Q: I have a friend coming to live in Ireland from the Ukraine. The problem, though, is that she has a five-year-old child who does not speak much English. Can this child attend school in Ireland without much English? Will the school make allowances?
A: Primary schools with 15 or more non-english speaking pupils are entitled to the services of a language support teacher. This teacher assists with English language teaching for each pupil up to a maximum of two years.
Individual schools may or may not have access to this service depending on the numbers of non-english speakers enrolled. As most pre-schools in Ireland are run privately, there may be some pre-schools specifically for non-english speaking pupils.
The 'Integrate Ireland Language and Training' organisation may provide you with further information.