New arrivals and referrals

Let EMTAS know by completing an online referral form

Who the form is for

Schools fill in and submit the online referral form for

  • Pupils for whom English is an Additional Language (EAL) including pupils of Roma heritage, pupils who have come to the UK as refugees with their families and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC)
Who can make referrals

Schools can make referrals for profiling and support for their pupils as part of the range of services they can access from EMTAS through their SLA . Please note if you are an academy and have not bought back into our SLA, or if you are a pre-school provider, this service is chargeable. For support with transition into Year R, the receiving school should complete the referral form indicating they are making a referral for support with transition into Year R by checking the appropriate box. They should do this during the summer term, once the child's school place has been confirmed. This should be done in liaison with the child's current pre-school where applicable. We cannot process referrals made by the pre-school except through our sold services.

We do not take referrals from parents and carers. We do not need their contact information unless they need to be contacted by a Bilingual Assistant or Traveller Teaching Assistant to discuss a forthcoming early profiling visit.

As a courtesy, schools should inform parents that a member of staff from EMTAS will be coming into school to see their child and to reassure parents that this is happening in order to ensure provision meets the needs of the child.

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions about our referral process.

Remember to check levels and progress over time

School staff are advised to review the pupil’s level of English before making a referral. EMTAS will carry out pupil profiling for pupils who are in the earlier stages of acquiring English. This means pupils who are working within Band A or B of the DfE Proficiency Scale. Access the DfE Proficiency Scale.

If there are concerns about a pupil’s progress, school staff should first read the guidance on the EAL/SEND page of the EMTAS website and use the ‘Cause for Concern’ form available as a free download to help determine the most appropriate course of action to take. If after doing this you still have concerns, you should access support by phoning the EMTAS office in the first instance on 03707 794222

What happens when a referral has been made

Within two weeks of making a referral for an early stage learner of English as an additional language, you will be contacted by a Bilingual Assistant, EAL Practitioner or Specialist Teacher Advisor to arrange a time for a profiling visit. During the visit, background information will be gathered and an assessment will be made of the pupil's language skills in first language(s) and in English. You will receive a written Profiling Report containing all the information gathered during the visit.

If at any point during the referral process you have questions about how best to meet the needs of the child being referred, contact the EMTAS office on 03707 794222 for advice.

If you have Gypsy, Roma or Traveller children on roll and you want support and advice, please contact the EMTAS office either by phone or email [email protected].

Further information
Refer a child, online referral form 

If you have read and understood the process and you have all the information you need, please fill in the online referral form. Note that a separate form should be completed for each child being referred.

Fill in the online referral form

For support for an English-speaking child of Traveller heritage (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Showmen or Boater), use the GTRSB referral form which can be found on the Accessing support for a Traveller child page.

Request training for staff in school

If you want training on any aspect of practice and provision for learners of English as an Additional Language and/or for pupils of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Showmen and Boater heritage for staff at your school, complete the EMTAS training request form.

EMTAS training request form
Online Background Information Collation Tool from South East Grid for Learning (SEGfL)

When children and young people who have recently arrived from abroad enrol at a new school, it is critical to ensure that accurate information is recorded at point of entry. This is even more vital when the new arrival's first language is not English.

The most effective way to collect this information is to set up a parent conference supported by a bilingual interpreter, where necessary. This is always the best solution. However, it is recognised that it is not always possible to obtain an interpreter at short notice.

The New Arrivals Tool was developed by SEGfL for such occasions. The tool supports the induction and early profiling of newly arrived learners by providing a framework to collect background information. This helps schools think about the most effective provision for the newly arrived learner.

The tool is most suitable for use with a learner who has:

  • recently arrived in the UK from abroad
  • transferred within the UK from another school

The languages currently available on the tool are:

  • Albanian
  • Arabic
  • Bengali
  • Bulgarian
  • Chinese
  • English
  • Farsi
  • French
  • German
  • Lithuanian
  • Nepali
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Romanian
  • Slovak
  • Somali
  • Sylheti
  • Ukrainian

Pupils and/or parents can access the questions in first language, either in written form or audio (or both) in languages in which the tool is available. They can give their responses and then the completed form can be printed out in English by the school.