BME children lack support in schools

Children from ethnic minority groups are not being adequately
supported in schools because of a lack of government funding, a
report out today claims, writes Amy
Taylor.

Each ethnic minority pupil is seen as having the same level of
need under the current system, so funding is insufficient when
children have a number of problems, says the study commissioned by
the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

It says this is a particularly problem for asylum-seeker and
refugee children, who often have complex social and psychological
needs.

The association is calling for the funding system to be reformed
to recognise that children may have multiple needs.

It also argues that the system needs to be more responsive to
pupils joining schools at different times throughout the school
year, a common situation for asylum-seeker and refugee children,
rather than being based on an annual head count.

Diverse futures, equal chances – funding ethnic minority
achievement in education from: www.atl.org.uk