When your child starts school he/she will be assessed to determine their level of proficiency in English. A Language Support Teacher may then be allocated to provide support your child. Language Support Teachers are appointed to assist schools in providing additional language support teaching for pupils. In collaboration with parents and class teachers, language support teachers identify pupils requiring additional support, administer the assessment materials, devise appropriate language programmes, deliver the programmes and record and monitor pupils' progress. It is important that expertise is shared and good practice is communicated and disseminated in order to optimise the opportunities pupils have for developing their proficiency in English.
Primary schools which have 15 or more non- national pupils with significant English language deficits will be automatically entitled to an additional temporary teacher for a period of up to 2 years. This teacher has a specific responsibility for the English language needs of these children. A school which has between 4 and 14 non English speaking children will be grant aided so that they could acquire the services of a suitably qualified person to teach English. Schools with 3 or fewer non English speaking children would be expected to provide for the educational provisions of those children from within their existing resources.
Public libraries are also an excellent resource for parents and pupils.