Celebrating EAL

Celebrating EAL Review of the Implications of English as an Additional Language in Bracknell Forest Schools by a Working Group of the Social Care and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Panel A Nepali display at College Town Infant School October 2008 Table of Contents Page Number 1. Foreword by the Lead Member 1 2. Background 3 3. Investigation, Information Gathering and Analysis 4 4. Conclusions 24 5. Recommendations 27 6. Glossary 29 Appendix 1 – Questions from English as an Additional Language Working Group 30 Appendix 2 – Interview with Pupils at The Brakenhale School 32 Appendix 3 - Interview with Pupils at Garth Hill College 35 Appendix 4 - Interview with Pupils at Sandy Lane Primary School 38 Appendix 5 - Interview with Pupils at Great Hollands Primary School 39 Appendix 6 - Interview with Pupils at College Town Infant School 40 Acknowledgements The Working Group would like to express its thanks and appreciation to the following people for their co-operation and time. All those who have participated in the review have been thanked for their contribution and will be provided with a copy of this report. Paul Salter Headteacher, The Brakenhale School Keith Grainger Headteacher, Garth Hill College Elizabeth Norris Headteacher, Sandy Lane Primary School Michael Purdy Headteacher, Great Hollands Primary School Trudy Sammons Headteacher, College Town Infant School Mrs J Auster Assistant Headteacher, College Town Junior School Tony Eccleston former Director of Social Care and Learning, Bracknell Forest Council Pupils of The Brakenhale School, Garth Hill College, Sandy Lane and Great Hollands Primary Schools and College Town Junior and Infant Schools The following officers from Bracknell Forest Council: Rosanna Border General Advisor, Social Care and Learning (SCL) Kashif Nawaz EAL and Diversity Team Leader, SCL Diana Gray Specialist EAL Teacher, SCL Andrea Carr Policy Officer (Scrutiny), Chief Executive’s Office 1. Foreword by the Lead Member 1.1 Bracknell Forest has a mantra of “all schools will be good schools” and the education of our children to the highest possible level is something that members, officers and our teaching staff are passionate about. 1.2 For several years the demography of the Borough has been stable in the ethnicity of its population. However, there has been a noticeable and rapid increase in our ethnic community resulting in a diversity of teaching requirements arising from English not necessarily being a pupil’s first language. 1.3 The Working Group was set up to identify the key issues arising from our increasing number of pupils from overseas and how best to tackle these issues. 1.4 The Working Group very quickly realised that English as an Additional Language (“EAL”) was going to be a far greater subject matter than was first thought not only regarding the impact on our schools and pupils but also to celebrate the arrival of our EAL pupils into the community at large. 1.5 Our EAL pupils bring with them a great diversity of culture, language, custom and religion which should be shared with us as well as our culture being shared with them. 1.6 Here in Bracknell Forest we, rightly, pride ourselves in the multiplicity of international companies that have made the Borough their home earning us the reputation of being Britain’s “Silicon Valley”. 1.7 We are also home to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and many of our EAL students have parents working for these major companies or stationed at the RMA. 1.8 It is not unreasonable to assume that our EAL pupils will emulate their parents and lead valuable and prosperous lives within our community. 1.9 Their first and second language will mean that we will have bi-lingual speakers raised and educated here in Bracknell Forest; the impact on businesses and schools will be immense. 1.10 Over the next few years we will be watching the redevelopment of Bracknell Town Centre, of which we will be rightly proud, but running in parallel we will also be addressing the issues that our continuing rise in EAL pupils will bring for which we should also be proud. 1.11 Let us be the authority that addresses the issues of EAL and leads the way in good practice and procedures now and into the future. 1.12 My thanks to the Working Group, particularly Denise Whitbread who interacted with the pupils and students as only a good teacher can and to Ian Sharland for preparing the questions and some of the outcomes. 1.13 My thanks must also go to Andrea Carr who accompanied us to all of our school visits and has prepared a truly excellent report. 1.14 Last but by no means least, a special thanks to the Headteachers, their staff and pupils at all of the schools we visited for making us so welcome. 