Training and CPD
Over the last few years EMTAS has been creating amazing training packages that explore support for Travellers, bilingual children and equality and diversity. From April 2024 maintained schools and EYFS attached to maintained schools can access our inset day and twilight training webinars fully funded. You only need to book one place on the webinar and your whole school can use this to attend. Whilst all other training dates selected by a maintained school will be purchasable as an hour of advisory time.
Academy schools and other EYFS can book their place on our webinars at a heavily discounted rate and can continue to book other training dates as they have been.
We are currently adding more twilight webinars for the Summer term.
 Join the celebrations at the Exeter Phoenix, where there will be food, stalls and performances.
Quality first teaching for ethnically diverse and EAL children
Quality first teaching (QFT) is a dynamic and multifaceted style of teaching. It's focus goes beyond traditional teaching methods and has a whole class approach, with personalised learning. There are some key elements to QFT:
- Whole-class teaching
- Personalised teaching
- A framework for teachers
- Emphasis on key skills
- Adaptation to educational setting
EMTAS understands that ensuring ethnically diverse and EAL children are supported within this model is key to raising attainment, well-being and attendance. Below each advisory teacher outlines strategies to support the children in your care.
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The 2012 House of Commons report, ‘Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities’ stated that there is no lack of aspiration from Gypsy and Traveller parents for their children, but, for some, formal education is not seen as a part of those aspirations. This means that it is too easy for the education system to write off the potential of Gypsy and Traveller children, enabling prejudice to continue. The ability to access high-quality education sets the course for the future success of every young person. In the case of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children, a poor start in education may be the catalyst for many other inequalities.
Gypsy and Traveller children leave school at a much earlier age than children in other ethnic groups, they have the lowest educational attainment standards than any other ethnic group in the UK, from early-years onwards and only a handful are recorded as attending university in any given year. In addition, levels of both temporary and permanent exclusions are high and almost half of Gypsy/Roma children are classed as persistent non-attenders. After key stage 4 (usually aged 16), a quarter of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children go into neither education nor employment.
Children in early years learn and develop at a faster rate than at any other time in their lives. It’s the time their brains are growing and developing billions of new connections so high-quality provision is critical for good outcomes.
Learning an additional language is not a step-by-step process. Structures that a child had encountered and subsequently used one day might be misused and misunderstood in a different context or on subsequent days.
Research shows that it takes a newly arrived child with no previous knowledge of English around two years to become fluent in social English, but a minimum of five to seven years to become fluent in academic English. During this period, fluency in social language can be mistaken for fluency in academic language and therefore a child’s needs can be overlooked.
Although it is advisable not to pressurise newly arrived children with EAL to talk if they are not ready yet, it is crucial to ensure that the listening is active- that children make sense of what they are hearing and are given plenty of opportunities to participate in activities.
Children with EAL already have one or more languages to build on! They already understand the nature of language and its complexity so how can we support them to develop additional language/s in the early stages effectively?
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‘Part of disrupting and dismantling preconceived ideas of learning and pedagogy requires people to engage in a new way of thinking, intrinsically interrogating existing values and belief systems’
Professor Jason Arday
Equality and diversity shouldn't just happen in your classroom or school because there is an ethnically diverse child in the room. Developing a sense of identity and exploring other’s identities is key to a well-rounded curriculum and learning experience.
Our secondary school's demographics have changed significantly over the years and this has led to children telling us through our Equality, diversity and inclusion pupil forums that they want to experience and learn more. One year 10 boy said to us, 'we learn it in PSE, but when will it become our whole school culture?'
Only 4% of our Devon schools’ websites homepage reflect every child and staff member in their school and we believe that every child should be seen.
So, what changes can we make in our classrooms and school environment to truly be inclusive?
Schools have told us that having clinic appointments would help them to manage incidents and also build confidence within their staff to deliver assemblies and improve their curriculum.
So now all schools who report bullying, prejudice and racism incidents (BPRIs) to the Local Authority can now book free BPRI clinics, with one of our Lead advisory teachers. This update has already been well received with over 10 bookings in the last two weeks alone. We have discussed individual incidents, assembly content and ensuring residentials are transgender friendly.
You can use your appointments to discuss an incident, an individual child or to discuss your wider equality and diversity provision.
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