Concern over language funding


THERE are now 60 different languages spoken in Maidstone schools as pupils’ first language, but there are fears that a change in funding will make it harder for them to integrate. Tracy Crute, a KCC specialist teacher forminority and bilingual achievement, saysMaidstone has become similar to many London boroughs with a significant number of local children now having English as their second language. For instance, 24%of pupils in St Francis Catholic School in Oakwood Park have a first language dif- ferent from English. Some of these children may come from Catholic Filipino parents who are working atMaidstone Hospital, and others from European economic migrants. She insists KCC is coping with the challenges this presents, but


from April the £2m government funding that supports her team will be given directly to schools,who will chose what they dowith their share. Ofsted has expressed some concern, especially about “advanced learners”, asKCCwill lose control over whether resources for language and other ways to integrate children into schools are spent wisely. Alex Turner, chairman of Maidstone Local Children’s Trust, said:


“So much has been done to help children and their families learn English and to start integrating into nurseries, schools and the community in Maidstone. “It is hoped that the experience of Maidstone schools –where al-


most every school has children with English as an additional lan- guage, and is working well with their families– will enable them


Working with


the Gurkhas AS local Nepalese families have moved out of theMaid- stone barracks and begun to become part of the wider community, they have left the protection and resources of the Army. However, schools like St


Paul’s Infant School and North Borough Junior School are working well with these families and their children, even when their first lan- guagemay be Nepalese (this was called Gurkhali – lan- guage of the Gurkhas).


Drop litter at


your peril! LITTER louts in Maidstone need to clean up their act – or face a hefty fine. Since the council’s en- forcement teams were hired last July, they collected £345,000 in penalty notices and issue an average of 85 tickets each week. Four officers from London company XFOR operate in teams of two across the town centre, issuing fines of £75 to people caught dropping litter. However, it is not all profit


for the council as almost half of the fine goes towards pay- ing for XFOR’s services. It is estimated the enforce-


ment teams have issued 6,120 penalty notices since July. The amount collected in fines does not include costs awarded from courts if some- one is prosecuted and found guilty. XFOR operates a litter en- forcement service for six councils across the UK and employs six staff to run its Maidstone operation – two administration officers and the four enforcement officers.


26 East


to recognise the benefits of these kind of services and the expert- ise behind them.” The government announcement on the funding changes was an- nounced last year and is to come into force at the beginning of the next financial year. A KCC spokesman said: “Now that the money has been devolved out to schools it will be up to them to decide what meets their needs.” Ms Crute addressed a confer-


ence at the Masonic Centre in Tovil. The 70 people present from children’s centres, nurs- eries and primary schools were invited by Paul Shallcross and Fiona Miller from theMaidstone Preventative Services Team. She explained that KCC has


been working to help schools deal with minority groups for some years. Many Maidstone schools and nurseries are now able to cope with these new youngsters, who will become at least bilingual, without as much support as they used to need.


Travellers’ language a spoken


tradition, and rarely written TRAVELLER children tend to be good primary school attendees. They largely come from Romany or Irish traveller cultures.


Many of these children are already bi-lingual when they come into school, especially if the families have traditionally lived in the UK. They arrive speaking English as well as perhaps Shelta or Gam-


mon if Irish travellers, or a form of Sanskrit, which originates from Northern India if they are Romany. However, the problem for these children is that their language


does not tend to bewritten. Indeed,many older family members may not read or write, as their language is a spoken tradition. This means that, as travellers integrate into the local culture, they may lose their own language. Not many schools have information on traveller language and


many children want to know more about their own culture as well as the mainstream British culture.


High flying Win celebrates


a century – not out! A SING-SONG and series of surprise parties marked a Maidstone woman’s centenary. Winifred Harris arrived in the world on January 4,


1912 as the third of seven children. Today, she is mother to two sons and a daughter, grandmother of eight – and great-grandmother to 17! Win still enjoys excellent health and has a catalogue


of tales to tell which would put many a younger woman to shame. Born, baptised and married – for almost 50 years to Alfred Smith – in Thurnham,Win waswidowed a few months before her golden wedding. However, already in her 70s, she went on to marry her childhood sweetheart, widower Ernest Harris, who had worked with Alfred at Reeds Paper Mill – and spent eight happy years with him until his death in 1993. It was then thatWin’s life really took off – both literally and metaphorically. Every year since 1994, she


Win Harris – living life to the full at 100


has taken to the air to visit her niece Josephine, initially in Canada and now in Nassau, the Bahamas. When she is not jetting off to sunnier climes,Win is to be found playing whist at St Andrew’s Church, Barming, or joiningMadginford Seniors for their weekly social. Win now lives with her daughter Brenda and son-in-law Ernie in Whiteheads Lane, Bearsted, while sons Peter and Alfred live close by.


Transport improvements a priority MAIDSTONE’S transport diffi- culties need to be addressed as a priority if the town is to have a growing economy. Although the council excels


in areas such as housing and waste collection, the transport network needs improvement, the council’s cabinet was told. The council has had to make


tough decisions as a result of budgetary cuts since drawing


up its strategic plan for 2011- 2015 and now needs to re- assess its priorities. The cabinet agreed the town needed a transport network to support the local economy if it was to grow and prosper. It needed to work closely with KCC on a transport strategy, which would include parking improvements and a shift in consumer behaviour.


Her family organised a sur-


prise celebration at the Hilton Hotel, Maidstone, for 65 friends and relatives, but the partying first got underway atMadginford Hall, where the Madginford Sen- iors Club organised a sing-song and a bumper birthday cake. Win has never driven, doesn’t smoke and drinks only in mod- eration – one tot ofwhisky a day. It is a recipe that certainly seems to have paid off.


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‘Don’t push them too hard’ AS a rule, teachers tend not to push the non-English speaking children too hard and even though they may be silent for some months, they are taking the language in.


Using pictures and other non-verbal cues, the children can be encouraged to slowly join in. Keeping parents fully involved is most important so that the nursery or school can understand the culture that the child has come from and some of their experi- ences in coming into the UK. All will have had some dis- ruption of their education and some may also have had major traumas. Achievement by these pupils still needs to be sup- ported, even once the child seems fluent in English. For instance, the grammar schools in Maidstone have needed some specialist help for “advanced learners” who have been here for more than two years. When you think and dream in English, which may take many years, you have integrated English into yourself.


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