dcsg senior template - dulwich college bukit batok west avenue 8, singapore 658966 t (65) 6890 1000...

71 Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, Singapore 658966T (65) 6890 1000 CPE Registration Number: 201027137D Period of Registration: 09 January 2016 to 08 January 2020

www.dulwich-singapore.edu.sg

Dulwich Col lege (Singapore)

English as an Additional Language Policy Document

Page Details 1 Tit le Page 2 Contents 3 Purpose of handbook, l inked to P&0, EAL definit ion, Aims &

Philosophy 4 Focus of EAL department, Organization, Enrolment 5 Admissions procedure

5-6 EAL provision 7 3 Staged approach, f lexible staff ing model 8 Roles of the EAL team, PSP, referring students 9 IEP (EAL), SIS (EAL), EAL monitoring form

9-10 EAL Assessment 11 SEN-EAL Pro-Forma, EAL register of need

11-12 All staff have responsibil ity for meeting students AEN 12 Differentiation

13-14 Guidance for EAL staff, Administration, t imetables, planning f i les, student f i les, transit ion, report writ ing, workload, staff absences

TBC Appendices: 1. WIDA admissions form2. PSP3. EAL referral form4. IEP (EAL)5. Can do descriptors6. Student Information Sheet (EAL)7. EAL monitoring form8. WIDA score sheet9. EAL-SEN pro-forma10. EAL register exemplar11. EAL Scheme of work template12. Transit ion document

PURPOSE OF THIS HANDBOOK

This handbook / Policy and Procedure document provides an overview of the structure and day-to-day running of the English as an Additional Needs department .It also describes how the EAL team are expected to carry out their duties.



Links to College Philosophy & Objectives and Values Statements

• Allow every student to realise their potential.• To promote the development of the whole child through a holistic approach to learning.• Celebrate diversity in our local and international community

Definit ion of a student who is learning English as an Additional Language

Except for Chinese and MFL language classes, the language of instruction at DCSG is English. Students who require additional English language teaching in order to access the curriculum successfully are provided with English as an Additional Language (EAL) support.

Students who are not native English speakers but who are nevertheless fluent in English and have age appropriate literacy skills (in English) are not classed by the College as EAL learners.

Aims & Philosophy

The College welcomes students from different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds and believes that such diversity enriches our student population.

The College recognises that language is best learnt in context through communicative and functional use, and that its curriculum is an obvious provider of context.

The College recognises that it should only admit those students for whom it can make adequate provision.

The College recognises that many of the principles and practices of CLIL (Content, Language and Integrated Learning) should be the focus of its EAL support programs

Focus of the EAL Support department

1. To provide support to its EAL learner in the following 4 domains in line with their individual needs:

• Listening

• Speaking

• Reading

• Writing.

2. To provide support for students that aid their language acquisition journey from BICS (basicinterpersonal communication skills) to CALPS (cognitive academic language proficiency).



3. To support teachers in terms of differentiation and teaching strategies to meet the needs of the EALstudents in their class

Organisation

The EAL Department is part of the Additional Educational Needs Faculty within DCSG. The AEN faculty comprises of Learning Support, English as an Additional Language and Gifted Education. It is important to state that all teachers should consider themselves to be teachers of Additional Educational Needs and the AEN faculty is there to support them in this goal.

EAL staff will be required to work in conjunction with other members of the AEN faculty as well as being part of multi-disciplinary meetings, working alongside, class teachers and pastoral leaders, supporting admissions or running Professional development in areas of experience or expertise.

Enrolment

Decisions about the admission of students who require support as EAL students, are generally made by the admissions team in consultation with the appropriate EAL teacher and Head of AEN. However, final authority regarding the entry of any new student into the school rests with the appropriate Head of School / Headmaster.

Students with EAL needs are accepted into the school on a case by case basis. The needs of the child and their families are considered against current levels of staffing, expertise and resources within the school.

Except in exceptional circumstances once a child has been formally offered a place at DCSG the school is then committed to educating that child. However, when a student is not accessing and responding to the curriculum in a meaningful and productive way, the College holds the right to place a student on a Placement Support program (PSP) to insure that a correct placement decision is made to support the child’s learning.

