Finding Out

One of the key issues for newly arrived pupils is the development of good information practice. It is vital to establish the extent of the pupil’s former education at the admission interview in order to determine what particular support they may require. It is important to find out:

• whether they have previously attended school and details regarding the type and duration of previous schooling

• if they are literate in their home language

• if they have previously studied English

• if they have previously studied other subjects offered on the school timetable and to what level

• if they have had any educational difficulties in their home country

Gathering this information prior to admission will ensure that the school can set up an appropriate programme for the pupil on entry and will assist with placement in sets and groups. It is not generally good practice to set the pupil assessment tasks prior to admission as this can be extremely daunting for a newly arrived young person, and their performance is unlikely to reflect their capabilities. Similarly, it is unwise to make judgements regarding their proficiency in English based on their behaviour and interaction during the pre-admission interview.

For schools without an established induction programme for the support of newly arrived beginners in English, it is not appropriate for pupils to be placed in the sets or groups catering for special needs, learning or behavioural difficulties. Although these groupings may offer a higher pupil teacher ratio, newly arrived pupils should be working at the appropriate cognitive level. It is also crucially important that pupils are exposed to good models of English and behaviour. In the absence of detailed assessment data at admission, it is probably most appropriate for pupils to be placed in average or above average ability bands on arrival in school, ideally in the same sets as their ’befriender’.  Newly arrived pupils should normally be entered in the appropriate year group although in certain cases, the pupils needs may be best served by enrolment in a lower year group

After admission to the school, a more detailed assessment of the pupil will need to be carried out. An early assessment of their English language competence will be necessary in order to decide whether they will require an additional programme in order to equip them to engage with the National Curriculum. If the school has specialist support staff, they may carry out such an assessment. Wherever possible the EAL assessment should be carried out by a specialist staff member who is bilingual in the pupil’s first language as this will enhance the quality of the information and programme planning.

Initial assessments undertaken of pupils’ fluency in English as an additional language should inform schools’ systems of profiling, target setting and tracking. These may include QCA based profiles or schools’ own systems.