The EMTAS study skills programme (for pupils)

What is the EMTAS Study Skills Programme?

This programme, developed by the EMTAS Team, enables students to draw on their first language(s) and IT to access their mainstream lessons and their homework.

The main aims of the programme are to help students

  • explore how they feel about their learning and their subjects
  • gain experience of different tools and strategies they can apply in their lessons/homework

Which students are suitable for the EMTAS Study Skills Programme?

The programme is suitable for

  • pupils in Years 5 and 6 and students in Key Stages 3 and 4
  • students working within Bell Foundation Bands A, B and early-stage Band C

To benefit from the programme, students must be literate in their first language (L1). Those who cannot read/write in L1 will be supported in class as normal.

What are the benefits of the EMTAS Study Skills Programme?

The EMTAS Study Skills Programme

  • boosts students' confidence and self-esteem
  • provides opportunities for continued development and use of first language in meaningful, curriculum-linked contexts
  • enables multilingual children to become independent learners

How does the EMTAS Study Skills Programme work?

An EMTAS practitioner will deliver the programme in withdrawal to individual learners or to groups of students, using the students’ first language, English or a mixture of both. 

At the end of the programme, students have the opportunity to review their personal toolkit of strategies developed during the programme, with the hope that they are better equipped to access the curriculum on a day-to-day basis.

The activities include things such as:

  • highlighting and annotating
  • the use of translation tools
  • developing dual language glossaries
  • exploring educational websites
  • rehearsal of ideas

How are the sessions structured?

The programme consists of 5 sessions of 50 minutes each. Each session consists of the following:

  • a welcome and recap activity when the students share how they have used the tools and skills they learned in the previous session
  • a focus on academic wellbeing
  • a demonstration by the EMTAS practitioner of a new tool and/or strategy
  • an opportunity for the students to explore and practise for themselves using their own devices, and to feed back their findings to the group
  • a conclusion, revisiting the students’ academic wellbeing and their feelings about the newly acquired skills
  • a homework task, which will be reviewed in the next session

After all 5 sessions have been delivered, the EMTAS practitioner will provide feedback so that class and subject teachers can continue to support their students to use the tools and strategies they have learned.

What is required for the smooth running of the programme?

The EMTAS practitioner will arrive 30 minutes before the start of their sessions to set up.  School staff need to ensure that the students are ready to meet the EMTAS practitioner at the agreed time and location for a prompt start.

Schools need to provide:

  • access to Wi-Fi
  • a suitable space for EMTAS staff to work with the students
  • laptops/computers/tablets for each student’s use OR permission for the students to use of their smart phones during the sessions
  • access to specific apps and websites (details will be discussed in advance)

To find out more information about the EMTAS Study Skills programme, sign up for our EMTAS online Network Meetings.

Download and print a copy of the above information about the EMTAS Study Skills Programme

To learn more about this programme, sign up for our online network meeting on 6 November 2023, 9:30am to 10:30am.

Contact Lizzie Jenner [email protected] to book your space.

The session is suitable for practitioners working with pupils in Years 5 and 6 (primary phase) and Years 7 through 11 (secondary phase).

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