In order to ensure the best possible teaching and learning environment for its students, DCSG reserves the right to limit the number of students with EAL needs in any class or year group.

• PSP policy and procedure

Admissions procedures

Potential student’s EAL needs are identified via the admissions procedure; submission of previous school reports, home language information, years taught through English instruction; and their initial interview and admissions testing allow the College to assess their Language acquisition needs.



Where a student’s background suggests that they are EAL learners and their CAT score in the area of Verbal falls below 95-100. A member of the EAL team is invited to look at the student’s application. If further information is needed (and the child resides in Singapore), the admissions team will arrange an appropriate time for the candidate and AEN member of meet with the child to administer the appropriate WIDA test, so the College is able to understand the students EAL needs and ensure they are able to support these appropriately. A member of the EAL department will complete the WIDA Assessment pro-forma and make recommendations based on the students EAL levels and resources available to meet those students needs. (See appendix 1 WIDA admissions form)

EAL Provision

Key Stage 1:

Induction & transition students in KS1 will study The English Ladder and Gateway programs with CLIL combined to meet their language acquisition and curricular needs. These programs will be delivered through a combination of withdrawal and/or in class-support, which will be agreed upon with the class teacher and parent (based on time tabling and faculty resources). Induction students will receive a greater quantity of support than those on the transition phase in line with their needs.

Key Stage 2:

Induction & transition students in KS2 will study The Laser English and Gateway programs with CLIL combined to meet their language acquisition and curricular needs. These programs will be delivered through a combination of withdrawal and/or in class-support, which will be agreed upon with the class teacher and parent (considering time tabling and faculty resources). Induction students will receive a greater quantity of support than those on the transition phase in line with their needs. In most instances Induction students will receive EAL in-lieu of Mandarin.

Key Stage 3

Induction & transition students in KS3 will study The Headway Academic series and Oxford International Approach programs with CLIL combined to meet their language acquisition and curricular needs. These programs will be delivered through a combination of withdrawal and/or in class-support, which will be agreed upon with the class teacher and parent (considering time tabling and faculty resources). Induction students will receive a greater quantity of support than those on the transition phase in line with their needs. In most instances Induction students will receive EAL in-lieu of either MFL or Mandarin.



Phase Programs TT Quantity WIDA

KS1

The English

Ladder 1-4

Gateway

1-6

CLIL

KGert

Grade 1-2

KS2

Laser English A2-B1

CLIL Grade 1-2

Grade 3-5

KS3

Headway Academic

Series

Oxford English

International

CLIL Grade 6-8

KS4

English as a

Second Language

IGCSE

TBC

CLIL

Grade 9-12

IB English

Language B

TBC

CLIL

Grade 9-12

3 STAGED APPROACH

At DCSG we operate a graduated three-stage response to student’s with EAL needs. The following terms are used to describe the different stages of EAL provision throughout the College:

3 Staged approach guidelines

Induction Students at this stage require withdrawal from curriculum to meet their EAL needs. Students WIDA scores generally fall between 1. Entering , 2. Beginning , 3. Developing and require differentiation in the classroom and receive an IEP (EA

Transit ion Students at this stage may require curriculum withdrawal or in-class support to meet their English acquisition needs. Students



WIDA scores generally fall between 3. Developing 4. Expanding – 5. Bridging and will require an EAL Student information sheet.

Monitoring Students at this stage have scored 5. Bridging – 6. Reaching WIDA scores. They will remain on the EAL register for 1 academic year, for teacher information and for AEN staff to monitor their progress. They receive no EAL support (withdrawal or in-class) or ILP or SIS.

Flexible staff ing model

The role of the EAL Team

The EAL team currently supports students from Year 1 to Year 8. Advice on differentiation is also available as is in-class support where appropriate.

Throughout the College a combination of small group lessons and in-class support is provided for EAL learners. The amount of support provided depends upon the level of AEN staffing in relation to the level of need within the College and this may fluctuate from year to year, and term to term as our EAL learners progress and as new students are admitted.

