Teach Primary Issue 18.6

www.teachwire.net | 65 Caroline Scott is the founder of Across Cultures, creator of the Learning Village programme, author and EAL/Multilingual advisor. She has previously worked as a teacher, senior leader, headteacher and parental involvement coordinator. Caroline has worked in schools around the world, developing English language skills for young learners. have detrimental effects on English development and on learner identity. So, we should be encouraging parents and their children to enjoy and use their home language to ensure that they add a language rather than replacing one. We are after additive bilingualism (where a learner retains their main language), not subtractive bilingualism (where the learner eventually loses a language). Ultimately, getting parents and carers through the door is the crucial first step to raising engagement. And they will often be keener to come to school for their child’s benefit, than for a meeting with a teacher – which can be quite a stressful prospect even when you are familiar with the language and culture. Once they’re in the building, and enjoying time with their children, you’ll have the perfect opportunity to meet and warmly welcome them, discovering more about the family, and showing them that they are valued members of your school community. Taking it further There are some really effective additional steps you can take to promote parental involvement, regardless of language or cultural background: Create opportunities to showcase pupils’ work – Organise events where children can display their work to their parents. Promote these events to the children, who can encourage their parents to join. Host interactive school events – Arrange events such as show-and-tell sessions, or school fairs, which encourage parent participation. Provide childcare options – Offer a creche during school events to make it easier for parents to attend. Translate – Use parent T E ACH RE AD I NG & WR I T I NG learningvillage.net WIN A BOOK! If you are interested in this area, Across Cultures and the Learning Village are running a competition to win one of 25 copies of Teaching English as an Additional Language: A Programme for 7–14 Year Olds . The book includes a framework of lessons that can be delivered to parents with little or no English. These lessons are similar to an adult ESOL class, but focus specifically on school-related English, such as school events, curriculum and parent meetings. When a teacher conducts these classes, parents gain valuable insights into the school and establish connections with teachers and the curriculum, greatly enhancing their involvement. The book also provides a programme to use with international new arrivals as an ‘induction to English’, with integral assessment, as well as guidance on how to bridge the gap between EAL pupils and their peers. It is suitable for children from any language background and includes an EAL framework to provide structure to EAL provision across school, in addition to guidance on how to approach class teaching. Visit learningvillage.net/ competition/book2024 by 16th September for your chance to win. buddies who speak the same language to support newcomers and translate welcome books and other materials. Involve bilingual support staff and the Parent-Teacher Association to help with communication. Arrange for translated home visits – Some parents might feel more comfortable in their own homes. This will also help you to understand more about the learner’s home life, which will, of course, play a role in how they apply themselves to learning at school. TP