EAL SpecialismIn 2005 the then Department for Education and Skills (DFES) awarded two contracts for the provision of accredited training for teachers in English as an additional language; one to Birmingham University with NASSEA (Northern Association of Support Services for Equality and Achievement). This course was predominantly distance learning with locally tutored sessions and mostly involved LEAs throughout the Midlands and North; the second to the Institute of Education in partnership with Redbridge LEA. This course involved taught sessions at the Institute and in Redbridge and was offered as a Postgraduate Certificate at M level.
Around the same time a further two contracts were also awarded for provision of accredited training for teaching assistants in English as an additional language; one to Enfield LEA in partnership with Middlesex University, to produce a Diploma in EAL and the second to Portsmouth & Hampshire LEAs in partnership with Portsmouth University.
Recently an independent report has been commissioned by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) for the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) in conjunction with the Institute of Education (IoE) to develop a workforce strategy for English as an additional language in schools. The aim of the strategy is to set out a vision for the next five years in which every EAL learner is supported in achieving their full potential, and every member of the teaching workforce is appropriately equipped to enable them to contribute in making this vision a reality. A consultation is currently underway on the first draft of the strategy and a second consultation will start in November 2009. The final report of the strategy will be published in March 2010. |
