Good practice around inclusion
for BME children & families
Early Years
Inclusion Coordinators
April 2013
North Somerset
Vulnerable Learners’ Service
Ethnic Minority Achievement
Stephen.bray@n-somerset.gov.uk
Purposes of this session:
To introduce:
• The context of this work
• BME pupil referral arrangements for settings
• EAL acquisition
• Some strategies to support bilingual learners
• Inclusion practice
• Some important and useful documents and resources
Some definitions
EAL
Stands for English as an additional language and
recognises the fact that many children learning English in
schools in this country already know one or more languages
and are adding English to that repertoire.
Bilingual Pupils
Refers to pupils who have access to two (or more)
languages, at home and at school. It does not necessarily
imply full fluency in both or all of their languages.
BME
Stands for Black and Minority Ethnic and describes those
from cultural backgrounds other than White British, which in
the UK is the majority ethnic group.
The national context
• Changing demographics across the county have resulted in
the need for settings and schools to consider how they are
going to meet the needs of a growing number of minority
ethnic children, many of whom are at an early stage of
English language development
• There is a need to build capacity at setting and school level
to meet these needs
• Issues for settings and schools to consider: Race
Equality; inclusion; induction procedures; teaching &
learning; assessment; curriculum planning; support
systems
North Somerset EY context
Discuss in pairs or groups:
• What cultures and languages are represented in your
setting, and in what numbers?
• How do these numbers differ from 5 years ago?
• How are your BME pupils doing, socially and academically?
• What are the specific challenges and barriers to learning for
BME children, including EAL learners in your setting?
• How does your setting currently acknowledge and value the
ethnic and linguistic diversity of it’s community?
(5 minutes)
(1) A child arrives in your setting speaking little or no
English. How long will it take for the pupil to learn
everyday social English?
6 months 1 yr 2yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs
(2) How long will it take for the pupil to learn the more
academic English needed for later success in exams?
1 yr
3 yrs
5 yrs
7 yrs 10 yrs
It takes about two years to gain proficiency in everyday
social English
It takes 5 to 7 years to gain proficiency in academic
English.
(3) The best thing we can do to help pupils learning
English as an additional language is to tell families to
stop speaking their first language (L1) at home. They
should speak only in English.
Also, we should stop them from using their first language
in the setting.
Yes or no?
No!!
Children with high levels of proficiency in their first
language acquire additional languages more rapidly
Allowing pupils to use their first language in the setting
helps them to acquire English and to feel valued; it is
also a good model for other learners
(4) A child with very little English is best placed in lower
ability groupings where the work is often made simpler,
and there may be more support available from additional
adults than in other groups.
Good or bad idea?
Bad idea!!
Pupils should be placed in suitably cognitively
challenging groups where they are also exposed to good
models of English.
Working in low ability groups can be de-motivating to
bilingual pupils. They are also exposed to poorer models
of spoken English and often behaviour.
Children with English as an additional language bring
down the levels of attainment of settings and schools?
True or False?
False!!
Where EAL strategies are used to raise the attainment of
EAL learners they can also benefit other learners.
Government statistics based on 2010-11 GCSE results
showed that 80.8 % of EAL students achieved five A* to C
grades at GCSE, compared with 80.4% of native English
students.
Stages of EAL acquisition
• Jim Cummins differentiated between Basic Interpersonal
Communication Skills (BICS) and Cognitive and Academic
Language Proficiency (CALP)
• BICS: 1- 2 years to acquire
• CALP: at least 5 - 7 to acquire, some pupils do not acquire
this level of language
The ‘Dual Iceberg’ model of bilingual
proficiency
(Cummins)
Surface
Surface Features
of L1Features
Surface Features
Surface
Features
of L2
of L1
of L2
Common Underlying
Proficiency
© Copyright Professor Jim Cummins. Used with permission.
Some difficulties facing EAL learners in
the Early Years learning context
• Understanding lengthy spoken English
• Colloquial and idiomatic vocabularies and usages: e.g.
“Pull your socks up!”
• Lack of opportunities to show what they know
• Unfamiliarity with approaches to early years teaching,
mismatch of family / setting expectations
• Misunderstandings due to different cultural experiences
• Overt and covert racism
Useful ways of supporting EAL learners:
‘Quality First Teaching’
• Building on previous experience / learning
• Modelling correct English in contextualised activities
• Planning for opportunities for speaking and listening in
groups with good speakers of English
• Using pair work and collaborative approaches to learning
• Specific pre-teaching of key vocabulary
• Scaffolding learning through appropriate use of visuals
• Using first language in the classroom whenever appropriate,
e.g. with parental support
Making contexts supportive for children learning EAL
Building on
previous experience
Activating
prior
knowledge
Scaffolding language
and learning
Using
bilingual
strategies
Modelling
Planned opportunities for
speaking and listening
Use of ICT
Creating
shared
experiences
Ensuring contexts are
culturally familiar
Frames
and
prompts
Graphic organisers
and other visuals
The print
environment
Paired talk
Exploratory
talk
Collaborative
activities
Extended talk
between adults
and children
Communicative activities such as
barrier games and experiential
learning
Conditions for learning: essential
understandings
• Children need to feel safe, settled, valued and secure –
they need ‘a sense of belonging’ (Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs)
• Learning should build on what children know, understand
and can do (Piaget’s Theory of Schema)
• No child should be expected to cast off the language and
culture of home as s/he crosses the school threshold
(Bullock Report – A Language for Life - 1975)
An inclusive learning context…
• …values the diversity found within the setting, including
cultural and linguistic diversity
• …engages all children regardless of their background or
home circumstances
• …enhances the learning and teaching environment
• …creates a culture of high expectations
• …prepares children for living in a culturally diverse society
Useful themes....
