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Introduction
| Overview
| Becoming an LC
| CILT support
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CILT-SLC case study |
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The Earls High School, West Midlands |
Primary |
19 schools work together on primary languages
We’ve built the network but how do we take it forward? The Halesowen Development Group describes an excellent example of SLCs, secondary schools and primary schools working together as part of the CILT ELL-LC project. The focus is very much on moving on for both teachers and pupils.
As a Language College we have been delighted to work with 15 primary and two secondary schools over the past two years in order to help with the implementation of the Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages.
The 15 schools we work with form part of The Halesowen Development Group as well as three secondary schools (including ourselves) and a special school. At the start of each year the schools pool money, which provides cover costs to enable staff to be released during the day in order to work with colleagues from other schools who have similar responsibilities. Peter Hatton is the Learning Network Coordinator, having set it up some seven years ago. Peter is extremely supportive of primary languages in particular, having seen its very positive impact on the curriculum in local classrooms.
All the primary schools have chosen to deliver French, due to staff expertise and also availability of resources. Initially we held a Halesowen Development Group meeting in June 2007 and invited three publishers to demonstrate their ICT packages. The Halesowen Development Group chose Rigolo as the main resource. As a result of choosing their scheme consensually teachers felt secure, knew that they would be able to support one another and exchange practical ideas easily. The Earls High then coordinated the purchase of these at a discounted rate, as well as the installation on their networks.
In September 2007 we coordinated fortnightly outreach lessons in Year 3 in 15 of the schools, with the primary practitioner being present in the lessons delivered by the MFL specialist and then delivering the alternating lesson. The Earls High has three members of staff delivering 30 minute lessons in 12 primary schools. Staff from two other secondary schools, Leasowes High School and Community College and Cradley High School, deliver French in the remaining 3 primary schools. We will target our support in Year 4 from September 2008.
We develop our schemes of work continuously by e-mailing out suggested lesson plans, usually based on one lesson, which can be broken down into 2 or 3 parts, along with the appropriate additional resources.
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Melanie Olver, Peter Hatton and colleagues at a Network Meeting on 23rd January '08 |
Each term the Primary MFL Coordinators attend Development Group meetings at The Earls High. On these occasions we have taken advantage of support available from the CILT Early Language Learning-Language College programme, and have based the content of sessions on requests from the primary schools. These have included getting inside the KS2 Framework for Languages and creating a generic Primary Languages Policy. We have also delivered twilight sessions on 'Games and Fun Activities' and getting to know our key resources. The next two meetings will involve an introduction of the programme to Year 4 teachers and another focusing on cross curricular links, culture and stories.
Prior to setting up this model, we had already begun to build positive relationships with the primary staff and schools in the Halesowen Development Group via Project Croissant and our delivery of the Black Country Children’s Services Improvement Partnership (BCCSIP) ten-week programme of thirty-minute lessons in individual schools. These were each followed by a discussion with the primary teacher (who observed the lesson) regarding methodology and further extension of the lesson.
We are pleased that our Development Group work will also be partially supported by Local Authority funding in 2008/9 and that we will continue to attend mutually supportive Local Authority meetings, set up by the Primary Strategy Manager, with other language specialists involved in primary language teaching. We have recently had input into the Dudley Primary Languages Conference set up by this group. We also sat on the BCCSIP Primary Languages Steering Group and will continue to attend meetings with their spin-off group.
We have been extremely lucky that all the primary practitioners have been so enthusiastic about Primary Languages and have welcomed us into their schools. It is a pleasure to help and support all of the Halesowen Development Group Primary Schools.
Melanie Olver, Language College Leader, The Earls High School, Dudley, June 2008
If you are interested in getting involved in a similar group, you may like to find out about your nearest Regional Support Group for primary languages.
