inclusion and equality part 4: evaluating educational ...1 learning in 2(+) languages (learning and...

Inclusion and Equality

Part 4: Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners

How goodis our school? SELF-EVALUATION SERIES

E

Inclusion and Equality

Part 4: Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners

ii

© Crown copyright 2006

Astron B47864 9-06

ISBN 0 7053 1099 X

HM Inspectorate of Education

This material may be copied without further permission by education authorities and education institutionsin Scotland for use in school self-evaluation and planning.

The report may be produced in part, except for commercial purpose, or in connection with a prospectusor advertisement, provided that the source and date thereof are stated.

iii

Contents page

Introduction 1

The role of self-evaluation 5

Quality indicators and work pads 9

Acknowledgements 23

iv

How goodis our school?

1 Learning in 2(+) Languages (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2005).2 Throughout this publication the terms ‘home language’ and ‘first language’ are both used to indicate thelanguage(s) other than English used by the child with his/her family. The home or first language is usuallythe vehicle through which pre-literacy skills are developed.

1

Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners

Introduction

This document is one of a series of guides to self-evaluation which builds onthe advice given in the publication How good is our school? (2002 edition).

This guide should be used to evaluate the quality of educational provision forbilingual learners, principally those who are learning English as an additionallanguage (throughout the document the term “bilingual learners” is taken tomean learners for whom English is an additional language). The guide is designedfor use by headteachers, senior managers, teachers, specialist English as anadditional language (EAL) staff and education authority officers. It highlightseffective ways in which schools can fully support bilingual learners. “Bilinguallearners are pupils who function in more than one language in their dailylives. The term ‘bilingual’ emphasises that learners already have one languageand that English is a second or additional language. The term does not implyan equal or specified level of fluency in two or more languages.”1

Bilingual learners live throughout Scotland. They are not a homogeneousgroup. They differ from each other in many ways, including:

• The language(s) they speak at home2

• The number of other languages they speak• Their cultural, religious, social and economic backgrounds• Their previous educational experience• Their level of proficiency in English and their home language(s)• Their individual personalities, learning styles and other individual

differences• Other additional support needs they might have including, for example,

potential for high achievement, general or specific learning difficulties,sensory impairment

• The level of support they have from their home and their community• Their breadth of exposure to English language and Scottish culture

Sources of advice and legislation

A Curriculum for Excellence (2004)

A Curriculum for Excellence stresses that the curriculum should enable youngpeople of Scotland to develop as:

• successful learners;• confident individuals;• responsible citizens; and• effective contributors.

2


In implementing A Curriculum for Excellence, schools should build on pupils’learning and achievements, within and beyond school. Bilingual learners havea number of particular strengths including their experience of differentlanguages. However, some will require additional support if they are tomaximise their progress in school and achieve to their fullest potential.

Learning in 2(+) Languages (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2005)

This report identified the following key issues as important when workingwith bilingual learners.

Effective Teaching and Learning – this includes providing an appropriatelearning environment, having high expectations, planning for bilinguallearners, using appropriate strategies, monitoring and tracking attainmentand achievement.

Communication with parents – this involves ensuring that parents aremade welcome and that appropriate measures are taken to ensure theirinvolvement.

Valuing and promoting home language – schools should show thatthey value learners’ home languages and provide opportunities for learners touse and develop their home languages.

Staff support and development – staff need support in developing theexpertise to support bilingual learners.

The Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000

This Act places duties upon local authorities to ensure that schools meet theneeds of all their pupils and encourage them to achieve their full potential,and raise educational standards.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004

This Act introduced a new framework to provide for children and young peoplewho require some additional support with their learning. The definition ofadditional support provided in the Act is a wide one. Bilingual learners can beincluded if they require additional support to that which might normally beprovided in a school to ensure that they make good progress in theirlearning. Schools have a key role to play in maximising the potential ofbilingual learners. They should be proactive in addressing the learning needs,and raising the achievement, of bilingual learners. The Scottish Executive’sCode of Practice (2005) provides helpful advice for schools and others onimplementing the terms of the Act.

3


The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

This Act places a general duty on public authorities (including educationauthorities) to:

• eliminate unlawful racial discrimination;• promote equality of opportunity; and• promote good relations between people of different racial groups.

