A five-year plan to increase the number of school staff able to teach English as an additional language is to be launched by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA).
Support staff and teachers will be offered training and a chance to study for a recognised qualification as part of the plan, which aims to improve the quality of teaching of English as an additional language across England.
The TDA is currently recruiting a consortium to run the programme on its behalf. The consortium is likely to represent practising and trainee teachers, support staff, local authority advisors and school inspectors.
Last year, an Audit Commission report found schools often lack the resources to teach English as an additional language. The percentage of pupils whose first language is not English has almost doubled in the last decade, according to statistics from the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
