School refusing to provide translator

Why/how have people lived here 5 years and still not learned English?!

There are free apps. There are lots of council/refugee support services. The school has offered lessons.

People not learning are choosing not to learn and integrate and that is not something the school needs to pay to facilitate.

You want to live in the UK learn English.

It's that simple

Absolutely! Agree 100%>

Yes but they're not going to learn it overnight are they? So in the meantime a solution needs to be sought.

Having recently arrived in the country, having had no access to learning, having SEN are just a few 'acceptable reasons'.

The school should have a considerable number of translated letters that can be used every year eg "Your child has had a bump", "please check your child for headlice" letters. If other local schools have their back catalogue of standardised letters then they could possibly share translated letters.

I lived in a country where I didn't speak the local language and the school didn't provide English letters. I did not expect them to be provided. Language lessons for foreigners were offered by the local council at a low cost. Otherwise I used online translation guides. I think that your school has gone above and beyond providing this service.

You've almost exactly described the school I've been a governor at for 18 years OP.

We had to bring this rule in about 6 years ago due to translators charging upwards of £120 per hour.

So far we've had no problems at all as parents always manage to bring an English speaking friend or family member.

However, as a governor you should be challenging the head and the rest of the GB about this, and making sure they explain the reasoning in detail.

Then if you're still unhappy but have a viable alternative, you can put that to them in a meeting.

There is no acceptable reason not to learn the language of a country where you have chosen to live. That goes for people moving here, and people from here going elsewhere. How can you fully participate in a society if you don't. Instead of contributing to society, you become a drain. Translation is expensive. What about voting? Everything. They have been provided with the means to learn, it's on them if they haven't done so.

Definitely budget driven! We pay £130 an hour for a translator ..... think of that cost each time you speak to a parent! We also have a high percentage of EAL from 14 different languages. We ask parents to source translators wherever possible and use google translate a lot! Most people seem to know someone who can help.

If the school is offering English lessons, a year of translations - and perhaps a tech drop in session or similar to help people get set up with the free translate tools then this seems quite reasonable to me.

I moved to Italy for a year + was thrown in the deep end with absolutely no Italian + no translators for my sons nursery. It was quite intensive for the first couple of months - but by month 4-5 I had enough language to understand the teacher 90% if she spoke intentionally + by 7-8 months It was fine.

I recognise that I have enormous privileges, in that I chose to be there + am relatively confident in myself - but I suspect that if there had been lots of crutches + translation tools available I would have leant on them and not learned what I could.

It’s so hard to find the right balance between ensuring access without disempowering. I think I err on the side of the school here though slightly.

As someone whose mum spoke very little English, I think this is a good move. Translators/Interpreters cost money, using someone from within school is a breach of confidentiality. I think it is incumbent on the parents to up skill themselves and learn the language of the land. It'll not just benefit their child but also them in finding work, navigating a different culture. Well done to the school. My mum became too complacent because she knew there's always be someone to help her understand what was happening. It was embarrassing for us kids.

Wow the ignorance on this tired is palpable

Isn't it just. My school had a Google translate 'incident' last year (and it was a common European language, not a lesser used one). Let's just say it involved some rather colourful language that GT misinterpreted contextually. GT is a tool, but one of many potential tools and definitely shouldn't be solely relied upon.

Have a look at the Young Interpreters Scheme. We have made good use of this in our school - I have children begging to get involved

It’s a difficult one. I worked in ‘immigration’ broadly speaking and one of the first things I tell my clients once they have been granted status is to learn English. I understand that it may be harder to learn for some, but it blows my mind that some clients still expect interpreters after living here for numerous years. I tell some to use google translate and send me an email as there’s no interpreter available and I can’t understand them so can’t help. But they need to help themselves by learning English.

People are indignantly questioning why the school is wasting time teaching the parents English. Well I assume a school functions much better where they can engage with the parents.

It will improve educational outcomes, make safeguarding easier and make teachers’ lives less stressful, as well as helping the kids feel more integrated. It is in everyone’s interests for parents to be engaged and know the language. Hence the school classes. However upset that makes people.

Generally, yes. My hesitation would be one school I worked in, child's father would not allow the mother to go to language classes, and any attempt at her learning online would have been stamped on. Just worth being aware of situations like this.

@ZippedTop exactly - English speaking schools and English speaking expat bubbles - and always the arrogant expectation that you'll be able to get by on English

This seems to an approach worth taking on board, it's already a tactic used for health information in certain areas as well.

The Head adopting a zero tolerance policy might have something to do with Ofsted. I heard something on the Nicky Campbell Show on 5 Live this morning where a Head from a Manchester primary school who had allowed absences for visiting relatives abroad had his school downgraded from Outstanding to Good. Everything else was outstanding.

I agree with most other people. The school is going above and beyond and 5 years is plenty to learn conversational English. That said, my BiL has been living in Spain for 17 or 18 years and still only knows a few words of Spanish. My sister is fluent and their DS is bilingual but BiL (whose idea it was to move out there) is hopeless.

I am a translator and have lived abroad, and I agree with you.
You wouldn’t expect someone to be fluent after a year, and some may need quite a lot of help. But when someone has lived in a country for many years, surrounded only by people of their own culture making no attempt to learn the local language, it’s not right. I would be afraid of having to navigate the medical system with zero language skills.

Yes. I am thinking of all our immigrants, sorry ‘ex-pats’ who have lived in other countries for years without bothering to learn a single word. They just send their kids to English-speaking schools instead.

When we lived in Portugal there was no translation provided either in educational or health settings. It was expected that you learn the language or take along someone to translate with you. I speak Portuguese and remember going along with friends who couldn't to deal with the school admissions process. All information from the school was in Portuguese only.

There was one consultant in the hospital who used to speak to me in English but she was from South Africa originally and English was actually her first language.

In this case the school do seem to have done what they can and I suppose that there just isn't the funding to carry on providing translation services.

I don't think you are being unreasonable to be concerned.

I can understand why the school is having to do this with budget cuts but there are ways around this eg putting information on a webpage and ensuring the website has translation tools.

Unfortunately I think a post like this attract all the types of people who have never lived abroad, or been an immigrant or have had to learn language to a fluency enough to deal with bureaucracy (and who all think if you are in England, you must speak English but would never think of learning Hindi or Urdu if they moved to India).

Like some colonial hangover

Some off these children and parents been here 5+ years and still don't understand basic English surely this is because they don't want to put any effort in to learn it, school even offer English lessons to them but they refuse. I completely agree with the school they barely have a budget as it is.

Wow the ignorance on this tired is palpable.

There are many many reasons why people can't learn a different language. Maybe they never went to school, and cannot read and write in their own language or maybe their family were murdered or hometown bombed and they have ptsd. Maybe they don't want to be here? This would just push them further away and make them less likely to engage.

I've seen the fallout of a teenage kids translating for their parents. It gets messy.

Have you ever thought that these people would love to be able to communicate to others? It's exceptionally isolating not being able to speak the native language.

You are right to feel this doesn't sit right OP. It doesn't.

I think what they have offered and continue to offer is exceptional.

It may be worth translating the handbook into some key languages.

the only time I would ensure an interpreter is there would be for safeguarding or serious disciplinary action.

we have some parents who support non English speaking in our Chinese community and another family whose aunt always joins on Zoom for parents evenings to interpret.

our school app has translator available and I often see “translated by ten parents” so it is used.

I agree, its the right move. Its rude to live permanently in a country where you can’t speak the language imo