Scottish Ministers impose specific duties on certain public authorities to helpthem meet the general duty. As part of this specific duty order, educationauthorities must publish a race equality policy setting out, among otherthings, how they will assess and monitor the impact of their policies on pupilsof different racial groups, with particular reference to their attainment levels,but with reference also to more general aspects such as admissions,assessment, or the use of disciplinary measures against them.

Local education authorities and schools/other educational establishments arerequired to identify and tackle barriers to achievement including institutionalracism. (The Macpherson Report, 1999 defines institutional racism as:“the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate andprofessional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin.It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amountto discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessnessand racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people. It persistsbecause of the failure of the organisation openly and adequately to recogniseand address its existence and causes by policy, example and leadership”.)

4


National Priorities

Improving the educational outcomes for bilingual learners is an important issuewithin the five National Priorities for Education.

1. To raise standards of education forall in schools.

2. To establish effective teaching andlearning environments.

3. To promote equality and help everylearner benefit from education.

4. To work with others to teachlearners respect and the duties andresponsibilities of citizenship.

5. To equip learners with the skills,attitudes and expectations necessaryto prosper in a changing society.

Schools and local authorities should haveclear approaches to tackleunderachievement and to ensure that allbilingual learners reach their full potential.The progress and attainment of all bilinguallearners should be closely monitored.

Schools should ensure that approaches toteaching and learning take full account ofthe linguistic strengths and needs ofbilingual learners, in English and, wherepossible, in their home language.

Schools should promote equality byensuring that bilingual learners are givenfull access to the mainstream curriculumand are given the opportunity to learnalongside able and articulate speakers ofEnglish.

Staff, learners, parents and the communityshould work cooperatively to develop allareas and aspects of citizenship thusensuring that bilingual learners can makevaluable contributions to the community.

Schools should equip bilingual learnerswith the skills, strategies, attitudes andexpectations necessary to enable them tolearn independently through their homelanguage and through English.

5


The role of self-evaluation

This self-evaluation guide will help you to evaluate your current practice andidentify strengths and areas for further development. You can use theresources to identify ways of improving the quality of educational outcomesfor bilingual learners.

The work pads in the guide have been prepared to assist you to assess currentstrengths and areas for improvement. A range of approaches and sources ofinformation should be used to collect evidence. For example, first-handevidence from questionnaires and interviews with key stakeholders will ensurethat the views of stakeholders are collected thoroughly and systematically.

Self-evaluation in practice

This guide:

• asks key questions derived from themes within selected indicators fromHow good is our school?;

• looks at how evidence can be captured from more than one source inorder to provide a robust basis for evaluations; and

• encourages you to reflect upon and weigh up the strengths and areas ofimprovement from observations in order to come to an overall evaluationof the quality of provision.

You can then use the evaluations and evidence to plan for improvement andto report on the standards and quality of what you have found.

Planning forimprovement

Evaluation

Reporting onstandards and

quality

What are wegoing to do now?

How are wedoing?

How do weknow?

6


The following provides a helpful basis for summarising the evidence consideredfor evaluating the relevant indicators from How good is our school?.

Note down the sources of evidence on which you are basingyour evaluation in the boxes below.

People consulted:

Direct observation undertaken:

Data analysed:

Documentation and resources reviewed:

7


Fill in your record of the strengths and areas for improvement for each ofthe quality indicators using the grids on the following pages.

In the box below, note the overall evaluation for each of theindicators.

Key question

To what extent are bilingual learnersmaking very good progress and improvingtheir levels of attainment?

To what extent does the teaching andlearning environment stimulate andmotivate bilingual learners?

How effectively do we meet bilinguallearners’ learning needs?

How effective are our arrangements toassess bilingual learners’ progress andachievement?

How effectively does our school work inpartnership with parents, professionals, keyagencies and support workers?

How successfully does our school consultwith parents and take full account of theirviews and concerns?

How effective is our school in ensuring allstaff are confident and appropriatelytrained when working with bilinguallearners?

Overallevaluation

QI fromHow good isour school?

2.1

3.3

3.4

3.5

4.8

5.4

6.6

8


The Journey to Excellence

Not all schools are at the same starting point with regard to self-evaluation.Some schools have a strong sense of their strengths and weaknesses and atrack record for improvement. These schools are ready to aim for excellence.

In March 2006, HMIE published practical advice to those schools and pre-schoolcentres which were ready to aim for excellence. This publication, How good isour school?: The Journey to Excellence, HMIE 2006, uses 10 dimensions whichdescribe the features of an excellent school.

