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THE BENEFITS OF BILINGUALISM

23/3/2013

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A recent report ‘The state of the nation–demand and supply of language skills in the UK’ by Teresa Tinsley for the British Academy, provides a wealth of valuable information on the current state of languages in the UK.   In one section focusing on language provision in schools, the report highlights how the situation with regards to studying a foreign language in schools in England has changed quite rapidly over the last few years.  Currently, 92% of Primary schools in England offer languages to their pupils compared to only 56% in 2007.  This percentage has grown quite considerably as a result of the National Languages Strategy. In comparison, in Secondary which traditionally used to be the place where pupils were first expected to learn languages, the situation has declined quite considerably.  Although learning a language is still compulsory at Key Stage 3 for pupils in maintained schools, the numbers in Key Stage 4 have dropped quite rapidly following the announcement in 2004 that studying a foreign language was optional.   The consequence of this decision has been that in 2011 only 43% of secondary aged pupils studied a modern language at Key Stage 4 compared to 78% in 2001.  Furthermore, the stark reality is that only 14% of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) obtained a good GCSE pass in a foreign language compared to 31% of all state school pupils.[1]

In addition, it is also worth noting that there are approximately 1 million pupils in schools in England for whom English is an additional language. The School Level Annual School Census (SLASC) 2011 reveals over 360 different languages are spoken by our children and young pupils. That equates to 17.5% of the primary school aged population and 12.9% of secondary.  The term English as an additional language covers a wide range of pupils from those who are new to English to those children who speak English alongside other languages that are spoken in the home or community environment.   

Although, there is no doubt that English is a globally dominant language and benefits readily accrue to those who are proficient it in, it should be noted that being monolingual is not the norm as over half of the world’s population is bilingual.  Sadly, even today there are many myths associated with bilingualism, particularly in countries where monilingualism is still the norm.  This can get in the way of understanding that bilingualism is an asset and that it should be promoted in a classroom and school context rather than being seen as a ‘problem’ that gets in the way of learning.   In England, there is no reason why children cannot learn English alongside other languages and have high levels of competency across all four language skills of speaking, listening, reading in both. We strongly feel that more could be done to promote the learning of languages – both as a foreign language in school and for children who speak another language at home and within the community.  The benefits for children and young people developing a high level of proficiency in two or more languages are many and backed by research.

We at
Equitable Education have selected an infographic on the benefits of bilingualism for teachers to use. This infographic present a lot of useful facts in a visually attractive way.   It can be used for discussion with other professionals within school so that a better understanding of the benefits of bilingualism, based on academic research is gained or to positively promote the learning of languages to all pupils.  It can also be used as part of a display or as a stimulus to get your pupils to produce their own by using one of the many infographic tools that are now available.  This would allow you to custom make your own infographic to fit your own local circumstances.  Equitable Education will be producing an infographic on bilingualism based on the context in England over the coming few weeks, so keep a look out for it.   In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this one we have specially selected for you below, courtesy of voxy.com.

[1]Source ‘The state of the nation –demand and supply of language skills in the UK by Teresa Tinsley for the British Academy, February 2013.
Click here to enlarge image.
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Using peer-tutoring to improve standards in reading

17/3/2013

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A short while ago, I attended a meeting with colleagues at the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) at Durham University to discuss proposals for working with schools in disadvantaged areas to improve reading.  Using the research findings from the EEF Toolkit developed by CEM, which found that peer tutoring was one of the top three strategies to improve learning,  we are looking at ways in which we could use both cross–aged peer tutoring and parental engagement (another strategy recognised by the Toolkit) to raise standards in reading in a sustainable way.  

