New draft standards for teachers have been attacked for ignoring the needs of ethnic minority children.
The Training and Development Agency is revising the standards and claimsthe new versions will "set out a clear career map for teachers". But theNational Association for Language Development in the Curriculum believesthat the new standards will discourage teachers from gaining a betterunderstanding of the needs of many ethnic minority children.
An association spokesman said: "We are concerned none of the standardsmake specific reference to meeting the needs ofEnglish-as-an-additional-language learners. Without specific reference,a growing understanding of this area will be an option rather than anessential part of all teachers' professional skills."