You may find it helpful to explore the dimensions of excellence and theassociated key features you improve your provision for bilingual learners.

The 10 Dimensions of Excellence

PROMOTESWELL-BEING AND

RESPECT

WORKS TOGETHERWITH PARENTS TOIMPROVE LEARNING

WORKS INPARTNERSHIPS WITHOTHER AGENCIES AND

ITS COMMUNITY

VALUES ANDEMPOWERS ITS STAFF

ANDYOUNG PEOPLE

DEVELOPS ACOMMON VISION

AMONGST CHILDRENAND YOUNG PEOPLE,PARENTS AND STAFF

REFLECTS ON ITSOWN WORK AND

THRIVES ONCHALLENGE

FOSTERS HIGHQUALITY LEADERSHIP

AT ALL LEVELS

DEVELOPS ACULTURE OF

AMBITION ANDACHIEVEMENT

ENGAGES YOUNG PEOPLEIN THE HIGHEST QUALITYLEARNING ACTIVITIES

FOCUSES ON OUTCOMES ANDMAXIMISES SUCCESS FOR

ALL LEARNERS

SUCCESSFULLEARNERS

EFFECTIVECONTRIBUTORS

RESPONSIBLECITIZENS

CONFIDENTINDIVIDUALS

LLEARNING AND TEACHIN

G

9


Quality indicators and work pads

Introduction

The following pages focus on a selection of indicators and themes from Howgood is our school?. This section consists of work pads for use to evaluate thequality of your provision for bilingual learners. Each activity highlights the keyquestions for you to ask, and provides space for you to record strengths andareas for development.

10


Goodpractice

•Teachershave

good

know

ledgeofbilinguallearners’p

riorattainment

from

inform

ationpassedon

bypreviousteachersor

schools,including

wherepossibleinform

ationfrom

schoolsfrom

anothercountry

translated

into

English.They

usethisinform

ationto

assessneedsand

identifynextstepsinlearning.

•Teachersareaw

arethattheremay

beadevelopmentalgap

between

pupils’understanding

andtheirdevelopmentoflanguage

skillsin

English.(Theremay

bedevelopmentgapsbetweenskillsinfirst

language

andskillsinEnglishandagapbetweenunderstandingand

expression.)Staffsupportlearnersto

transferinto

English,those

conceptsandskillsthatthey

have

developed

intheirfirstlanguage.

•Allteachershave

appropriatelyhigh

expectations

ofbilinguallearners.

Thisisreflected

intheplacementofpupilsinclasses,setsandgroups.

•Learnersaremakingsteady

progressintheircoursework.

•Teachersassessbilinguallearnersinrelationto

appropriatelevelsof

attainment.Unlessthereisgood

reason

todo

otherwise,bilingual

learnersundertakethesameschoolassessmentsas

theirpeersand

preparefornationally

recognised

qualifications.

•Bilinguallearnersattainwell,makeprogressthrough5-14

levelsand

achievesuccessinnationalexaminations.

•Schoolsareaw

areofalternativeEnglishexam

inations

atsecondary

level(e.g.

EnglishforSpeakersofOtherLanguages(ESO

L)qualifications/InternationalEnglishLanguage

TestingSystem

(IELTS)

forlearnerswho

might

requirethese).

Key

questions

Towhatextent

areour

bilinguallearnersmaking

verygood

progressfrom

theirpriorlevelsof

attainment?

Towhatextent

areour

bilinguallearnersmaking

verygood

progressin

relationto

national

expectations?

How

successfulisour

schoolinraisingthe

attainmentofbilingual

learners?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

OverallqualityofattainmentThisindicatorisconcernedwith

thefollowingthem

es:

•Theschool’sprogressinraising

attainment•

Pupils’

progressinlearning

•Pupils’

attainmentinrelationto

5-14

levelsand/or

innationalexaminations

•Evaluations

across

otherrelatedquality

indicators

11


Goodpractice

•Procedures

areinplace

andresourcesareappropriatelytargeted

tosupportraisingattainment.Resourcesarefocusedon

meeting

identifiedpupiltargets.Forexam

ple,bilinguallearnershave

accessto

theirschool’ssupportedstudysessions

priorto

nationalexaminations.

FocusedEALsupportteachestheskillsrequiredto

helplearnersto

progressfrom

oneleveltoanother.Pupilsupportassistantscarryout

consolidationactivities.