Decisions regarding the ‘stage’ that a student will be placed on are made from a combination of information including discussions with class teachers, bench line assessment data and WIDA scores.



Placement Support Program (PSP)

The Placement Support Program (PSP) is a school-based intervention that draws upon the knowledge & skills of a group within the school community. Ideally, the PSP may require input from the student, their parents, a sampling of other staff, a member of a leadership team, an AEN faculty member and possibly the School Guidance Counsellor. This co-ordinated intervention is discussed & agreed upon by those attendance with the ultimate aim of improving social, emotional & / or cognitive behaviours that lead to positive self-worth & self-actualisation of the student in the school environment. However, it also serves the purpose of making a placement decision of a student whom it is felt that the College may not be the best learning environment for their needs. (See appendix 2 PSP)

Referring Students for EAL Support

Teachers may at any time be concerned by the lack of progress of an individual student, and may be concerned that this is due to a student’s English Language acquisition needs. Teachers can at any point refer students to the EAL department by completing the EAL refer form. (See appendix 3 EAL referral form)

Re-referring pupils who have been taken off the EAL register

Except in exceptional circumstances pupils who have been removed from the EAL register may not be re-referred to the EAL team for a period of 3 months. This will allow time for the teaching staff to monitor the student’s progress. After which the student can be re-referred directly to the EAL department. No additional paperwork needs to be completed in this case.

If a student has been off the register for an entire academic year or more, the teacher making the referral must complete a new referral form

Individual Language Plan IEP (EAL)

At DCSG the development and implementation of Individual Education Plans for students is the shared responsibility of class teachers, subject teachers, tutors and EAL staff. IEP’s ((EAL) are written by the EAL department for all induction students on the EAL Register. They will be written during term 1 in an academic year and reviewed and revised as appropriate throughout the year. IEP (EAL) are intended as a resource for class and subject teachers to use as an aid in their teaching of both subject, content and language to EAL students.

An IEP (EAL) will show a student’s level of English language proficiency according to WIDA assessment, targets for each language domain (where necessary), recommended teaching and learning strategies, and other relevant comments. To aid teachers’ interpretation of a given proficiency level, and planning of differentiated lessons and units of work, ‘Can Do’ descriptors will be attached to the IEP (EAL). (See appendix 4 IEP (EAL) & appendix 5 Can do descriptors example)



Student Information Sheets (EAL)

The EAL Student Information Sheet (SIS) is a form used for students on the Transition phase where an ILP is not needed. This form provides important information about a student’s EAL needs as well as providing simple classroom strategies to help the classroom teacher provide appropriate differentiation for the student. This document does not require a meeting with, or authorisation from parents to be administered. (See appendix 6 Student Information Sheet (EAL)

EAL Monitoring forms

It may sometimes be appropriate to monitor how EAL students are progressing in their mainstream classes. This form will provide the EAL teacher with information to inform their planning, and may also help aid decisions to do with Provision requirements. (See appendix 7 EAL Monitoring Form)

EAL Assessment

The primary means of assessment of the College’s EAL learners will be the WIDA Model, which is based on a continuum of language development within each language domain (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and tests proficiency in:

• social and instructional language;• the language of English Language Arts;• the language of Mathematics;• the language of Science;• the language of Humanities.

Students will be tested at least once in an academic year.

A student’s score for each language domain will be translated into an overall proficiency level of 1 to 6. At the given overall proficiency level, a student will understand and be able to use:

6 - Reaching • specialised language of the content areas at grade levelexpectation

• a variety of sentence lengths of varying linguisticcomplexity in extended oral or written discourse in genresfeaturing in the content areas

• oral and written communication comparable to that ofEnglish-proficient peers when presented with grade levelmaterial

5 - Bridging • specialised language of the content areas• a variety of sentence lengths of varying linguistic

complexity in extended or written discourse in most



genres featuring in the content areas • oral and written language approaching comparability to

that of English-proficient peers when presented withgrade level material

4 - Expanding • some specific language of the content areas• a variety of sentence lengths of varying linguistic

complexity in phonologically clear oral discourse• written language with minimal semantic or syntactic errors

that do not impede communication3 - Developing • general and some specific language of the content areas