1.15 The Working Group comprised: Councillor Mrs Jennie McCracken (Lead Member) Councillor Scott Burrows Councillor Ms Denise Whitbread Mr Ian Sharland (Parent Governor Representative) 2. Background 2.1 Bracknell Forest Council’s (the Council’s) former Lifelong Learning and Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Panel considered a list of potential themes to be reviewed in detail by working groups of the Panel during 2007/08 to complement its ongoing work such as performance monitoring. Having considered the relative merits of eight suggested review topics, the Panel, which has subsequently been re-structured to form a large part of the new Social Care and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Panel, decided that its 2007/08 work programme would consist of reviews of the following topics by working groups:- • One area for review selected from the Children and Young People’s Plan 2007 Supplement; and • Extended Services and Children’s Centres (jointly with the Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel). 2.2 This report records the outcome of the Working Group established to undertake a review selected from the Children and Young People’s Plan 2007 supplement. 2.3 A review topic selected from the Children and Young People’s Plan 2007 Supplement was felt to be of merit as the Supplement related to areas in Children and Young People’s services which had been identified for improvement. Having considered the Supplement, the Working Group selected the implications of English as an additional language (EAL) in the Borough’s schools as its review topic as this was a sudden and rapidly growing issue presenting challenges for schools. 2.4 The work programme was subsequently agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Commission, the parent body of the Panel, following consultation with the Leader and Chief Executive of the Council. 2.5 The main purpose of the Working Group has been to identify the key issues for schools arising from the increasing number of pupils who do not have English as their first language and to recommend actions to tackle them. 2.6 Key objectives of the review have been to identify the impact levels of the increase of EAL in terms of which schools / areas are most affected with reference to EAL data, to recognise the key issues in the schools / areas of greatest EAL concentration, to prioritise issues to address and to recommend actions to tackle these issues. 2.7 The scope of the review has been the selection of a range of junior, primary and secondary schools to visit as examples of the schools / areas where the greatest impact of EAL may be experienced; the interview of headteachers, staff and pupils from these schools to establish issues and support needs; the identification of best practice to deal with challenges associated with growing numbers of EAL pupils; and the consideration of the wider diversity issues of EAL such as cultural differences between pupils from different countries. 3. Investigation, Information Gathering and Analysis Scoping Meeting with the former Director of Social Care and Learning 3.1 The Working Group commenced its review at a meeting with the former Director of Social Care and Learning to obtain background information relating to the Children and Young People’s Plan 2007 Supplement to inform its selection of a review topic theme and to scope the resulting review. 3.2 The Borough’s first three year Children and Young People’s Plan had been published in May 2006 and described how the Council:- • identified the needs of children and young people; • prioritised the needs; and • would address the needs. 3.3 The Plan focused on five outcomes for children and young people and featured a vision based on these outcomes and designed to meet the ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda. There was a statutory requirement to undertake an annual review of the Plan and the 2007 Supplement had resulted from the first annual review. The Supplement described the positive progress made over the last year in achieving the priorities in the Plan. It looked at some of the issues that had arisen and considered new areas for development and how the Council intended to move forward in achieving positive outcomes for children and young people living in Bracknell Forest. 3.4 Having considered the 2007 Supplement, the Working Group identified English as an additional language (EAL) as its review topic. The need to support pupils with EAL was identified as a priority of the Plan associated with the ‘Enjoy and Achieve’ outcome. The Working Group was mindful of the increasing numbers of EAL pupils, both nationally and locally, and acknowledged that in excess of 70 languages were spoken in the Borough’s schools. EAL was perceived to be a pressure on resources and a challenge to attainment and to schools meeting or exceeding their improvement targets. One of the Working Group’s main aims was to ensure that overall standards of education throughout the Borough were not being compromised as a result of the increased numbers of EAL students in Bracknell Forest schools.

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