In the last eight years Glasgow’s education establishments have experienced significant and ongoing changes in both the number and diversity of children who have English as an additional language (EAL).

Currently there are almost 9500 children and young people with EAL - 12.5 percent of the total pupil population, 2400 asylum seeker and refugee children (with 86 different languages) and since 2005, approximately 3000 foreign national children.

Last year the average enrolment rate of foreign national children was approximately 25 pupils - an average school class - per week.

The Council employs 140 additional specialist EAL staff at a cost of £5 million and while the location of staff has not changed over the years the position of the children with EAL needs has.

An extensive consultation process on the current EAL provision, involving teachers, children and young people, parent councils, agencies and external stakeholders was completed in January by the Council.

Councillors at the Executive Meeting today approved the new policy recommendations including a restructuring of the service to better meet the needs of all children with EAL and the authorities statutory requirements under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004.

Staff have been reassured that no jobs will be lost as a result of any changes.

Under the new proposals a Working Group, chaired by Margaret Doran, Executive Director for Education and Social Work Services, will take the development of this valuable service forward - ensuring that staff are deployed to schools and New Learning communities based on an audit of needs by headteachers and staff.

The report also outlined that representation has been made to Scottish Ministers for additional resources to meet the needs in Glasgow.

Bailie Gordon Matheson, Executive Member for Education and Social Renewal welcomed the new recommendations and said after the meeting: "Glasgow employs many more teaching specialists, to support children and young people whose first language isn't English, than any other council in the country.

"However, we need to change how we allocate and organise this service to better meet recent population changes in this increasingly diverse city.

"We have consulted very widely about this restructure. No jobs will be lost as a result of these changes and we will be able to offer better support to more of our staff and pupils."