ESRC Research Seminar Tuesday 20 th April 2010 Social inclusion and links mainstream education

1. ESRC Research Seminar Tuesday 20th April 2010 Social inclusion and links mainstream education How has the Goldsmith’s bilingual learning research project contributed to Tower Hamlets language policy? Jamal Uddin

2. National Drivers • Every Child Matters • European language policy for 21st century • Primary and Secondary National Strategies • Primary Literacy and EMA Strategy • National Languages Strategy • KS2 and KS3 Framework for languages • Every Language Matters • Government Guidance on Community Cohesion • Primary Curriculum • Developing language in the primary school – Literacy and primary languages

3. The Tower Hamlets Context • Two thirds of children and young people are from minority ethnic communities • Over 100 languages • 54% speaks Bengali/Sylheti • 26% English as their first language • The remaining 20% was made up of over 100 home languages • Somali accounts for 2.6% and Arabic 1%, followed by Turkish (0.9%) and Yoruba (0.9%). • Other home languages include most European languages, some • African languages, other languages from the Sub-Continent and S.E Asia, with Portuguese, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian having entered the top 20 in the last few years

4. Local Demands • Language and cultural learning • Competent in mother tongue and intercultural understanding • Self esteem, fluent bilingual and competent in mother tongue • Moral education • Social skills – respecting elders and loving younger • Family values and social cohesion • Religious education and values in faith • Good out of school provision • Good school attainment • Good GCSE results in all subjects including languages • Grow up with potential plurilinual skills that could help their adult life and professional career

5. PUPILS IN TOWER HAMLETS AND THEIR LANGUAGE LEARNING NEEDS Pupils in the borough can be divided into groups according to their language learning needs as follows: • EAL or native English speakers who are fully fluent in two or more languages • EAL pupils who are proficient in English and native English speakers who are working at or above national expectations, but who might still have issues with academic English • EAL pupils and native English speakers working below national expectations and need to develop literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking & listening) • EAL new arrivals with little previous education and no English • EAL new arrivals with full schooling and little/some English • Deaf pupils who use sign language • HI (Hearing Impaired) pupils who need modified language • Blind pupils who use Braille • VI (Visual Impaired) pupils who need modified print • MSI (Multi Sensory Impaired) pupils who may need alternative methods of teaching and learning through a multi sensory curriculum and alternative means of recording • Pupils with additional learning needs may need access to learning and language through communication modes and augmentative communication devices

6. Tower Hamlets Languages Policy

7. Translating the policy into practice

8. Support for primary modern languages • All Key Stage 2 children to have access to modern foreign and community languages teaching and learning throughout Key Stage 2 as part of school curriculum; • A minimum of 60 minutes of modern languages teaching per week within the curriculum time, as either 30 minutes x 2 sessions or 15 minutes x 4 sessions or the best possible model that fits within school timetable, expertise and resources; • A smooth transition of languages skills form Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 and full recognition of primary language learning when children transfer to secondary school; • High quality of language teaching meeting Ofsted requirements • All children to have the opportunity to access to learning of their preferred languages so that they could explore full potential of their linguistic skills as they grow up in adult life and professional career.

9. Community language or EU language – factors to consider when selecting appropriate languages! • Local community languages and it’s growth and demand • Primary schools should be aware of the languages being taught at secondary schools and vice – versa • Languages of the economic world • Languages the children and their families want to learn • Expertise within the school and local community

10. Community language or EU language – factors to consider when selecting appropriate languages! For example: Over 54% of pupils in most our schools speak Bengali as their native or local community language. Most schools have large number of Bengali teaching staff and teaching assistants. Schools could easily priorities to teach Bengali as a modern language as it would be much simple and straightforward to teach given fact that the expertise and resources that are already available in schools. However - choice for languages should be made after consultation with parents, local communities and governors, and in the light of the languages taught at the secondary school into which the primary tends to feed.

11. Key principles • There is no single way to teach a new language but there will be broad agreement about approaches to language teaching and learning and that should be delivered inline with Rose recommendations in primary curriculum; • Primary schools should focus on teaching more than one language including one community language and one EU language; • The national Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages and the Tower Hamlets Key Stage 2 Scheme of Work for Modern Foreign Languages should be used as first points of reference; • Schools should feel free to create their own courses and teaching activities, relevant to the experiences and interests of their own children; • Teaching needs to take full account of the different experiences, strengths and needs of all children, i.e. setting suitable learning challenges; • Responding to diverse needs and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups; • Providing opportunities for cross-curricular links through topics of real interest and relevance to the children within the school;

12. Collaboration with out of school mother tongue provisions (specifically contributed through bilingual research work) There needs to be close liaison between community language classes and the mainstream schools. This will ensure the exchange of ideas and information as well as a pooling of resources. It will also aid continuity of experience in children’s learning. In this way the community language teachers can gain knowledge of mainstream pedagogies, whilst mainstream schools can also learn from the variety of teaching approaches developed in out of school projects. For mainstream schools, collaboration with community language classes would help deliver the Extended Schools agenda and fulfil the duty to promote community cohesion. • It is recommended that mainstream schools: • Offer premises for use by mother tongue classes after school and at weekends • Share resources such as ICT facilities • Invite mother tongue teachers to relevant INSET days in order to exchange knowledge of pedagogies • Invite mother tongue teachers to parents’ evenings to discuss children’s progress

13. Local Authority central support • Disseminate outcomes of research findings • Continue to develop/refine core curriculum building on the Tower Hamlet Languages Policy, Curriculum Framework for Community Languages, Schemes of Work for Languages • Ongoing advice to schools on strategic planning for PML, SEF and Ofsted inspection. • Delegate capacity building standard funds to schools according to govt funding formula and on the basis of the analysis of progress being made by every school • Review and update local authority funding priority for community groups and voluntary sector organisations delivering out of school languages provision • Ongoing support with a specialist language tutor from local authority community language services • Establish a programme of exchange visits to EU and other countries to increase intercultural understanding, knowledge of the target languages and teaching and learning pedagogy • Languages website to provide online resources, teaching materials and audio-video activities to support modern foreign and community languages teaching • Qualitative and quantitative research work to identify the methodology and benefits of language teaching and disseminating good practice across the schools • Borough wide support to celebrate International Language Day and European Day of Languages

14. Training and professional development support • Deliver ongoing CPD for both skilled MFL teachers as well those teachers who are lacking language skills • In-house staff briefing sessions delivered to schools • Training and curriculum support for FLA (First Language Assistants) • Training for headteachers and SLT on PML • Capacity building training for community groups and Third Sector organisations in running successful language projects • In-house training for schools on PML model teaching • In-service training and CPD for community language tutors • Joint training for class teachers, FLA and MT teachers • WLCL course for community language tutors and FLAs

15. Partnership and transition between primary and secondary • Working within extended school clusters • Working within learning networks • Working closely with primary and secondary link advisers • Using resources and expertise across local authorities • Working alongside community groups and voluntary organisations • local cluster or network between feeder primary schools with secondary • Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 network meeting • primary teachers and pupils visiting secondary schools (or vice versa) • video, telephone or email meetings • pupil information being sent to secondary schools

16. Quality Assurance • Monitoring visits to schools by PML advisory teacher and SDAs • Ongoing monitoring by schools – SLT • School Development Plan and SEF • Languages portfolio • Cultural event – children performance