Thursday 27 June 2024
Welcome to the Multicultural Devon Network Newsletter
 Welcome to the Multicultural Devon Network Newsletter, the quarterly newsletter of the Migration and Resettlement Team at Devon County Council (DCC). Our newsletters share news about cultural events and celebrations, learning English, anti-racism work and much more but they are also opportunities to celebrate Devon’s multiculturalism and to emphasise that DCC is here to support all residents in Devon, irrespective of race, religion, status or first language. If you have any news or information that you would like to share in our next newsletter, please email ESOL@devon.gov.uk.
Dates for your Diary: cultural events and activities July - September 2024
Following a busy June that included celebrations for Eid Al-Adha, Refugee Week and the Exeter Respect Festival, here are some interesting dates from July to September 2024:
The Islamic New Year is expected to fall on 7th July, marking the start of the year 1446 in the Islamic calendar.
South Asian Heritage Month runs from 18th July to 17th August. The month aims to to deepen people’s understanding of the rich and diverse contributions of South Asian communities to British society, promote intercultural dialogue, and foster greater social cohesion among communities.
23rd July is a Rastafarian celebration of the birthday of Emperor Haile Selassie, a central figure in Rastafarianism.
13th August marks the start of Obon, a three day Japanese Buddhist festival honouring the spirits of ancestors and it is believed that during this time, the souls of those who have died will visit their living relatives for a short time.
19th August is Raksha Bandhan, a Hindu festival of brotherly love, which involves the tying of Rakhi, a thread worn around the wrist or neck as a symbol of love.
23rd August commemorates the International day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, a day designated by UNESCO to commemorate the tragedy of the slave trade.
23rd to 29th September is National Inclusion Week, which is a week founded by Inclusive Employers dedicated to celebrating inclusion and taking action to create inclusive workplaces.
Finally, 26th September is European Day of Languages, which celebrates diversity of languages and cultures. You can find ideas of activities for the day on their website.
Updated Directory of Services for Ethnically Diverse Communities
 The Migration and Resettlement team is delighted to share with you the latest June 2024 edition of our directory of services for ethnically diverse communities in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. You can access the directory by clicking this link: Ethnically Diverse Communities - Directory of Services for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
The directory contains details of numerous VCSEs, public bodies, forums and networks from all sectors which offer key support services for people from ethnically diverse communities in Devon. In the June 2024 edition, we’ve included details of more organisations, and clearer information on finding support for specific needs such as learning English, employment and careers, health and wellbeing, education, housing, and many more.
We hope that the directory helps people from different cultural backgrounds living and/or working in Devon to find the local support that they need. If you are a professional or service provider and you work with people from ethnically diverse communities, we warmly encourage you to use the directory to signpost your clients.
We recognise that this directory is not exhaustive and that it will need to be updated on a regular basis. If you have any suggestions for additions and/or changes then please email ESOL@devon.gov.uk.
Learn Devon ESOL Courses, September 2024
 Is English your second language?
If you want to improve your reading, writing, speaking or listening, visit our website for information about new courses starting in September 2024. All courses are free, available at Entry or Higher level, and are delivered online or face-to-face.
- Speaking & Listening for speakers of other languages: ESOL
- Writing for speakers of other languages: ESOL
- Reading for speakers of other languages: ESOL
- Living and Working in the UK
- Digital Skills for ESOL learners
See all of Learn Devon's ESOL courses online and book now: ESOL courses - Learn Devon
Do you want to speak to a tutor?
If you would like to talk to one of our tutors, join an online enrolment event. These events will be happening through June, July and August. Details available on our website here.
ESOL Training and Professional Development Opportunities
Whether you are new to English language teaching or have been teaching for many years, you might be interested in some of the training and professional development opportunities that are coming up in Devon.
July 23rd 12:00 - 14:00 online:
ESOL for work & embedding ESOL in vocational programmes
FREE online workshop from NATECLA and South West Councils (Please note: although free, places need to be booked and anyone who books but fails to attend will be charged)
This workshop will identify common difficulties for ESOL learners in work and vocational programmes of study, identify and review barriers that learners may face in reading and writing vocational texts and explore practical tips to help identify authentic resources that can be used in any programme.
If you’d like to attend, please fill in the booking form on this webpage.
NATECLA and South West Councils will be offering once-a-month training workshops on a range of subjects throughout the year – we’ll keep you posted.
September/October (exact date and venue to be confirmed)
Identifying dyslexia and other specific learning differences in English language learners and Supporting dyslexic language learners
We have selected this topic after receiving several requests for support, from teachers and from families, related to assessing and supporting English learners who may also have additional needs. We haven’t decided yet whether to offer this as a face-to-face session or online, so if you are interested in joining the session, please get in touch and let us know which you prefer.
CELTA (Certificate in English language Teaching to Adults) is the world’s most widely recognised and valued qualification in English language teaching. Last year, South West Councils generously offered several free places on online CELTA training courses. This year, Devon County Council is offering – depending on levels of interest – some free, or heavily discounted places. It is likely that the next available online CELTA courses will be running sometime near the start of 2025 so if you are interested, please email ESOL@devon.gov.uk – once we know how many people are interested, we can book the places.
Fully Funded Anti-Racism Training for Schools
 The “Anti-racism in Devon Schools Workshops” Programme is a fully funded initiative led by the Migration and Resettlement Team. The main objective is to empower staff to tackle racism and improve the safety of children and families from Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse backgrounds.
The sessions are directed at school staff and governors and are adapted to cater to each school’s individual needs. They include explorations and practical examples of the following topics:
- What is racism?
- What does anti-racism look like in an educational setting?
- What is intersectionality?
- Statutory duties and interpretation of those duties.
If schools are also looking for anti-racism sessions for their pupils, we can support them to access sessions delivered by our partner organisations.
While the anti-racism training sessions are an invaluable resource for schools, it’s important to emphasise that becoming anti-racist is not a one-off event; it is a continuous process of self-learning, educating, reflecting and acting.
If schools are interested in this fully funded offer, please contact Project Coordinator for Ethnically Diverse Communities, Ana Barbosa Richards, on ana.barbosa@devon.gov.uk or ESOL@devon.gov.uk.
Summer Arts Workshops
 The ESOL and Engagement team are delighted to offer a series of completely free family art workshops, taking place during July and August during the summer school holiday. Courses will be running in Exeter, Barnstaple, Okehampton, Tavistock, Sherford and Paignton.
Professional artists will be supporting families over a series of workshops to make amazing art and sculptures celebrating different cultural perspectives in Devon, which will be displayed in libraries, town halls and other public spaces.
If you’re feeling creative, sign up to our free art courses today by emailing ESOL@devon.gov.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.
'Be Seen' Project
This year EMTAS (Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service) would like to gather the voices of ethnically diverse and EAL (English as an additional language) children in Devon schools on what it means to them to ‘be seen in school’. We will collate the video clips to create a short video and this video will be shared with schools, used on our website and in future events/publications. The deadline for all submissions is the 5th of July.
We are asking for your help to collate these voices by way of short video clips, and it would be lovely if EAL children did this in their home language.
Only 4% of Devon schools’ website homepages contain a visibly ethnically diverse child or member of staff and these small things are crucial to helping a child to feel seen in school.
To view more details, including parental letters, consent forms and guidance please download the ‘Be seen’ booklet.
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