New arrivals

The induction process for new arrivals is an important one. If school staff and parents work closely together the child and young person will feel supported during this process and will settle in and become accustomed to school in the UK.

The following resources and links may support this process: Example of an Induction checklist

Links with parents

• Complete a language and education background form together with parents primary and secondary pupils or for EYFS
• Contact admin.emas@coventry.gov.uk for Multilingual Education Assistant (MLA) availability to support a parent meeting or use online background translation tool for new arrivals may support an initial available in 17 languages
• Share EMAS Information packs on UK Primary Education in Arabic, Dari, Pashto and Ukrainian with parents, Education Welcome packs in Dari, English, Pashto and Ukrainian by Refugee Education UK or The Bell Foundation guidance for parents of newly arrived learners in 22 languages on the education system in England and on how to help your child learn. These packs include key information about the education system and how to access it, a welcome to school and classrooms for children and lots of other sources of support.

Preparing the classroom environment

• Communication Fans (various available online)
• Being a Buddy resource pack by International Rescue Committee's Healing Classrooms. This resource is for teachers to use when training students to become 'buddies' to welcome refugee/asylum-seeking students to your school.
• Teaching and learning resources for learners in the early stages of acquiring English from The Bell Foundation
• Ensure availability of online translation tools by providing new arrivals with access to smart phones, laptops or iPads within the classroom
• Encourage links with home language through building up bilingual glossaries in different subject areas. International Rescue Committee's Healing Classrooms have produced a downloadable personal dictionary for learners.
• Create a Pupil Profile/Passport so all school staff are informed

Welcoming and supporting your newly arrived learner

• Placing EAL adaptive teaching strategies and teaching resources in a central area for staff to access
• Within the first three weeks, Baseline your new arrival by placing them on an English proficiency tracker so that English proficiency development can  be tracked and monitored
• After a few months arrange a follow-up meeting with your new arrival, parents and bilingual support to discuss how they have settled and to answer any questions that they may have.