Year R referrals and training for Early Years

Referral

In most cases, the support EMTAS provides for children in Reception Year focuses on parental engagement strategies and training for staff. Details about the various training options available can be found in the Training Section of our website.

Schools should be aware that in most cases it is preferable to defer referrals for children in Year R until they have had a chance to settle in and their support needs are clearer to practitioners. However, where there are concerns about a child, schools should contact EMTAS to access advice, guidance and support more quickly.

Please use our referral form to refer a child who is in Reception. 

For support for a child/family with transition into Year R, the receiving school can refer the child to EMTAS in the summer term. This will enable schools to access support to gather the relevant background information, and to have an interpreter available for meetings with parents to plan for their child's transition. This is not intended as a universal service; it is to support children and families who may need extra help at this important transition. This is a bespoke service and the support EMTAS can offer will vary from case to case depending on the needs of the individual child/family. More information can be found in the Referrals for transition to Year R leaflet and referrals can be made using the "Transition into Year R" referral form following the link below.

Referrals for Year R: Children for whom English is an additional language

Within two weeks of making a referral for a Year R new arrival/new entrant for whom English is an additional language, you will be contacted by a bilingual assistant or specialist teacher to arrange a package of support tailored to the needs of the child and the setting. During the visit, background information will be gathered, usually from parents/carers and an assessment will be made of the child’s language skills in their first language. Year R practitioners will be consulted to establish the child’s baseline levels in English. After all background information has been collected, school will receive a written Profiling Report which includes recommendations.

Due to the nature of provision in Reception, EMTAS will only offer in-class pupil support where there is an identified need. We offer a flexible approach for children in Year R which can include things like:

  • Support allocation used for work with parents
  • Support allocation used for dual-language story-telling session with groups of Year R children
  • Support deferred until a later point in the child’s schooling for example at key transition points or where problems occur later down the line that necessitate bilingual support.

In addition to the above, schools can borrow resources, including Persona Dolls, from the EMTAS resource library and they can access our phone lines to support home-school communication where parents don’t speak much English.

Please contact us to discuss how we can work with you to develop and embed best practice for children for whom English is an additional language in your Year R class(es).

Referrals for Year R: Traveller children

Children of Traveller heritage will be automatically included in the Traveller Support programme available to schools. This programme is designed to support Traveller children throughout their time in primary phase including key transitions.

Other Traveller-specific services available to schools include Traveller/Showmen Literacy Ambassadors, Persona Doll sessions, cultural awareness training for staff and support for parents/carers. Please contact us to find out how we can work together to develop and embed best practice for Traveller children in your Year R classes.]

Email: [email protected]

Training and support for Early Years providers

EMTAS can provide generic or bespoke training sessions covering any aspect of practice and provision for children and families of BME, EAL and/or GRT heritage.

Contact Sarah Coles to discuss your needs: [email protected]