School refusing to provide translator

Ok I was on the head's side until I read this. If Polish speaking staff are available at no additional cost to the school, this feels more about xenophobia than it does about budget.

I am surprised at £1 a minute cost for the interpretation services tbh

It's not just corporate who get called and call themselves expats. "expat" is normally used terms in newspapers here. "indian expats fly back with favourite rice brands amid export ban" etc. "Filipina expat won 25kAED" and so on.

Can you imagine having to have leaflets/information in about 40plus languages? Do you know how much it costs to have a personal letter translated? It really isn't feasible to do so. I'm sorry but there has to be a cut off point. I interviewed a number of people who had been resident in the UK for over 20 years and still spoke little English. They lived in a community where it didn't matter as all business was kept in that community, but when accessing services in the public sector I had to have an interpreter. The problem is that having a family member providing the service on an ad hoc basis does not guarantee a literal translation as would be the case when using a service. I also found that when we speak English we often use terms that translate poorly; they are commonly used expressions but the meaning is lost. Again a skilled interpreter can do that, a family member might not get it.
It really is a minefield and I was aware that inefficient translation might cause legal issues.

Would that be partly because the nearest English speaking school is too far away - pupils often have to travel a far distance to get to any school in remote islands.
Some folk also don't realise how widely Gaelic is spoken in the Western Isles.

Surely it is up to the parents to make sure that they learn the language?

They are usually many places where you can take ESOL classes for free or at a low cost.

I think the school has already gone above and beyond and their resources should be focused on the children's education, not the parents.

Yes but the op isn't talking about translating a post grad thesis or detailed banking letters, it's things like "your child needs to bring their pe kit"

I speak 2 languages that are a bit hit and miss on Google translate but it's certainly enough to get the gist pretty much every time.

And ultimately all of these support features should be an intermediate stop gap while at least one person in the family prioritises getting a sufficient grasp of the language of the country they live in. A year of translation is very generous, most people can pick up a fair amount of a language in a year it they take learning it seriously.

Very reasonable.

My husband lived in France and they didn't provide translations for anything at all.

I think it’s acceptable not to provide a translation service in these situations. Google and other applications are available that won’t drain school resources. Many English children go to international schools, they seem to adapt and learn the language quickly. Not sure if translation service is provided for their parents?

I lived in the UK as a migrant for 10 years. Seriously, UK has to toughen up. If people do not understand basics after 5 years.... well it is their own problem. School is already supporting parents but they are too comfortable. They need to adapt to the country they live in, not the school adapting to the parents. Seriously, please toughen up a bit, it is good to help of course, it is very hard when you do not speak the language but people manage, there are lots of things parents can do to understand what is being said. And what about children? They could translate to their parents. Honestly, Britain will be doomed if it continues like this

Yes of course. But I am talking about one specific group of poorly-paid workers. I know corporate asian people who go and work there in banks etc.

I’m with you OP, this doesn’t sit right with me either.

I completely understand about budgets but this doesn’t sound to me like it’s driven solely by cost.

If it is, I would ask what other options are being explored and if they are going to have a clearly defined policy about when they would fund translation for parents who’ve been here longer than a year? Will they provide a translator when they’re trying to discuss SENCO, behavioural issues or low level safeguarding concerns? What about at the beginning of a child’s school career when they’re explaining the rules, will they at least provide written translated material? What do other schools with similar demographics do? If it’s an area with multiple schools like this, could they share some costs e.g. use the same printed materials but change the logo or split the call off cost of a telephone translation service? If they want to push parents to learn English, will they work with the LA to offer classes on site (e.g. provide a classroom after school finishes)?

A policy change like this needs really careful consideration and the knock on effects need to be fully assessed too. If teachers are put under huge stress or feel unable to deliver/keep their children safe, they may leave. If children aren’t able to get the support they need or engage with learning (e.g. have a PE kit, go on trips, in class on time, etc), OFSTED will notice that and it could affect the school’s rating. It will also affect the sense of community and parent engagement at the school.