Durham University is already working on a Shared Maths peer tutoring programme across four Local Authorities (LA). The Shared Maths project is being funded by Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and it is a cross–aged peer tutoring programme involving Year 5’s working as tutors and Year 3’s as tutees.  Pupils work together for 20 minutes a week, over a period of 16 weeks to solve mathematical problems.  Together, they use a variety of strategies based on real life situations to gain a deep understanding of the mathematical problem and reach an answer to this problem.    Altogether, there are nearly 100 schools across the four LA’s involved in the Shared Maths project which commenced in 2012 and will continue to be delivered over the next few years.   Each LA has a local co-ordinator who works with schools in their area to provide initial CPD and follow up training to teachers taking part, along with on-going tailored support to schools throughout the duration of their involvement.   InCAS, which is a diagnostic, computer-adaptive assessment tool, is being used to provide an objective measure of attainment and inform personalised learning of pupils involved in the project. Bristol University is providing an external evaluation of the Shared Maths Project.

The benefits of the cross–aged peer tutoring work are cited as the following:

· “Cross-age peer tutoring in maths has consistently been found to raise attainment with gains for both tutors and tutees.
· On top of the attainment gains there are social and emotional benefits to being involved in peer tutoring:
· Participating in a peer tutoring programme can improve attitudes both to maths and to school generally.
· Peer tutoring can increase motivation and confidence in maths.
· Working with a partner using the peer tutoring technique develops pupils’ interpersonal skills as well as improving social, communication and teamwork skills.
· Peer tutoring can increase social relationships within schools particularly for people who find it difficult to make friends”.

Source Durham University www.sharedmaths.org website.

Recognising the above benefits of peer tutoring, we are hoping to extend the Shared Maths Project by piloting a small scale project with 6 primary schools to deliver peer-tutoring with a focus on improving reading for 10 weeks and then extending the same techniques to parents, so that target pupils continue to read within the home environment.  This should allow for the development of a holistic approach to reading within the family context, with opportunities for families to read reciprocally, using other languages if these are spoken within the home environment.

The evidence base for peer learning is extensive, with Professor Keith Topping being a leading expert in the field.   Professor Topping who is the Director of the Centre for Peer Learning at Dundee University and who was a lead member of the Fife Peer Learning Project, is working with Dr Andy Wiggins, and other colleagues from CEM and I on this project.
Whilst I was at CEM, I had the opportunity to meet with Stuart Kime.  Stuart has been part of the team along with Professor Robert Coe, Camilla Nevill, & Robbie Coleman, who have produced the newly released The DIY Evaluation Guide (January 2013) to accompany the refreshed Sutton Trust - EEF The Teaching and Learning Toolkit 
Stuart and colleagues are particularly interested in receiving feedback and hearing from colleagues in schools who have used The DIY Evaluation Guide.  Stuart can be contacted on stuart.kime@cem.durham.ac.uk


The Sutton Trust-Education Endowment Foundation Teaching and Learning Toolkit. London: Education Endowment Foundation by Higgins, S., Katsipataki, M., Kokotsaki, D., Coleman, R., Major, L.E., & Coe, R. (2013).
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Further posting on this blog will provide updates on developments in relation to using peer-tutoring to raise standards of achievement in reading.   

In the meantime, interested colleagues may wish to visit the newly refreshed EEF Toolkit pages.  The Toolkit is a live resource which will be updated on a regular basis as findings from EEF-funded projects and other high-quality research become available.  The sceenshot above only shows the top seven strategies.  When you visit the EEF website you will see 30 topics outlined, including 8 new topics which are summarised for average impact on attainment, along with strength of the evidence and their cost.  Each one of the topics also has a video case studies and improved links to further reading and providers of professional development via The Teacher Development Trust's GoodCPDGuide.
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DO YOU HAVE A PUPIL PREMIUM POLICY?  IF NOT, YOU CAN GET A FREE MODEL PUPIL PREMIUM POLICY TEMPLATE AND GUIDANCE FOR SCHOOLS, COURTESY OF EQUITABLE EDUCATION.

9/3/2013

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Equitable Education has produced a Model Pupil Premium Policy Template and accompanying guidance for schools to use.  Both are available free for schools to download from the Guardian Teacher Network. Click here for the Model Policy Template  and here for the accompanying guidance.

