The Kidbrooke School Case Study

One Inner-City Secondary School's ESL Agenda

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Our Aims:

Many of the students seeking help from the ESL Department have recently arrived in Britain, often from parts of the world where conflict or hardship are the norm. Students are understandably disorientated and fearful of all the new things they have to get used to, not least coping with a new language and culture.

Our wish in the ESL Department is to make new students feel at ease with us and to minimise their fears and uncertainties. An essential element of our teaching approach is the praise and encouragement of students which will include the display of their work. While the teaching of English remains our priority, the pastoral dimension of our work should not be underestimated. Racial abuse and a sense of cultural alienation are everyday realities for our students.

Our Approach:

Our approach is fourfold:

1. In Class Support - supporting students in mainstream classes working alongside the class teacher in a Partnership role. An assessment is made of the student's Stage of English and materials are prepared or adapted accordingly.

2. Selective Withdrawal - students come off timetable for 2-3 periods a week to have intensive help with the English Language in the ESL area.

3. Academic Induction - newly arrived students will spend a period of time in Room 146 to establish the basics of English. These students work through the Induction Files [see following pages]. A Pre-Induction Course is run for illiterate students which may last a number of weeks.

4. Pastoral Induction - A Unit based programme covering all aspects of ESL Student orientation on arrival at Kidbrooke. The seven units cover issues ranging from Racism to School Rules and Uniform.

The intention always is to equip students to assimilate into mainstream activities at Kidbrooke as quickly as possible so that they can play a full part in school life.

Assessment & Evaluation:

Record keeping forms an integral part of our work in the Department. Daily records are kept in the ESL area of each student's progress and individual teachers carry a record book to assess students they support in class.
In addition, students are continuely monitored at Department and Faculty meetings and permanent records are kept outlining the development of students under our care. As part of our role as Section 11 teachers we also supply half termly reports to the central records kept by Greenwich.

Induction Programme:

One of the greatest difficulties ESL Students experience when coming to Kidbrooke is know what is expected of them. School rules and dress requirements are explained in their Contact Books but not in their mother tongues so often misunderstandings arise. It is a sad fact, too, that many of our ESL Students have fled their home countries with few possessions and cannot afford to buy uniform and equipment immediately. While the School can provide money for clothes, this can take time and ESL Students are left open to ridicule from their peers. Muslim dress code can also be a point of conflict as girls are required to wear a Hijab over their hair. Dietary restrictions, especially during the fast month of Ramadan, can single out ESL Students for unwelcome attention.

The pastoral dimension of the Induction Programme run by the ESL Department is an essential component in the integration of ESL Students. As well as a carefully orchestrated academic programme, the Department offers students special units on such topics as School Rules and Uniform; inset on specialist language used in individual Faculties along with hands-on demonstrations of equipment, if applicable; cultural issues; and how to cope with the torrent of forms and interviews for the DHSS.

Units, usually led by our mother tongue specialists, take place in the ESL area and run parallel with the academic Induction Programme (see attached sheet for course structure). The Pastoral Programme follows the following Unit-based sessions.

Unit One: Orientation 1 - a tour of the School and the School Day - an introduction to School Rules and Uniform

Unit Two: Orientation 2 - written assignment (if literate) from the "Welcome Pack" use of money, buses passes, shopping, etc.

Unit Three: Language 1 - survival language for newcomers to Britain - practical advice on expectations of peer-group behaviour

Unit Four: Language 2 - inset from Faculties (by arrangement) - vocabulary & hands-on practical demonstrations of equipment. Library skills are addressed.

Unit Five: Racism - the facts of bullying, aggressive behaviour, use of dangerous weapons, methods of resolving conflicts. - learning to see the "other point of view"

Unit Six: Diversity - making the most of cultural diversity in the School - contributing to the life of the School & Community