Children who arrive late into English school system penalised with low GCSE grades, report finds

Thousands of children who arrive late into the English school system perform poorly at GCSE, a new report has revealed.

Pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) who arrived in Year 11 achieved an average of grade E at GCSE – which was at least two grades lower than their peers who arrived into the country in primary school, a study has found.

There is a “severe attainment penalty” for pupils arriving late into the English school system despite the government’s assertion that EAL pupils perform well in their GCSEs, the report from think tank Education Policy Institute and charity The Bell Foundation argued.

Pupils with EAL scored an average GCSE C grade if they arrived between reception and Year 7 - but this fell to a D grade if they arrived in Year 8, 9 or 10 and below a grade E in Year 11.

But some groups – including Pashto and Turkish speakers – who entered the English school system at an early stage as infants still had very low educational outcomes, the analysis shows.

Meanwhile, other groups - including Tamil, Chinese and Hindi pupils- performed above national standards at primary despite having arrived in the school system as late as Year 5.

The report argued that England’s system for developing support for EAL pupils is “insufficient” compared to regions within other countries – including America, Australia and New Zealand.

The think tank has called on the Government to provide more funding to increase the EAL expertise in schools and to address the large attainment differences for pupils arriving later into the country.

Jo Hutchinson, report author and director for social mobility and vulnerable learners at the Education Policy Institute, said: “This report refutes the popular notion that pupils with English as an Additional Language always perform better at school than other pupils.

“Beneath average figures showing high performance, a far more complex picture emerges of a group of pupils displaying enormous disparities in attainment – determined by their language skills, prior educational experiences, and time of arrival into the English school system.”

She added: “The government should pay greater recognition to the huge range in performance of EAL pupils – and reflect this in its recent reforms to the school funding system.

“In particular, it should provide more intensive support to children arriving late into the school system – to ensure that the time they start their education in England is not a significant barrier to achievement.”

Diana Sutton, director of The Bell Foundation, said: "This report shines a light on the misconceptions around learners with English as an Additional Language.

"This group ranges from children who are British citizens who speak another language at home, to those that are from refugee and migrant families.

"This diversity means that average attainment scores of EAL pupils are deeply misleading and conceal considerable variation."

She added that England’s system for supporting EAL pupils was "insufficient" compared to regions within other English-speaking countries - like America, Australia and New Zealand.

Ms Sutton said: "No child should be prevented from reaching their full potential because of special educational need, where they live, low income, or lack of support to develop English language proficiency.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The recent secondary school performance results show pupils with English as an additional language are performing well in their GCSEs and the attainment gap index between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed by 10 per cent since 2011.

“Through the new national funding formula, schools will attract extra funding for these pupils, equating to an additional £515 per primary school pupil and an additional £1,385 per secondary school pupil.

“This will help ensure these children can make the most of their education and is part of our efforts to continue to raise standards for all pupils.”