•Theschoolmonitorsotheraspectsoflearners’p

erform

ance,e.g.

attendance,levelofinvolvem

entinthewiderlifeoftheschool,

subjectuptake,exclusions.Teachersworkwith

learnersandfamilies

tosecurenecessaryimprovements.

•Achievementsarerecognised

andcelebrated

througharangeof

activities,includingassemblies,displays,newsletters,open

days.

Bilinguallearnershave

thesamevariedandfrequent

opportunitiesto

shareachievem

entsandsuccessesrelatedto

theirlanguagesandtheir

culturalbackgrounds

astheirpeers.

•Theschoolvalues

bilingualism.Theschoolencourages

parentsto

workinpartnershipinprom

otinganddeveloping

theirchild’sfirst

language.Wherestaffingisavailable,teaching

andsupportisprovided

todeveloplearners’firstlanguage.Inform

ationisprovidedabout

community

language

schools.

Key

questions

How

successfullydo

we

promotewider

achievem

entam

ong

bilinguallearners?

How

effectivelydo

we

show

thatwevalue

bilingualism?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Overallqualityofattainment(continued)

12


Goodpractice

•Thelearning

environm

entisstimulatingandchallenging.

Classroom

sarewellorganised,with

clearly

understood

routines

inplace.

Classroom

displays

supportlanguage

developmentandlearning

atalllevels.Whereappropriate,bilingualnotices

areused.

•Teachersareaw

arethatbilinguallearnersmay

have

difficulty

inaccessingthecurriculum

becauseoffactorsinthelearning

environm

ent.Appropriatestepsaretakento

overcomesuch

barriers

bymodifyingresourcesandteaching

approaches,forexam

pleby

usingpicturesor

rephrasingideas.

•Thecurriculum

reflectsbilinguallearners’interests,previous

experiences,culturaland

religious

diversity

andam

bitions

forthe

future.Staffavoidstereotyping.

They

ensurethatlearnershave

opportunitiesto

broadentheirunderstandingoftheworldand

provide

experiences

outwith

learners’immediateexperiences.

•Lessonsprovide

appropriatecognitive

challengeto

bilinguallearners.

•Thepaceoflessonsenableslearnersto

makegood

progressintheir

learning.

•Teacherssharelearning

aimswith

learnersandrecapandconsolidate

attheendoflessons.

•Teachersorganise

classroom

activities

toprovide

learnerswith

opportunitiesfordiscussion

toaidtheirlearning.

•Teachersmakesurethatthey

provide

learnerswith

appropriate

amountsof‘thinkingtim

e’.

Key

questions

Towhatextent

does

the

learning

environm

entin

ourschoolstimulateand

motivatebilingual

learnersto

learn?

How

flexiblydoes

ourschool

enablepupilsto

access

thecurriculum

toovercomebarriersto

learning?

How

effectivelydoes

the

paceoflearning

support

bilinguallearners?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Pupils’learningexperiencesThisindicatorisconcernedwith

thefollowingthem

es:

•Extent

towhich

thelearning

environm

entstimulates

andmotivates

pupils•Pace

oflearning

•Personalresponsibilityforlearning

,ind

ependent

thinking

andactiveinvolvem

entin

learning

•Interactionwith

others

13


Goodpractice

•Learnershave

opportunitiesto

workcollaborativelyinawidevariety

ofgroups.Groupings

change

tosuitlearners’needs

andlearning

outcom

es.Teachersprovide

opportunitiesforbilinguallearnersto

workwith

fluentspeakersofEnglishwho

provide

good

modelsof

English.

•Learnershave

opportunitiesto

workwith

theirpeerson

challenging

tasks.Thisprovidesthem

with

supportforthelanguage

requiredto

completethetask.

•Learnersexperienceawiderangeoflearning

approaches.Forexam

ple,

teachersorganise

activities

which

includetalk,roleplay,individual

study,visualmaterialand

practicaltasks.

•Learnersunderstand

theirow

nlearning

needsanddevelopthe

confidence

toaskforhelpor

clarificationwhenthey

need

it.

•Learnersareencouraged

toaskquestions

andexpresstheirneedsin

theclassroomusingtheirfirstlanguage,for

exam

ple,to

communicate

with

otherlearners,parentsorstaffpresent

who

speaktheirlanguage.

Key

questions

How

effectiveistheschool

inpromotingcollaboration

betweenbilinguallearners

andtheirpeers?

