Good Practice
Contents
Introduction
We see impactful practice regularly in schools when improving children’s understanding of equality and diversity, supporting with inclusion, as well as managing bullying, prejudice and racism incidents.
Over the next few months the Ethnic minority and Traveller achievement service (EMTAS) will be including examples and resources from some of these schools, to help you along your journey to improve understanding in your school.
If you feel you have something to share then please contact cary-anne.ginns@devon.gov.uk
St James School, Exeter – Bullying, prejudice and racism incident intervention
St James secondary school in Exeter reviewed their intervention for bullying, prejudice and racism incidents a few years ago. They understood that to make the most impact, education around the incident needs to occur with the assailant as soon as possible and preferably before any form of suspension. Led by Di Davenport, the team created resources for many different types of incident. The assailant spends time going through a PowerPoint, looking at an understanding of the incident, the impacts, some scenarios and then restorative justice. This is followed up by a member of staff with some questions, the assailant discusses the incident and signs to acknowledge they understand the learning that has taken place. If any repeat incident does occur children are held to account for their part, by reviewing the document that they have signed.
This strategy has seen a significant reduction in the number of incidents and recurrence of incidents, and they have kindly agreed to share all their amazing resources with our Devon schools.
Resources courtesy of St James School:
- Bullying intervention – PPt / Worksheet
- Homophobic intervention – PPt / Worksheet
- Racism intervention – PPt / Worksheet
- Physical assault on a pupil intervention – PPt / Worksheet
- Sexual misconduct intervention – PPt / Worksheet
- Verbally threatening to an adult intervention – PPt / Worksheet
- Verbally threatening to a pupil intervention – PPt / Worksheet
- Anger management intervention – PPt / Worksheet
- Defiance intervention – PPt / Worksheet
Stoke Hill Primary School, Exeter – Traveller inclusion
Our priority for traveller families is firmly rooted in equality and inclusion for all. Helping all our children to flourish begins with building meaningful relationship and only then can we fine tune learning opportunities to address gaps in knowledge which can sometimes occur with children who may have attended a number of settings through out their primary years. Once trust and mutual respect is established accurate teacher assessment leads to targeted support and interventions appropriate for the stage of development along side inclusion within the whole cohort to allow individuals to feel part of the Stoke Hill Family.
Deputy Head of School – Stoke Hill Primary, Exeter
The main thing I’ve think we’ve done is to gain a real understanding of the gypsy culture and values. We have adapted how we speak with the family regarding their needs, and our observations of their needs, so as not to cause any offence…. certain subjects around hygiene, finances, education etc can be taboo subjects in the gypsy community. Understanding the culture helps enormously to sensitively discuss certain issues with the family.
The other thing we’ve done is to concentrate on building a relationship with the family. And I truly believe that we’ve done that exceptionally well. I feel they trust us, they listen to us which in turn gives them the confidence to work with us and engage with the support which is available for them. That I think has been the turning point for this family. The difficulty is maintaining that, but we will strive to do that.
We spent a good few months helping to meet the family’s material needs such as clothing donations, everyday essential food items, toys, games, books, school uniforms…..even bedding and clothing for visiting family.
Family values are so important within the gypsy culture, we’ve got to be seen to meet their needs along with our target family. I think we did that well from the onset.
Family Support worker – Stoke Hill Primary, Exeter
Tiverton High school, Tiverton – Supporting Ukrainian arrivals
Teresa Perry and her team explain how they have made Ukrainian children feel welcome:
‘When the Ukrainian students started with us in September 2022, we held a parent meeting for each family with an interpreter. This was to go through any questions or concerns that the parents had and to make sure they were happy with school procedures. We gave them key contact details, so they had a point of contact and could contact us directly if they had any issues.
In March we organised a Coffee Morning for the parents to come and check in, meet each other and chat through their experiences and any problems. We also had a member from the EMTAS team and an interpreter available to translate. This was successful and the parents seemed to find it enjoyable and useful.
We arranged for the children to have small group Bilingual lessons with a Ukraine support teacher from the EMTAS teams for two terms. This was useful in improving not only their vocabulary, but also their grammar and academic vocabulary. We also had group sessions run by the schools to help them socialise with their fellow Ukrainian peers.
Easter is an important celebration for Ukrainian children. We gave the students a wooden egg to decorate and they brought the eggs back into school to show us and they received a chocolate egg after photos were taken. We also made and decorated Easter cards for the students to give to their parents and/or host family.
We also dedicated a display board where Ukrainian children could share their information about themselves, which they enjoyed. This gave other students a way of seeing our Ukrainian students as part of the school community.
Ladysmith Federation – EAL provision
Ladysmith Federation have a clear induction programme in place to welcome new arrivals. We have found that a welcome meeting and tour with new parents is invaluable to gain information about the child’s prior learning experiences and abilities in their home language. This meeting ensures that there are no misconceptions before the child starts school.
We have been working with staff through regular CPD and coaching on developing strategies in the classroom to support EAL Learners, to extend language and develop communication. There is a consistent approach to assessing EAL Learners who are working below age expectations through the EAL Proficiency Assessments. This tool has given teachers a targeted approach when addressing children’s next steps for development and is regularly communicated with parents. We are trailing some new initiatives to celebrate our diversity across the school. Parents have been invited to read a story to their class in dual languages and our “Diversity Week” is a celebration of the languages spoken within our school.
Honiton Primary – Supporting EAL families and their children
As a school, Honiton Primary School prides itself on its commitment to its community and collaborative approach to all aspects of life for our teachers and families alike. Over the past year, HPS has seen its EAL register grow exponentially and our community become more diverse. This is something that we celebrate!
From the very first meeting with a new family, we ensure that we get a great understanding of any new child joining our school so that we can get things in place for them so they feel welcomed and settled. Initial meetings with parents are paramount, and we have found this to be incredibly useful; not only for the school, but also for the families so that they feel welcomed and a part of our community. We always introduce families to other families that share the same language as often they can be quite isolated when moving to a new area. We have seen some great friendships blossom and seeing support networks grow has been great. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child!
Once the child starts, we ensure that they have resources in both their home language and English. These also have an image to support understanding through the use of widgit. This has been a fantastic resource to support language development as well as communication; particularly for those a little shy to start with. We have also invested in some bi-lingual books for families and school to share with the children to support making links with language. Any correspondence home is translated for families, be it letters, texts or emails and we really ensure that parents are aware of what is going on and they are welcomed to join various parent and school events also. Our website can also be fully translated in over 100 languages by just a touch of a button!
Immersion into class has been the best method and our pupils are great at supporting our new children. The collaborative approach that the school prides itself on, really has developed our pupils’ self-confidence and abilities to support one another and guide new children without prompting from adults; they love to help! Our pupils also love learning about our EAL child’s language and culture and particularly like sharing stories in their home language. Showing the value and respect to other cultures has been key.
Alongside an immersive approach, we have found for some children, once they have settled into the British school system, that a bi-lingual support may be needed. We have been blessed to have many of our children supported through the bi-lingual support service and our children look forward to going to these sessions each week.
Collaboration is key. Our school really is a community that is growing and changing and it is something that we embrace and celebrate daily.