An Electronic Toolkit for Teachers
Bangladeshi Pupils

For some time in Essex, we have been collecting and analysing data about our minority ethnic pupils. One of the outcomes of this ongoing analysis has been the identification of the underachievement of particular groups of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. One of those groups identified as underachieving across almost all key stages is Bangladeshi pupils. There is a particular concern with Bangladeshi boys at key stage 1 and year 3.

This toolkit will provide a variety of information:

  • Local and national contextual information
  • Hypotheses about Bangladeshi pupil underachievement
  • Some suggestions for schools for developing effective practice
  • Key documents that will help inform policy and practice
  • Links to websites, literature and cultural and linguistic information about Bangladeshi pupils
  • Useful resources for classroom practice

Local and National Contextual Information

In the 2008 school census, 70,320 pupils were identified as speaking Bengali in English schools with over 50% of the Bangladeshi population living in the UK living in London with significant communities in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Camden. In Essex there were 517 pupils speaking Bengali as their first/home language and one pupil speaking Sylheti as their first/home language. However, the majority of Bangladeshis in Essex speak Sylheti, a dialect of the people of the district of Sylhet in north east Bangladesh and not pure Bengali. The written language is official standard Bengali.

Our Bangladeshi pupils are spread across the county with significant numbers in Chelmsford, Maldon, Colchester and Harlow. The majority of the pupils do not have literacy skills in Bengali and many parents would welcome the setting up of supplementary schools to encourage the development of their children’s Bengali. Bangladeshi parents value their linguistic heritage and their children will often use a combination of languages in the home. There is a supplementary school that has recently opened in Colchester to help children develop their literacy skills in their first language and this may well provide a model for other families across Essex.

Research has shown that where parents are more involved in supporting their children’s education, those pupils go on to make good progress. Those parents who have had limited educational opportunities in Bangladesh may be harder to engage with when seeking to involve them in supporting their children. Attendance is also an issue for many Bangladeshi pupils and these absences have a significant impact on attainment.

Since most of the Bangladeshi pupils are Muslim they will also be attending their local mosques where they will be learning Arabic to study the Koran.

Longitudinal analysis of SAT results by ethnicity in Essex shows that Bangladeshi, Turkish/Turkish Cypriot and Thai pupils are the worst performing apart from Travellers of Irish heritage and Gypsy/Roma pupils.

Reading & Writing at KS1 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007
All Essex girls / Bangla-deshi girls / All Essex boys / Bangla-deshi boys / All Essex girls / Bangla-deshi girls / All Essex boys / Bangla-deshi boys / All Essex girls / Bangla-deshi girls / All Essex boys / Bangla-deshi boys
Reading level 2+ / 91% / 95% / 83% / 72% / 90% / 94% / 83% / 76% / 90% / 100% / 82% / 67%
Writing level 2+ / 89% / 90% / 78% / 72% / 88% / 88% / 78% / 67% / 88% / 96% / 75% / 67%
Reading level 3+ / 33% / 29% / 21% / 0% / 32% / 6% / 23% / 19% / 34% / 21% / 23% / 5%
Writing level 3+ / 21% / 19% / 9% / 0% / 21% / 13% / 10% / 14% / 20% / 17% / 9% / 0%

In comparison with all pupils nationally in the country, Bangladeshi pupils have below average attainment at the end of each key stage, but this picture is beginning to change with steady improvement mostly among Bangladeshi girls Ofsted reports from many secondary schools are showing that many Bangladeshi pupils are making significant progress compared with other groups

A small scale survey carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) in 2004 to explore the educational experiences of Bangladeshi pupils in English schools found that many parents had high aspirations for their children.

‘My family left Bangladesh because they wanted me, my brothers

and sisters, to have a good education. They wanted us to have a variety of choices of jobs. They wanted us to have good jobs and the jobs that we

wanted. My ambition is to be a lawyer.’

(Ofsted report, HMI 513 May 2004)

The Bangladeshi communities in England are among the most recent of the major South Asian communities to settle here. Significant numbers arrived in the 1960s with most of the families coming from Sylhet, a rural region in the North East of Bangladesh with more than 50% settling in London and surrounding areas. They are generally well established.

However they continue to face many disadvantages in terms of housing, health, employment and education. They are also at higher risk of being victims of racism than most other minority ethnic groups. Free school meals (FSM) data indicate that Bangladeshi pupils have the highest eligibility for FSM at each key stage compared with other groups. Those who came first worked predominantly in the clothing and restaurant trades. This pattern has continued with many Bangladeshis working in the hotel and restaurant industries. However, this picture is beginning to change among the new generation Bangladeshis living in Britain wanting to be employed in professional careers.

Some hypotheses:

Underdeveloped literacy skills in first/home language

Interrupted schooling has an impact on attainment

Lack of English fluency has a major impact on achievement

Parents and pupils may find the culture of learning to be different from that in Bangladesh.

The curriculum does not reflect the culture and religion of Bangladeshi pupils leading to a sense of isolation.

Bangladeshi pupils and their parents may experience racism both in school and in the wider community.

Parents may have insufficient understanding of the education system and a lack of command of English prevents them from being active participants in their children’s education.

There is insufficient careful analysis of data to assess and track pupils’ progress which may result in there being insufficient support to raise the pupils’ achievement

Some suggestions for schools arising from research:

Strong leadership on the monitoring and evaluation of impact on pupils’ learning and attainment

Schools that are effective in raising the attainment of Bangladeshi pupils have the following features:

An ethos hat recognises and celebrates diversity and takes a strong position on tackling racism

Clear policies and effective procedures for admissions, assessment, and the induction of new arrivals,

Analysis of data on pupil performance to track progress and inform teaching and learning

Set challenging targets to raise the achievement levels of Bangladeshi pupils

Set up homework clubs to support pupils’ learning

Use bilingual Bangladeshi staff to build up home-school links to support Bangladeshi families

Ensure effective transition

Inclusive learning and teaching approaches

Monitor work experience opportunities

The cultural heritage of Bangladeshi pupils is reflected in the curriculum

Links are made with Bangladeshi families and plans are developed so that they can be more involved in school life to better support their children’s education

Strengthen the work with parents and the community to support the learning of their children

Key documents

Raising the attainment of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Somali and Turkish heritage pupils – A Management guide and Guidance booklet for developing inclusive practice

http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/secondary/keystage3/all/respub/xc ws raising attain0004308

These booklets are intended to be used to support school senior managers in developing a strategic approach to raising the attainment of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Somali and Turkish heritage pupils in their schools through a focus in key elements of effective inclusive practice, self-evaluation and targeted action.

Achievement of Bangladeshi heritage pupils

HMI 513 May 2004

www.ofsted.gov.uk

This small scale survey explores the educational experience of Bangladeshi pupils in English schools. HMI sought the views of pupils, parents, teachers and members of Bangladeshi communities.

Shared objectives: How supplementary schools contribute to national agendas

This booklet outlines how supplementary schools contribute directly to all five outcomes of Every Child Matters.

Investigating Multilingualism in Bengali Complementary Schools in Birmingham

ESCR., Birmingham, University of Birmingham, ISBN 0704426323. Scroll down the page and click on ‘Attached file: Creese Bengali. pdf to download the

research.

Bangladesh High Commission UK