PLANS to centralise English teachers for bi-lingual children in Glasgow's schools will leave pupils struggling to cope, unions warned today.

Glasgow City Council is planning to create a pool of EAL (English as an additional language) teachers where staff would travel to a number of schools instead of being based at individual schools.

Scotland's largest teaching union, the EIS, says the move will overstretch the service at a time when the city's schools are experiencing a huge influx of Eastern European children, many of whom don't speak any English, and heap pressure on mainstream teachers.

At St Annette's primary in Govanhill, a class of 28 includes 14 pupils whose first language is not English.

Union leaders say schools across the city have experienced an increase of around a third in pupil numbers from EU countries including Romania, Slovakia and Poland but with no additional resources to meet this demand.

There are around 140 EAL teachers in the city, based largely in areas with higher concentrations of Asian families, asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants.

Glasgow EIS secretary Willie Hart said: "The council won't solve the issue by simply moving around the staff we have.

"What is essential is that there is a major increase in the number of EAL teachers we have."

Glasgow City Council insists there will be no cuts to the service and the proposed changes will boost parent and pupil involvement.

But teachers fear staff will be deployed to schools who have children with little or no English, taking support away from other pupils who have better English but still need support.

Plans to re-organise the service have now gone out to consultation.

Gordon Matheson, the city council's executive member for education, said: "We are embarking on a widespread consultation which will result in the development of our staff, better parent and pupil involvement, and improved services."