Rising Costs and Controversy Over EAL Funding in UK Schools
Schools in the UK are receiving substantial financial support to educate students who do not speak English as their first language, with some institutions pocketing up to £700,000 annually. According to recent data from the Department for Education (DfE), two schools—located in Manchester and Northampton—have received at least £500,000 each this year to cover the costs of translators, bilingual teaching assistants, and support materials.
The funding is not specifically earmarked for these purposes but is instead integrated into a school’s overall budget. Local authorities have stated that this money can be used for “almost anything,” raising questions about its allocation and effectiveness.
Nationally, schools received a record £539 million this year to support pupils who have English as an additional language (EAL). For the 2026-27 academic year, this figure is expected to rise to £572 million. Since modern records began in 2020, costs have increased by £157 million, prompting criticism from some quarters over the rising burden on taxpayers.
The increase in EAL funding has been linked to rising immigration levels, which have reached all-time highs. In parts of the country, English is no longer the primary language for most students. For example, two-thirds of children in Newham, east London, speak another language as their first tongue.
Criticism and Calls for Change
Chris McGovern, a representative of the right-wing pressure group Campaign for Real Education, has criticized the focus on immigrant students, arguing that policymakers should instead prioritize the needs of white working-class children. He told the Daily Mail: “Stop pitying them, we obsess about it far too much and we don’t need to fret about them – we need to worry about the white working-class kids.”
McGovern emphasized that while children without sufficient English skills require support, this should occur before they enter the school system. He suggested setting up special centers or target schools within each local authority to provide pre-education English courses for struggling students.
Other campaigners have also called for funding to be explicitly redirected to white working-class children, who they argue are being overlooked and falling behind. Only one in five white working-class pupils achieve a good pass in English and maths, compared to 45.4% across all demographics.
The EAL Definition and National Trends
The DfE defines EAL as pupils who have been exposed to a language other than English during early development and continue to be exposed to it in the home or community. A child born in Britain may still qualify as EAL if they grew up speaking another language. Some EAL students may even be proficient in English.
According to the 2024/25 school census, English is not the first language of 1.8 million pupils, or one in five. This number has risen from 1.2 million a decade ago. Schools receive extra funding for EAL pupils through the national funding formula, which accounts for the higher costs associated with educating these students.
Local authorities distribute the funds within their regions, and the funding algorithm also considers the number of pupils with special needs and those living in deprived areas.
Top Recipients of EAL Funding
Manchester Academy, a secondary school located in the crime-ridden Moss Side suburb, received over £670,000 in EAL funding for the 2025/26 academic year, more than any other school. Northampton International Academy received £517,287, and St Claudine’s Catholic School for Girls in Brent, north London, received £459,659.
On average, schools received around £27,418 in EAL funding, or approximately £320 per pupil who does not speak English as a first language. Most of this money goes toward teachers specializing in teaching English to non-native speakers, bilingual assistants, and interpreters for parent-teacher meetings.
Job advertisements often seek translators fluent in languages such as Romanian, Arabic, and Polish. However, around 2,000 schools from the Daily Mail’s audit did not disclose funding figures. Of these, approximately 1,700 received no EAL funding, while the rest merged with new multi-academy trusts and generated new identity numbers that cannot be compared over time.
Concerns About Integration and Learning
The findings come after previous investigations revealed that English is not the first language for the majority of pupils at over 2,000 schools nationwide. Two schools had no students whose mother tongue was English.
Critics have raised concerns that the diversity of languages spoken in schools can be disruptive to learning and integration. Teachers have previously reported increasing pressure due to mass immigration and have called for better funding to manage the range of languages spoken by students.
EAL provision is now part of Ofsted’s new ranking system. A DfE spokesperson said: “Every child deserves a high-quality education, including children who speak English as an additional language.” They added that schools are trusted to make decisions about how to use their funding effectively.
The government aims to break the link between background and success, halving the disadvantage gap for this generation. Initiatives like Mission North East and Mission Coastal are designed to improve outcomes for white working-class children and disadvantaged communities, alongside plans to reform how disadvantage funding is allocated to schools.