How

effectiveisourschool

inencouragingbilingual

learnersto

becomemore

activeintheirow

nlearning?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Pupils’learningexperiences(continued)

14


Goodpractice

•Teachersorganise

tasksanduseresourceswhich

positivelyrepresentall

sections

ofsocietyandchallengeprejudice,injusticeandracistview

s.

•Resourcesanddisplays

reflectamultiracialsocietyandencourage

learners’self-esteem

,culturalidentity,aspirations

andcareerchoice

inanon-stereotypicalway.

•Resourcesareavailableinappropriateform

atsto

enablelearnersto

accessthecurriculum

effectively.Forexam

ple,duallanguage

books,

websitesandbilingualdictionariesareavailableforlearnerswho

are

literateintheirhomelanguage.

•Whereavailable,EALandbilingualsupportstaffareused

effectivelyto

supportlearning

andofferspecialistadvice.Class/subjectteachersare

learners’firstlineofsupport.

•Therearestructured

opportunitiesforlearnersto

talkinEnglishandin

theirfirstlanguage

wherepossible.Thistalkprovidesopportunitiesto

rehearse

andusemeaningfullanguageincontext.Teachersrecognise

theimportanceoftalkindevelopingconceptsandlanguage.They

provide

opportunitiesfortalkpriorto

readingandwritingtasks.

•Teachersuseavarietyofmethodologies

suitableforbilinguallearners.

Forexam

ple,they

usekeyvisuals,collaboration,scaffolding,

paired

reading,

peersupport,thinking

time,mindmaps,writingfram

es,and

multilingualresources.

•TeachersuseICTto

supportlanguage

developmentandlearning.

They

provide

accessto

materialinfirstlanguage,as

requiredto

provide

contextualised

supportforlearning.

Key

questions

How

effectivelydo

the

resourcesintheschool

enablebilinguallearners

toaccessthecurriculum

?

How

effectivelydo

teachersinourschool

developlearners’

language

skillsto

enable

them

toaccessthefull

curriculum

?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Meetingpupils’needsThisqualityindicatorisconcernedwith

thefollowingthem

es:

•Choiceof

tasks,activities

andresources•Provisionforpupilswith

differin

gab

ilitiesan

daptitudes

•Identificationof

learning

needs

15


Meetingpupils’needs(continued)

Goodpractice

•An

effectivebuddy/peersystem

supportsnewlyenrolledbilingual

learnerscomingintoclassandschool.The

buddyhelpswith

orientation,

explaining

routines,providing

friendship,supportandintegration.Where

possible,the

buddysharesthefirstlanguage.

•Teachersusebackground

inform

ationgathered

atenrolmenttoidentify

areaswherebilinguallearnersmay

require

support.

•Staffhaveaccesstospecialistadvice

andinform

ationpertaining

toimmigrationissuestoensurethatbarrierstolearning

canbe

addressed.

•Theschoolhascreatedclearremits

androlesforEALandbilingualstaff

andallschoolstaffareaw

areofthem

.

•Akeymem

berofschoolmanagem

enthasresponsibilityforoverseeing

theeffectivedeploymentofEALandbilingualstaffinliaisonwith

EAL

servicemanagerswhereavailable.

•EALandbilingualstaffw

orkcollaborativelywith

classteacherstoensure

thatallbilinguallearners’needsaremet.

Key

questions

Whatspecificstepsdo

we

take

toalleviateany

potentialbarriersto

learning

dueto

different

culturaland

previous

learning

experiences?

How

effectivelydo

EAL

andbilingualsupport

staffprovide

supportto

bilinguallearners?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

16


Goodpractice

•Theschoolgathersinform

ationon

learners’language/literacy

backgroundsfrom

avarietyofsources.Theseincludefamilies,previous

teachers/school,departm

ents,andEALteachers.

•Theschoolanalyses

attainmentdataforbilinguallearnersand

identifiesnotablefeatures

ofperform

ance

andareaswheresupportis

needed.Teachersinterpretanduseattainmentdataforbilingual

learnersappropriately.Forexam

ple,they

trackindividualpupil

progress,andcomparelearners’p

rojected

andactualperform

ance.

Teachers,learnersandparentsuseassessmentinform

ationto

agree

nextstepsandtargets.

•Teacherstake

accountoffactorswhich

may

affectlearners’

perform

ance

inan

assessment,e.g.

length

oftim

elearning

through

English,thelinguistic

demands

ofthetasks.