• Shared humanity: similarity, sameness and universality
• Difference and diversity: contrasting stories and
interpretations
• Interdependence: borrowing, mingling and mutual
influence
• Excellence everywhere
• Identity and belonging
• Race, ethnicity and justice
Principles of good inclusion practice
• Every learner has an entitlement to fulfilling their potential
alongside their peers
• This can best be achieved within a setting where learners
are educated with their peers, and where they feel secure
and valued
• What settings value and how they demonstrate these values
are crucial to children’s identities and self esteem and will
impact upon their attainment
• “Schools (settings) which are successful in raising the
attainment of minority ethnic pupils share broadly similar
approaches to the creation of a genuinely inclusive school
community. This is true whether their intake is highly diverse
or predominantly white” (DfE, 2012)
Setting responsibilities…
• Settings are responsible for preparing all children for life in
a culturally and racially diverse society in modern-day
Britain
• BME children, as other children, need to see their own
cultures, histories and experiences featured in the
learning environment and curriculum to feel that the
school values and respects their heritage
• This practice can be embedded through the provision of
an inclusive curriculum that is broad and balanced
• Not only does this help all learners to understand and
respect other cultures, it is a statutory duty under the Race
Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, now embedded into the
Equality Act 2010
Planning for BME inclusion
Primary National Strategy
• Displays of artefacts, language, signs and other visuals that reflect the
cultural and linguistic heritage of the pupils
• Texts, activities, materials, choices of topic and approaches to
discussions that reflect pupils’ cultural heritage; see:
http://public.merlin.swgfl.org.uk/establishments/803/QandS/EMTAS/pa
ges/ExtendingTheCurriculum.aspx
• Opportunities for children to use their own language in the setting
• Multicultural/lingual stories and other texts; see:
http://public.merlin.swgfl.org.uk/establishments/803/QandS/EMTAS/pa
ges/CataloguesAndPublishers.aspx
• Use of visiting speakers, artists, members of the community, etc; see:
http://public.merlin.swgfl.org.uk/establishments/803/QandS/EMTAS/pa
ges/CulturalProviders.aspx
• Involvement and links with national projects and other schools and
settings inside and outside the UK
Some
key
BME
resources
Primary National Strategy
• North Somerset: ‘A Toolkit for supporting children who are new to
English’; (Tel: 01934 427 634)
• EMAS: ‘Advice and Guidance for supporting Black and Minority Ethnic
Children in the Early Years’ (Tel: 01275 88 4651)
• Primary National Strategy: ‘Supporting children learning English as an
additional language; Guidance for practitioners in the Early Years
Foundation Stage’ (Ref: 00683-2007BKT-EN)
• Primary National Strategy: ‘New Arrivals Excellence Programme
Guidance’; (Ref: 00650-2007BKT-EN)
(Contact: www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications or Tel: 0845 60 555 60)
Some Dual Heritage resources
Primary National Strategy
• ‘Dual Heritage Young People: Absent voices’: A young
woman of mixed heritage describes her experience:
• http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,18652
14,00.html
• ‘Understanding the Educational Needs of Mixed Heritage
Pupils'. DCSF Publications. Ref RR549 (2004).
• www.communitycohesionncc.org.uk/docs/147.pdf
• 'Mixed Race Not Mixed Up - A Good Practice Guide for
Early Years Practitioners' by Gina Houston.
Published by Early Years Equality
• www.earlyyearsequality.co.uk
SomeNational
Race Equality
resources
Primary
Strategy
• ‘Complementing Teachers – A Practical Guide To
Promoting Race Equality In Schools’ (Runnymede Trust/
Granada Learning; ISBN 1-84085-912-1)
• ‘Integrating Global & Anti-Racist Perspectives within the
Primary Curriculum’ (Nottingham City Council)
• ‘A Toolkit for tackling Racism in schools’ (Stella Dadzie;
Trentham Books; ISBN 1-85856-188-4)
• ‘Skin Deep – a resource for teachers addressing issues of
racism, mixed heritage, cultural stereotyping and bullying’
(Devon County Council; ISBN 1-85522-985-4): www.skindeep.org.uk)
Some more web sites that may be useful:
Primary National Strategy
• QCA - Respect for All
(Nottingham City Council) http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_6753.aspx
• Global Dimension
http://www.globaldimension.org.uk
• Teach Global
http://www.teachandlearn.net/teachglobal
• Avniarts
http://www.avniarts.org
• www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix
• www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet
• www.e-freetranslation.com
• www.a4esl.org
Where are we now? Next steps?
• Think about current practices in relation to improving
outcomes for BME, including bilingual learners in your
setting
• Discuss in pairs what you see as your next steps for
improved pupil outcomes
• Use the SWOT analysis sheet to record your thoughts
Improving outcomes for BME learners
1. What we are doing well
now
2. Things we would like to
develop or improve
3. Things we can do easily
4. Support, resource and
development needs