§ Mr. Maudeasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will now give new advice to local education authorities about the education of immigrant pupils.
§ Mrs. ThatcherThe Department will publish tomorrow a Survey, prepared by H.M. Inspectorate of Schools, which reviews several aspects of the education of immigrants.
One part of the Survey significantly modifies the advice about dispersal given in Circular 7/65. The Department then took the view that no school could meet the educational needs of its pupils without experiencing considerable strain, if more than one-third of the children were immigrants. The Circular advised local education authorities to avoid higher concentrations of immigrant pupils by rearranging catchment areas or dispersing children over a greater number of schools.
The present Survey draws attention to the educational and other disadvantages of operating a dispersal policy and suggests other more constructive ways of dealing with the problem.