Ultimately, the children and their education will suffer for their parent’s language skills. The school needs to make an effort to mitigate that impact, within the budget they have.

If these parents haven't bothered to learn English to at least conversational level after several years of living in the UK then that's on them, particularly if the school is offering free lessons. It suggests zero attempts at integration.

The fastest way to learn a language isn't classes- it's to be immersed in it.

I can’t speak for Wales but it’s not unheard of for families to move to the Western Isles and put their kids into schools where Gaelic is the majority spoken language when they themselves don’t speak a word of it

Live in the UK learn English, my friend's recently moved to France and has weekly classes, she wouldn't expect a translator. We've made life far too easy for people in this country some times you just have to get off your arse and put the work in.

It's ok for others often too with small mistakes that can usually be solved by the context. I used it often. Google lense translates text from pictures etc as well so that's a bonus of just scanning a letter.

C8H10N4O2 on holiday for a couple of weeks , a bit different living somewhere for years .I found it hard to pick up a language until I moved to an different country and was hearing it constantly over a few months.

I think it is ridiculous that a school is paying for a translator. School should ensure that it can communicate in the official languages (which for England is English, and Wales would be Welsh and English). Every time a translator is required money is being taken from the children.
if people require a translator they should take their own.
in fact I would be deeply uncomfortable if at my children’s school (very diverse) funding would be spent on this

You are right- they don't. We have friends in France and the Netherlands and Norway. None had translators provided when they moved. They learned bits of the language as quickly as they could .

The extent to which Britain mollycoddles people- including people born here- is ridiculous. We've given two whole generations, from about 1990 onwards, the idea that they are not responsible for themselves and the State will provide, pay for services.

A parent complained to me (at work) this week that the reason her son is late for school/misses so much school is his minibus (an experiment by his school to see if it can collect non-attenders and get them in)is often early and he is still in bed. He is not disabled, has no SEN just refuses to get out of bed. She lives a 10 minute walk from school. I asked why she doesn't taken him herself- she has a car and doesn't work- and she said 'He won't get in the car if he doesn't want to. Anyway, that's what the minibus is for and it's often 10 minutes early so it's not his fault if he has to walk round'. I wanted to say he shouldn't have a minibus life, that he didn't attend for years before the school provided the minibus, that she should make sure he's up and ready in good time, that she should drive him or walk him herself (he's 13) that they are both idle CFs who will spend their whole lives as a drain on the State but I like my job so shut up.

Yes, I was going to say the same. The reliability of Google Translate is pretty high for the big languages and main European languages, but pretty terrible, and no audio feature, for a lot of other languages. Hopefully a system of parent volunteers could work instead? But I agree, these days schools don't have the budget for expensive translation services for years on end.

Same. Well we lived there twice. Once in a communauté à facilité (ie Dutch speaking but had to speak French)… never again. You could cut the atmosphere like a knife during the elections. The second time we lived in an expat area, where no one was obliged to speak French. I insisted being in an expat area after the first experience.

I agree no one bothered to learn the language. But there are 3 official languages, albeit 2 main, so that’s hard in itself. Of the 3 official languages the only one I couldn’t speak was Dutch so I used to speak French in the French areas to the people in the shops but quickly realised it was a faux pas to speak French in the shops as they responded to me in Dutch. All good as the accent and language is so similar to German I could understand. In fact I struggled to learn Dutch as the similarities to German were too close.

We didn’t have dd at the time. My gut would have been to send her to Dutch speaking school for the languages as the French speaking schools were just French (idk if I’d have followed through dh being French and all) but the company would have paid the schooling had we wanted to send dd to a British school. And that’s the thing. If your kids go there for secondary, you want continuity of learning, especially if a move happens every 2-4 years, which is common.

Interesting timing on this post, so soon after Braverman’s speech about integration.

Yes, if the school provides opportunities for parents to learn English, they should. If you want to live in a country, you should be able to speak the language. Why does this make you uncomfortable?

I'm in France, you are required to learn and demonstrate that you can converse in French if you wish to live here. Lessons are provided by the State.