Guidance on the use of EMTAS Assistants and support for more advanced learners in schools

Bilingual Assistants and EAL Practitioners and first language support

Not all pupils for whom English is an additional language will require first language or EAL support. Some may have been born in the UK and have lived here all their lives but speak or have access to another language at home. Others may have come to live in the UK when they were very young and have had several years' education here. Often, pupils such as these have oracy skills commensurate with their monolingual, English-only peers and do not need first language or EAL support in order to access the curriculum.

EMTAS Bilingual Assistants and EAL Practitioners are best deployed to support pupils who are in the early stages of acquiring English and families who need first language support e.g. at parents' evenings or other important meetings.

Some newly-arrived pupils will have had access to English medium education in country of origin: these pupils can be referred as New Arrivals but will only be profiled by EMTAS staff if they are in the early stages of acquiring English (Bell Band A or B). They are unlikely to need first language or EAL support to access the curriculum in their new UK classroom. There may still be a need for other forms of support for this group of children, e.g. through mentoring.

Traveller Support Workers

EMTAS Traveller Support Workers (TSWs) are deployed to work in school under the professional direction and supervision of a qualified teacher. They can provide support to pupils who are of Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen or Boater heritage, working either one-to-one with the focus pupil or with a small group that includes the focus pupil.

If other issues have been identified, for example poor attendance or difficulties engaging with families, EMTAS can support in other ways. Contact EMTAS to discuss such issues and to access advice on supporting Traveller communities more generally.

Support for more advanced learners of English as an additional language

Schools can access training through EMTAS on meeting the needs of more advanced learners of English as an additional language. See Supporting advanced learners of English as an additional language for more information on this group of EAL learners.

For some bilingual pupils with secure first language skills, there is the option of taking a GCSE in their heritage language. Contact EMTAS to discuss this: [email protected]. Note that not all languages are available at GCSE.