•Teachersensurethatlearnersareprovidedwith

appropriatesupportto

enablethem

toaccessform

alassessmentsandunderstand

the

language

andthecontextoftheassessment.

•Learnershave

accessto

additionalsupportwith

nationalexaminations

(bilingualdictionaries,extratim

e)whereappropriate.

•Assessm

entarrangem

entstake

appropriateaccountofculturaland

religious

practices,forexam

ple,fasting.

Key

questions

How

effectiveareour

arrangem

entsto

assess

bilinguallearners’

progressand

achievem

ent?

How

effectivelydoes

our

schooluseassessment

inform

ationto

improve

thelearning

ofbilingual

learners?

Towhatextent

doour

school’sassessment

proceduresprovide

supportforbilingual

learners?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Assessm

entas

partofteachingThisqualityindicatorisconcernedwith

thefollowingthem

es:

•assessmentmethods

andarrang

ementsforrecording•judgem

entsmadein

thecourse

ofteaching

•useof

assessmentinform

ation

17


Goodpractice

•Teachersuseawiderangeofform

ativeassessmentstrategies

and

modify

aspectsoftheirteaching

toensurethatpupilslearnwell.

•Teachersengage

inlearning

dialogueswith

pupilsto

provide

them

with

feedback

ontheirlearning

andto

preparethem

forfurther

learning.

•Learnersconfidently

useform

ativeassessmentstrategies

such

astraffic

lights,twostarsandawish,peerandselfassessment.

•Teachersensurethatlearnersareaw

areoftheirnextstepsinlearning.

•Theschoolhasrobustproceduresinplace

formonitoringtheEnglish

language

developmentofbilinguallearners,forexam

plealanguage

profiletracking

progressinkeyaspectsofEnglish(reading,writing,

talking,

listening),assessmentofthepupil’sstageofEnglishlanguage

acquisition.

Key

questions

How

effectivelydo

we

ensurethatassessment

forlearning

isan

integral

partofclassroom

practice?

How

effectivearethe

strategiesweusetoensure

thatbilinguallearnersare

awareoftheirprogress

andtheirnextsteps?

How

effectiveareour

approachesto

ensuring

thatlearnersdevelopskills

inEnglishlanguage?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Assessm

entas

partofteaching(continued)

18


Goodpractice

•Theschoolfollowsnational,localand

educationauthority

policiesand

procedureswhich

addressrace

equality,discrim

inationand

bilingualism,includingthemonitoringofracistincidentswithin

educationalestablishm

ents.

•Theschoolisaw

areof,andmakes

useof,thefullrangeofeducation

authority

supportforbilinguallearners.

•Theschoolworksinpartnershipwith

adesignated

officerofthe

educationauthority,whereappropriate,to

review

enrolment,

attendance,attainmentandachievem

entofbilinguallearners.

•Theschoolworkswith

otheragencies

andorganisations

which

are

involved

insupportingtheeducationaland

pastoralneeds

ofbilingual

learners.Thesecanincludesocialworkservices,asylum

supportteam

s,thelocalhealth

board,

localcollege,community

police,interpreting

services,localreligious

communities,community

language

schools,

agencies

supportingminority

ethniccommunities,libraryservices,

schoolyouthworkers,careersofficers.

•Allservices

workwelltogetherto

supportbilinguallearnerswithinthe

school.Withinthecommunity,inter-agency

liaison

groupsprovide

aforum

fordialogue

inpromotingpositive

community

relationships,

defusing

potentialareas

ofconflictanddevelopingpoliciesto

eliminatediscrim

inatorypractices.

Key

questions

How

effectiveareour

school’slinkswith

the

educationauthority

insupportingschoolsand

ensuringcontinuityof

approachforbilingual

learners?

How

effectivelydo

weuse

ourlinkswith

other

agencies

toaddressthe

needsofbilingual

learners?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Linkswithlocalauthority

orother

managingbody,other

schools,agencies

andem

ployers

Thisqualityindicatorisconcernedwith

therange,purposeandeffectivenessof:

•links

with

thelocalauthorityor

otherman

agingbody

•links

with

othereducationa

lestab

lishm

ents

•links

with

voluntaryorganisations,the

wider

commun

ityan

dem

ployers•links

with

statutoryorganisations

19


Goodpractice

•Well-developed

andeffectivelinksareinplace

toease

andsupport

transition.Thisincludes

arrangem

entsforaccessandtransferof

essentialinformationon

bilinguallearners,e.g.attendance,attainment,

aspirations,language

background,length

oftim

elearning

through

English.TheEducation(AdditionalSupportforLearning)(Scotland)

Act,2004makescleartheactionthatmustbe

takenwhenpupilswith

additionalsupportneedstransfersfrom

oneschoolto

another.Advice

onthiscanbe

foundinchapterfiveof

TheCodeof

Practice,20

05.

