Transitioning between home and school learning: some success stories
30th June 2020EAL Learning – Achieving the right balance
18th August 2020We’ve made it to the top again! The Learning Village secondary-level programme – The Islands – has been shortlisted in the Teach Secondary awards 2020. This follows our success in 2019, where we won a 3-star award in the Teach Primary English category.
The Islands is specifically designed for EAL learners in secondary schools. It addresses the particular challenges faced by new arrivals in KS3 and KS4. Through its three learning journeys, The Islands teaches new arrivals ‘survival language’ and phonics, and allows them to access subject matter across the secondary curriculum. It’s an image-based programme, making it suitable for learners of any language background, including those who are not yet literate in their own language or who speak a language that is less widely translated.
The Islands is pitched at an appropriate level for low-level secondary-aged students. It’s appealing and fun, with a mature look and feel to engage harder-to-reach learners in developing their early literacy skills.
The Islands supports teachers in delivering small-group interventions and differentiation in class. It has in-built, automatic assessment, with a wealth of resources and training available.
The Teach Secondary awards assess entries for their ability to meet a need, their overall impact, ease of delivery, value for money and adaptability. The awards are independent and impartial guarantees of quality, which teachers and schools can trust. Here’s what the judges had to say about our award-winning entry in 2019:
“…a welcome addition…the website is teeming with resources and lessons…”
“…exceptionally accessible to teachers, especially those who have little experience of teaching English as an additional language…”
“…offers value for money…in comparison to other resources available, the costs do seem accessible to schools’ funds.”
“…comprehensive…flexible…successful…passionate about supporting children’s English language development.”
“…could prove to be invaluable…”
(Teach Primary judges’ comments: October 2019)
We’re delighted to once again form part of this annual showcase of the very best resources for schools!