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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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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
How goodis our school?
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
Evaluating educational provision forbilingual learners
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: enquiries@hmie.gsi.gov.uk
9 780705 310994
ISBN 0-7053-1099-X