Teaching hampered by 'language problems'

Language problems are increasingly hampering the work of the nation's teachers, it has been claimed.

New figures have revealed that many pupils are no longer native speakers of English due to the influx of migrants in recent years.

In fact, one in seven primary school children do not speak English as a first language, The Times reports.

And one in ten pupils at secondary school are also more familiar with a foreign language than they are with English.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, blamed the Government's lack of foresight of the issue, rather than the number of migrants who have entered the UK.

'The problems stem from the Government’s failure to plan for population changes - not from the existence of migrants,' he insisted.

According to the National Union of Teachers, more investment is needed to tackle the communication problems in the UK's schools.

The Government released more positive figures last week regarding the teaching profession, noting that the number of teachers and support staff in schools increased over the last 12 months.