•Theschoolisinvolved

insharingbestpracticewithinanetworkof

educationalestablishm

ents.

•Workexperienceplacementstake

fullaccountoftheneed

todevelop

theabilitiesofbilinguallearners.

Key

questions

How

effectiveareour

linkswith

other

educational

establishm

ents?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Linkswithlocalauthority

orother

managingbody,other

schools,agencies

andem

ployers

(continued)

20


Goodpractice

•Theschoolisaw

areoftheauthority’sarrangem

entsforprovision

ofinterpretingandtranslationservices.Theschoolmakes

parentsaw

are

ofhowtorequestservices,or,whereappropriate,arrangesthisforthem

.

•Theschoolhasaccuraterecordsofeach

parent’s

preferred

language

fororalandwrittencommunication.

•Whereparentsrequestinterpretingservices,theschooluses

professionalinterpretingservices

whereavailable.Services

areused,

asnecessaryandas

requested,whencommunicatingwith

parentsto

ensureconfidentiality,accuracy

andthemaintenance

ofaprofessional

relationshipwith

parents.Thesecaninclude,forexam

ple,face-to-face

interpreters,telephone

interpretingservices,videolinks.

•Staffaretrainedinthebestpracticeincommunicatingwith

bilingual

parents.

•Theethosandcultureoftheschoolreflectstheethnicdiversity

ofthe

school,localcom

munity

andsociety.

•Allparentsarewelcomed

andencouraged

toparticipateinallaspects

ofschoollife.

•Theschoolencourages

theinvolvem

entofparentsofbilinguallearners

inallaspectsofschoollife,e.g.

attendance

atparents’evenings,

participationinschoolevents,actingas

parentalhelpers,taking

part

inparentbodies.

•Theschoolensurethatparentsofbilinguallearnersareincluded

inanysamplegroupsofparentsconsultedforschoolself-evaluation.For

exam

ple,EA

review

sor

HMIEinspections.

Key

questions

Whatstepsdo

wetake

toensurethatthereis

effectivecommunication

with

parentsofbilingual

learners?

How

effectivearewein

encouragingparents’

participationintheir

children’seducation?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Partnershipwithparents,theSchoolBoard3andthecommunity

Thisqualityindicatorisconcernedwith

thefollowingthem

es:

•encouragem

entto

parentsto

beinvolved

intheirchild’slearning

andthelifeof

theschool•procedures

forcommun

icatingwith

parents

•inform

ationgivento

parentsaboutthe

workoftheschool•links

betweentheschoolandtheSchoolBoard•theschool’sroleinthelocalcom

mun

ity

3UndertheScottishSchools(ParentalInvolvement)Act2006,ParentCouncilswillreplaceSchoolBoards

asparentalrepresentativebodies.

21


Goodpractice

•Whereparentshave

comefrom

adifferent

educationsystem

,the

schoolexplainstheScottisheducationsystem

,curriculum

,methodology,pastoralcareandthekeyroleofparentsworking

inpartnershipwith

schools.

•Theschoolpromotes

parentalawarenessoftheirkeyrolein

supportinganddevelopingthepupil’sfirstlanguage.

•Theschoolprovidessupportforparentsto

becomeinvolved

inhelpingtheirchildrenwith

homew

ork.Where,appropriate,theschool

ensuresinvolvem

entofthehome-schoollinkteacher.

•Parentsareencouraged

tocontributetheirbilingualandotherskillsin

avarietyofschoolandoutofschoolactivities.

•Theschooltakesaccountoftheculturaland

religious

diversity

ofits

populationwhenplanningevents.

•Theschoolmakes

astrong

contributionto

thelifeofthecommunity

andtakesstepsto

ensurethatallpartsofthecommunity

areincluded

inwhatitdoes.

•Theschooltakesstepsto

encourageandenableparentsofbilingual

learnersto

participateindecisionsabouttheeducationoftheir

children.

•Theschoolroutinelyandproactivelyseekstheview

sofbilingual

parents.Stafflistento

andrespondto

parents’views.

