EMTAS training courses

An in person session of approximately an hour covering key aspects of practice and provision for children and families of black heritage. Staff will develop their understanding of the diversity subsumed within this broad heading. They will explore some of the issues experienced by people in these groups as they engage with education, and some possible solutions.

To find out more, or to book a session, contact [email protected].

Strategies to Support early stage learners of English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Course: New Arrivals training

This is a session of approximately one hour which focuses on strategies that will support a pupil new to English to access the curriculum. A generic New Arrival session can be delivered to whole staff as part of INSET or as a twilight. Alternatively, a more tailored session covering similar material can be delivered to smaller groups of staff where it would be more useful to focus on the specific needs of an individual pupil.

A New Arrivals training session is appropriate for any members of school staff who may have contact with the pupil/parents including teachers, SENCo, teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisory assistants and admin staff.

As part of their programme of support for New Arrivals who are in the early stages of acquiring English, schools might also find it useful to implement the Young Interpreter Scheme.

For schools on the Isle of Wight

New Arrivals/New-to-English training sessions

Course: Supporting New Arrivals who are in the early stages of acquiring English as an Additional Language (EAL)

This generic training session looks at how practitioners can meet the language-learning needs of more advanced learners of English as an additional language.

The session:

• is suitable for staff working with pupils who have been here at least two years and who have already acquired fluency in everyday conversational English
• focuses on ways of improving pupils' use of more academic language across a range of curricular areas
• is most appropriate for teachers working in Key Stages 2, 3 and 4.

SEAL is a course for staff in schools who wish to develop expertise in supporting pupils who are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL).

The course commences in the Autumn Term annually. There are six units available and these will be delivered one a term over a two year period. Each unit focuses on a different aspect of provision for pupils with EAL.

To register for SEAL, please complete this online form.

For more details, see the SEAL flyer

English as an Additional Language (EAL) courses for trainee teachers and ECTs

We offer a range of courses to meet your needs, ranging from half-day courses to termly training sessions running as a steady progression from Initial Teacher Training right through to the end of the Early Career Teacher programme.

See our flyer for more details or contact [email protected]

EMTAS can provide ‘Raising Awareness of Traveller Culture’ training bespoke to your setting/district.

This session will identify the different sub-groups of Travellers that come under the umbrella term “Travellers”, focus on Traveller culture, discuss any implications for schools and share good practice.

We can also support with planning to help schools and settings celebrate Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month which takes place in June.

Traveller (GRT) and Showmen Network Meetings

EMTAS run termly network meetings. These are twilight sessions and they provide an opportunity for practitioners to meet to share best practice in relation to Traveller and Showmen pupils and their families.

The meetings are open to teaching and support staff working with Traveller/Showmen pupils and their families as well as GRT co-ordinators, SENCOs and line managers in infant, junior and secondary settings.

Date: Thursday 21 November 2024
Time: 3:45pm to 4:45pm
Venue: Online
Focus: Transition, the use of the T Code to record absence and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE).

Date: Thursday 27 February 2025
Time: 3:45pm to 4:45pm
Venue: Online
Focus: Preparing for the 2024 travelling season – a look at the use of the T-code and approaches to distance learning with a look ahead to Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month (GRTHM – June) and ideas to support schools to celebrate this annual event

Date: Thursday 15 May 2025
Time: 3:45pm to 4:45pm
Venue: Online
Focus: Celebrating schools’ successes with both the EMTAS Traveller Excellence Award and GRTHM

To book a place, email [email protected] putting 'Network Meeting' in the subject line.

The Traveller and Showmen Cross-Border Group was formed by Hampshire Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service in 2017. It brings together professionals from different Local Authorities in the south of England who work directly with or on behalf of Traveller and Showmen communities. It has a specific education focus.

The purpose of the Traveller and Showmen Cross-Border Group is to disseminate best practice across all authorities and improve the efficiency and impact of services, thus ensuring improved outcomes for Traveller and Showmen children and communities.

Meetings take place online and are held termly. Topics covered in the meetings are wide ranging and can include discussions on: education, institutional racism, new projects, sharing what works and what doesn’t, resources and new thinking amongst other things.

Date: 2 December 2024
Time: 10am to 12:30pm
Venue: Online
Focus: Attendance and T-code changes

Date: 31 March 2025
Time: 10am to 12:30pm
Venue: Online
Focus: TBC

Date: 23 June 2025
Time: 10am to 12:30pm
Venue: Online
Focus: Events organised in different areas to celebrate Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month (GRTHM)

The EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisor team offer network meetings on a range of topics throughout the academic year. These are held as twilight sessions and provide an opportunity for practitioners discuss best practice in relation to different aspects of ethnic minority achievement.

Our network meetings are offered online via MS Teams. Other training can be offered as an in-person session; use the training request form at the bottom of this page of our website if you want to request in-person training for staff in your school.

