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Polish, Romanian, Portuguese as students' first or additional language

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WQ.504/2019

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION

BY DEPUTY M. TADIER OF ST. BRELADE

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 12th NOVEMBER 2019

Question

Will the Minister advise how many Jersey students (between the ages of 4 and 18) have been recorded with Polish, Romanian or Portuguese as a first or additional language; and will she state whether it is her intention to ensure that some (or all) of these languages are made available as a standard part of the G.C.S.E. syllabus, funded by her Department; if so, will she explain what work is taking place in this regard and, if not, will she explain why not?

Answer

Pupils recorded with an additional language  

Our September 2019 census numbers show that the number of pupils in all Jersey schools (including private schools) with a first language other than English is:

Polish - 547 Portuguese – 1,592 Romanian - 134

From working with schools, it may be the case that some families who speak more than one language at home are registering their children with schools as having English as their first language because their children are fluent in English. This, therefore, reduces the number of children recorded as speaking more than one language. We are working with schools and the data collection team to improve this situation, but current numbers may be an under-estimate.

Please note, a pupil's first language is defined as;

The language that a pupil was exposed to during early development and continues to be exposed to in the home or community. If a pupil was exposed to more than one language (which may include English) during early development, a language other than English should be recorded, irrespective of the pupil's proficiency in English.

Portuguese

GCSE Portuguese is available to pupils across the island through the provision created by the PROTOCOL OF COOPERATION BETWEEN CAMÕES – INSTITUTO DA COOPERAÇÃO E DA LÍNGUA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JERSEY. Teachers employed by CAMÕES work in Jersey schools delivering Portuguese to KS2, GCSE and A level students. Students choose whether to take GCSE and A level exams (paid for by their home school) as well as or instead of the CAMÕES exams which are taken each June.

Currently most pupils are taught Portuguese as an after school class and parents pay a contribution towards the CAMÕES resources and examination entry. Portuguese GCSE entries and resources are supported from school budgets.

Polish

Pupils who wish to add GCSE Polish to their GCSE options are usually supported by their schools to prepare for the examinations and have their examination fees paid as part of their suite of qualifications. Some schools will offer this support within the school day, others as an after school provision.

Romanian

Currently there is no GCSE available for the Romanian language.

Languages provision with GCSE options

Each school arranges their option blocks to suit their cohorts. GCSE options will often change from year to year and different schools offer different combinations of subjects. All Jersey schools ensure that every pupil has access to an entitlement of English, mathematics and science options at GCSE, and some schools make a modern foreign language an additional entitlement. Further options will reflect pupil requests and interests, whilst accommodating maximum and minimum class size limits.