•Localm

ediaareinform

edaboutandencouraged

tocelebratethe

linguistic,culturaland

religious

diversity

oftheschool.

Key

questions

How

effectivelydoes

our

schoolengage

with

the

localcom

munity?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Partnership

withparents,theSchoolBoardandthecommunity(continued)

22


Goodpractice

•Allstaffhave

aclearunderstandingthatthey

have

aresponsibilityfor

bilinguallearnerseven

wherethereareadditionalspecialiststaff

available.

•Inschoolswith

asignificant

numberofbilingualpupils,akeymem

ber

ofstaffhasresponsibilityformonitoringtheselearners’p

rogress.

•Whereappropriate,theneedsofbilinguallearnersareaccountedfor

intheschoolimprovementplan.

•Allnewinitiatives

anddevelopmentstake

fullaccountoftheneedsof

bilinguallearners,as

appropriate.

•Staffareaw

areofandmakeuseoftherangeofrelevant

continuous

professionaldevelopmentopportunitiesprovidedby

theEA

andother

bodies,e.g.

postgraduatequalifications,inhousetraining,

professionalreading,sharingofexpertisewithinandbetween

authorities,attendance

atnationalconferences

andevents,work

shadow

inginotherschools.

•Theschoolprovideseffectiveinductionfornewlyappointed

staff,

includingmanagersandprobationers,on

pastoraland

educational

issues

relatingto

theneedsofbilinguallearners.

•TheimpactofCPD

activities

ismonitoredandevaluatedandinform

sfutureplanning.

•AllEALandbilingualsupportstaffhave

accessto

professionalreview

anddevelopment.

•Therearecontinuous

professionaldevelopmentopportunities

availablewhich

allowEALandbilingualsupportstaffto

developtheir

specialistknow

ledgewhilekeepingabreastofcurricularandother

professionaldevelopments.

Key

questions

How

effectiveisour

schoolinensuringthatall

staffareconfidentwhen

working

with

bilingual

learners?

How

effectivelydo

we

ensurethatappropriate

staffdevelopment

opportunitiesare

available?

How

effectivearestaff

review

proceduresfor

additionalspecialiststaff?

Evidence

Strengths

Areas

for

improvement

Staffreview

anddevelopmentThisqualityindicatorisconcernedwith

thefollowingthem

es:

•links

betweenstaffreviewan

ddevelopm

entan

dschoolself-evaluationan

dplan

ning

•staffreviewprocedures

•staffd

evelopment

23


Acknowledgements

A number of staff from Glasgow City Council were involved in the productionof the first draft of this guide. These included:

• Maria Walker, education co-ordinator, Glasgow Asylum Seeker SupportProject, Education Services, Glasgow City Council

• Les McLean, adviser in race equality, Education Improvement Service,Education Services, Glasgow City Council

• Hilda Carrick, head of Primary Bilingual Support Unit, Education Services,Glasgow City Council

• Ishbel Drysdale, head of Secondary Bilingual Support Unit, EducationServices, Glasgow City Council

• Mags Coyle, assistant education co-ordinator, Glasgow Asylum SeekerSupport Project, Education Services, Glasgow City Council (currentlyacting headteacher, Willowbank Primary School, Glasgow).

The following provided valuable comments and suggestions on content ofthe guide:

• Anne Morgan-Thomas, development officer, SQA• Anna Gillies, principal teacher (Bilingual Support), Shawlands Academy,

Glasgow City Council• Mary Larkin, quality improvement officer, East Dunbartonshire Council• Irene Wishart, teacher of English as an additional language, Highland

Council• Luan Porter, headteacher, English as an additional language service,

Edinburgh City Council• Margaret Miller, head of service, Multi-Sensory Services, Dundee City

Council• Anne Beveridge, equal opportunities support officer, Education Services,

South Lanarkshire Council• Jean Campbell, former headteacher, Glendale Primary School, Glasgow.

www.hmie.gov.uk

© Crown copyright 2006

Astron B47864 9-06

Further information is available from:

HM Inspectorate of EducationDenholm HouseAlmondvale Business ParkAlmondvale WayLivingstonEH54 6GA

Tel: 01506 600 200Fax: 01506 600 337E-mail: [email protected]

9 780705 310994

ISBN 0-7053-1099-X

inclusion and equality part 4: evaluating educational ...1 learning in 2(+) languages (learning and...

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