Just as the protests outside asylum hotels of summer 2025 faded from headlines, some anti-immigration groups turned their attention to another target: English classes.
On November 24, a protest was organised outside a primary school in Glasgow, in opposition to an Esol (English for speakers of other languages) class being delivered for parents of children at the school. Holding placards reading “protect our kids”, protesters claimed that these classes presented a danger to children at the school.
The protest was widely publicised by Spartan Child Protection Team, a self-styled vigilante “paedophile hunter” group. Just three weeks earlier, the group circulated complaints online regarding an Esol class taking place in a community learning centre next to a primary school in Renfrew. In response, Renfrewshire Council shut down the classes.
Other anti-immigration groups across Scotland have followed suit, raising “safeguarding concerns” around Esol classes – specifically, the presence of migrant adults in proximity to schools.
Glasgow City Council took a strong stance in response to “social media speculation around family learning opportunities” and the protest at Dalmarnock primary school. They defended the importance of the classes for the school community, refused to tolerate “racism or bigotry of any kind” and labelled the campaign as “misguided and toxic”
“We will also not tolerate strangers and vigilante groups coming into our schools claiming…
Source: UK: Anti-immigrant groups target English classes as Labour government emphasises ‘language skills’
