Parents of local primary school children are being helped to break down the language barrier thanks to South Cheshire College.

The College has been delivering ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Beginners' English classes for parents who have youngsters at St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Crewe.

Classes have been taking place for six weeks with ten parents from the school in response to large numbers of EAL (English as an Additional Language) pupils, some of whom have parents who speak little or no English.

The main focus of the sessions has been on improving speaking and listening skills which has helped the parents communicate more effectively with the school about their child and improved their English for everyday life.

Kelly Barker, Head of ESOL at South Cheshire College, said: "The classes at St Mary's have been a great success and we have been pleased to be able to help.

"The feedback from the parents has also been very positive with many students hoping to continue their English studies in the future."

ESOL programmes at all levels are popular courses at the College's Dane Bank Avenue campus.

Parents now have the option to progress to an Entry Level ESOL course at the College to develop their skills further.

The College has also staged classes at Brierley Street and Edleston Road Primary Schools and more beginner level classes are being offered after Easter at Oaktree Children's Centre and Pebble Brook Primary School.

Kelly added: "Hopefully, these classes have benefited all the parents and have also helped the teachers as well."