The meetings are open to teaching and support staff working with pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds as well as EMA/EAL co-ordinators, SENCOs and line managers in infant, junior and secondary settings.

Date: Tuesday 16 September 2025
Time: 3:30pm to 4:30pm
Venue: Online
Focus: New to English - Working with learners who are new to English (Bell Bands A and B). Includes practical classroom strategies. Cross phase.

Date: Tuesday 7 October 2025
Time: 3:30pm to 4:30pm
Venue: Online
Focus: Understanding the Young Interpreter Scheme. Cross phase. Free to all, including practitioners outside Hampshire. Learn how to set up the scheme successfully, discover material and consider good YI practice and safeguarding.

Date: Monday 20 October 2025
Time: 3:30pm to 4:30pm
Venue: Online
Focus: EAL and SEND: approaches to exploring the identification of SEND with children for whom English is an Additional Language whose progress is causing concern. Cross phase..

Date: Monday 10 November 2025
Time: 3:30pm to 4:30pm
Venue: Online
Focus: Persona Dolls: an opportunity to learn how to use this resource to its full capacity in the classroom to support younger learners to tackle important issues that may affect them and their peers. EYFS and Key Stage 1.

Date: Wednesday 19 November 2025
Time: 3:30pm to 4:30pm
Venue: Online
Focus: The role and remit of an EAL Lead in school. This is an opportunity to meet other people with a similar role, to find out what the role might entail and what support is available. Cross-phase.

A set of high-quality, cross-phase, interactive online training modules based around catering for the needs of learners of English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Traveller learners.

Our e-learning is aimed at Governors, Teachers, HLTAs, TAs and Inclusion Managers with particular relevance for trainee teachers, NQTs and key workers recently appointed to the role of working directly with EAL and/or Traveller learners.

There are 14 modules available:

1. Introduction to working with EAL learners
2. Core principles
3. Working with parents and the community
4. The SEND:EAL interface
5. Teaching and Learning
6. Bilingualism
7. Adult Bilingual Conferencing
8. Catering for the needs of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children
9. Culturally Inclusive School
10. First Language Assessment
11. Role of EAL coordinator
12. Multilingual Perspectives
13. Catering for the needs of children of Traveller heritages
14. Best practice for EAL, BME and Traveller children in the Early Years

More detail about each of the above modules can be found in the EMTAS EAL e-Learning brochure

Benefits

• The materials have been developed by EAL and Traveller Specialists in conjunction with senior leaders and class teachers based in local schools
• They contain a variety of interactive learning materials supported by text, images, podcasts and video
• There are assessable assets and free-form activities that enable learners to reflect on their current practice
• The materials can be visited at a learner’s own pace and in their own time-frame
• The system records progress throughout each unit
• Completed units are certificated by the system and can form part of a learner’s CPD

See the EMTAS EAL E learning taster units.

Hampshire EMTAS share the hosting of the NALDIC EAL RIG meetings with Portsmouth EMAS. Meetings are held termly and are free to attend.

NALDIC Berkshire Hampshire RIG
Date: Thursday 9 October 2025
Time: 3:30pm to 4:45pm
Theme: This RIG is an opportunity to explore the concept of belonging. We will consider some of the possible barriers to belonging that children and young people may experience as they join a new school and identify approaches that can support new entrants to feel they belong. The meeting will have particular relevance to practitioners working with multilingual children & young people and their families, especially those who have arrived from overseas.

Book your free place

Follow Hampshire-EMTAS on LinkedIn to receive notifications about the scheduling and focus of Hampshire-Berkshire NALDIC RIG meetings.

EAL Clinics can be used to offer on-going support to school-based staff. Led by an EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisor and scheduled once a term through the school year, this model of training provides opportunities for practitioners to discuss particular pupils, questions and concerns in relation to EAL practice and provision in the classroom. Download this leaflet for more detail.

EAL Clinic Model

A Traveller/Showmen Clinic can be used to offer on-going support to school-based staff, particularly Traveller Co-Ordinators. Scheduled once a term through the school year, this model of training provides opportunities for practitioners to meet with an EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisor to discuss practice and provision in their school setting for children of Traveller and/or Showmen heritage. Bespoke to the needs of the school, a Traveller/Showmen Clinic can also include a focus on next-steps planning for particular pupils/families. Download this leaflet for more detail.

GTR/Showmen Clinic

Through our Sold Services, EMTAS offers a range of services to schools and academies on the Isle of Wight.

Full details can be found in these two brochures:

Isle of Wight Brochure of Services for Primary Schools

Isle of Wight Brochure of Services for Secondary Schools

Staff from schools and academies on the Isle of Wight can access any of the EMTAS network meetings listed above.

Schools and Academies on the Isle of Wight are welcome to attend any of the EMTAS network meetings, those with an EAL focus and those with a Traveller focus. Attendance is chargeable at the rates shown in the Isle of Wight brochures.