Thousands of schoolchildren who do not speak English as a first language are less likely to fulfil their potential because they are missing out on vital government funding, it is claimed.

Just over 17,000 children, 50 per cent of the pupils in the borough, do not speak English as their native tongue, according to official figures from the Department of Education.

And critics believe government funding to help the poorest pupils is missing many whose prospects of success are diminished because they do not have access to enough English language support.

Waltham Forest Council estimates it will receive £8.8 million in 2013-14 to work with children who receive free school meals (FSM), to tackle the inequality between their own and other pupils’ learning.

But the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the council itself have criticised the government for apparently overlooking pupils whose first language is not English, calling for funding to provide them with more support.

Local NUT representative, Steve White, teaches one day a week at Leytonstone School in Colworth Road.

He said: “I have kids in my class who don’t have English at all. There’s a girl who arrived in year eight who didn’t speak any English. She’s chucked in at the deep end.

“She can only select certain lessons where she is supported. It fundamentally affects learning if you can’t understand the lesson – it affects science, maths, everything.”

Cabinet member for children’s services Clare Coghill added that many families of such children do not speak English at home and may not know how to access support such as FSM.

She added: “We can have up to 60 languages spoken in a school and so where pupils used to learn English from their peers, that additional support from assistants is absolutely invaluable.

“However whilst there may be instances of overlap between children new to this country and those on FSM it’s not guaranteed.”

Mrs Coghill claimed children suffer from ‘churn’ too, where they move from school to school without any continuity of support, so their learning is dislocated.

Some schools are tackling the problem by teaching English to parents of pupils, such as at South Grove Primary School, in Ringwood Road, Walthamstow.

The school won a National Award for Adult Education last month for its Learning Together programme.

Extended services manager Brigid Montgomery said: “It does help parents who feel isolated not speaking English form friendships with each other and communicate better with the school.”

A DfE spokeswoman said: “Many schools teach pupils whose first language is not English successfully. Through the school funding formula, councils can provide more support for pupils whose first language is not English for up to three years from when they first enter education."