The Pupil Premium Policy and guidance have been written to support schools to produce a policy of their own.  The policy enables all colleagues in a school community to be clear as to how this additional funding is to be used to reduce inequalities, what their role is in narrowing the gaps for disadvantaged pupils and how the school will demonstrate impact.  The supporting guidance assists schools in tailoring the policy to meet the needs of their particular pupils.  It also pulls all the latest research and tools they can use together in one place for ease of use saving time and effort.

The Pupil Premium Policy Template on the Guardian Teacher Network is a PDF.  Should schools require a Word version to make it easier for them to produce their own, this is available on request from Equitable Education on
 info@equitableeducation.co.uk for a copy.  

Equitable Education provides workshops for schools and their governing bodies to facilitate the production of their own Pupil Premium Policy, using all the latest evidence based research of ‘what works’ and evaluation tools that are available to use.  We can support you in personalising the workshop, so that it is tailor made to meet the particular needs of your pupils eligible for free schools meals.  Please get in contact with Sameena Choudry on sc@equitableeducation.co.uk to discuss the needs of your school and how we can support you in ensuring maximum impact in using your Pupil Premium effectively in narrowing the gaps for your disadvantaged pupils.

For further information on the Pupil Premium and what you as a school needs to meet the Ofsted and Pupil Premium Grant requirements, please read the blog posting below.

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WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS OF SCHOOLS REGARDING THE USE OF THE PUPIL PREMIUM AND HOW ARE THEY HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ITS USE? 

9/3/2013

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Many schools are receiving additional funding for their pupils who are eligible for free schools meals through the Pupil Premium Grant.  This is also given for children who have been looked after for more than six months and children of service personnel.   The purpose of the Pupil Premium is to reduce the inequalities in educational attainment that currently exist between disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers.

The Pupil Premium Grant is not ring-fenced by the DfE and schools have freedom to use the Pupil Premium as they see fit, based upon their knowledge of their pupil needs.

‘It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent, since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.’  DfE

As a school in receipt of Pupil Premium funding, you are accountable to your parents and school community for how you are using this additional resource to narrow the achievement gaps of your pupils.  New measures have been included in the performance tables published annually on a national level. They capture the achievement of disadvantaged pupils covered by the Pupil Premium.

Under The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012, Schedule 4 there is specified information which has to be to be published on a school’s website.
Section 9 of this regulation requires schools to publish:


 ‘The amount of the school’s allocation from the Pupil Premium grant in respect of the current academic year; details of how it is intended that the allocation will be spent; details of how the previous academic year’s allocation was spent, and the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school in respect of whom grant funding was allocated’.

In addition, under the Ofsted Inspection Framework 2012, there is a stronger focus on improving the learning and progress of different groups and on narrowing gaps in standards.  As a result, Ofsted carefully scrutinises the use of the Pupil Premium and the impact this is having on narrowing the gaps.  Please note that this permeates across all four areas of the new Ofsted framework and your governing body has an important role in monitoring the use of the Pupil Premium and accounting for its effectiveness.

Equitable Education has produced a free Model Pupil Premium Policy Template for schools to use, with accompanying guidance. Both documents are available from the Guardian Teacher Network and can be downloaded here.      

Equitable Education can provide workshops for your school and your governing body on the Pupil Premium. this  which will be tailor made to meet the specific needs of your pupils eligible for free school meals.  These workshops will also take you through the latest evidence based research of ‘what works’ and evaluation tools to ensure that members of your school community know how to narrow the gaps and can demonstrate impact.  Please feel free to get in touch with Sameena Choudry on sc@equitableeducation.co.uk to discuss your school needs.  We can also provide you with a Word version of the two documents produced by Equitable Education. These are available by e-mail from info@equitableeducation.co.uk 

We look forward to hearing from you.
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    Equitable Education 

    Equitable Education's blog keeps you updated with the latest news and developments in closing the gaps in education.  We regularly share best practice materials and case studies of proven strategies to close the education gaps, along with the latest research from the UK and internationally.

    The blog is written by Sameena Choudry and the views are entirely her own or of her co-authors when written with colleagues.

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