Northern Ireland has undergone a rapid demographic change in the past decade as a consequence of migration. Census 2011 data revealed that the number of those born outside of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (ROI) living in NI increased almost threefold from 27,266 residents in 2001 to 81,314 in 2011. This accounts for 4.5% of the total resident population of Northern Ireland in 2011 compared to 1.6% in 2001. This unprecedented shift has increased the ethnic and cultural diversity of the population and seen a significant rise in the number of languages spoken here.
As a result, schools in NI have also seen a rise in admissions of children with little or no English language. The Department of Education (DE) has identified these pupils as ‘newcomer’ which has been defined as “a pupil who has enrolled in a school but who does not have satisfactory language skills to participate fully in the school curriculum and does not have a language in common with the teacher. It does not refer to indigenous pupils who choose to attend an Irish medium school” (Supporting Newcomer Pupils, 2009). Data provided by DE has shown an exponential growth in newcomer pupils at all stages of education since 2006/07 when 3,911 pupils were registered until 2014 when 10,698 newcomer pupils were attending school in Northern Ireland. In the most recent School Census figures (2013/14), newcomer pupils now account for 3.2% of the total school population with the largest growth in the primary school sector accounting for 4.3% of primary school children. Although the black and minority ethnic (BME) population has been steadily growing, minimal research has been conducted in NI about the educational needs and policy implications for children with English as an Additional Language (EAL). This is also an area of particular interest for Barnardo’s NI as we increasingly work with newcomer families and children across our service base and work in schools.
The overall purpose of this research was to investigate both the experiences of newcomer pupils and staff in primary schools in Northern Ireland. Specifically, the main objectives were to:
- gain an understanding of the arrangements primary schools made for newcomer pupils and the support available to schools;
- investigate the challenges faced by both newcomer pupils and teachers in primary schools;
- explore the relationship between newcomer pupils’ parents and school;
- identify best practice in this area.