• expanded sentences in oral interaction or written texts• oral and/or written language with phonological, semantic

or syntactic errors that may impede communication butretain much of its meaning

2 - Beginning • general language related to the content areas• phrases or short sentences• oral and/or written language with phononlogical, semantic

or syntactic errors that often impede communication1 - Entering • pictorial or graphic representation of the language of the

content areas• words, phrases or fragments of language when presented

with basic commands, direct questions or simplestatements

Ordinarily, a student will need to achieve overall proficiency level 6 to be considered for exited from an EAL programme. However a student who is achieving well in the curriculum and at a level 5 WIDA score will be considered to go onto the Monitoring phase. However, it should be noted that no one assessment tool, can capture the range and complexity of a student’s classroom experience; therefore, decisions regarding a student’s placement will not depend solely on the WIDA Model alone. Rather, they will include other evidence, such as:

• performance in internally-designed EAL assessments• performance in academic content assessments• cross-curricular report grades• teacher recommendations

WIDA results can be found on the WIDA score sheet. Where additional information is needed class teacher may be asked to complete a simple checklist of students language proficiency (See appendix 8 WIDA score sheet -Part A & class teacher language assessment sheet - Part B)



EAL – SEN Pro-forma

Students with EAL needs have specific linguistic needs, but these should not be confused with Special Educational Needs (SEN). However, when an EAL student has been studying in an English speaking environment for over two years and is not making the expected progress the EAL – SEN Pro-forma can be used to gauge if issues related to slow progress are more consistent with EAL or a possible Specific learning Difficulty. It is important to note that most standardised psychometric tests are normed on native language speakers so the results can not be considered with high confidence levels. However, they can be used to gather data looking at the student holistically in the school context. This form can be used from year 3 upwards. (See appendix 9 EAL-SEN pro forma)

EAL register of need

The EAL register is a working document that is maintained by the AEN department. The majority of EAL learners will have been identified during the admissions process. However, it may be that a student not on the EAL register comes to be suspected by one or more class or subject teachers as having EAL needs. In such circumstances, teachers should complete an EAL Referral form and discuss the student’s case with the appropriate member of the AEN faculty. If deemed appropriate, the student shall be assessed by the WIDA Model and, depending on the result, placed in a suitable EAL programme and on its EAL Register. The student’s parents will be advised accordingly by letter. Changes to EAL provision and the register are usually implemented at the beginning of each term. However, entry and exit of a student on the EAL register can happen at any point of the year. (See appendix 10 EAL register exemplar)

All staff have responsibil it ies for meeting students AEN

The teaching needs of all pupils, particularly children with EAL require:

Positive attitudes from all staff.

Partnerships with teachers which encourage the students to become active learners, helping to plan, build and evaluate their own learning programme wherever possible.

A climate of warmth and support in which self-confidence and self-esteem can grow and in which students with AEN can experiment without fear of criticism or failure.

Partnerships between home school and outside agencies (where appropriate).

It is the responsibility of all staff within the College to meet the learning needs of the children within their classes, whether they be at Induction, transition or monitoring phases of EAL provision. A partnership and collegial approach is of greatest importance between AEN staff and class teachers.



Differentiation

All teachers are expected to differentiate to meet the individual needs of students who have AEN. Differentiation for EAL students means teaching a student to match their way of learning, and considering the students individual learning needs. Students make progress at different rates, not all students learn in the same way and thus, need to be taught using different teaching strategies. Teachers are advised to seek guidance to differentiate for EAL students from AEN specialists.

Guidance for EAL Staff

In addition to the professional expectations outlined in AEN teachers individual contracts and job descriptions, the following guidance should be observed when carrying out their daily work.

Administration and Teaching space

It is expected that all AEN classrooms and offices be kept neat and tidy, and that teaching spaces in particular are orderly and inviting environments for students to work in.

Timetables

A copy of each staff member’s individual timetable should be submitted to the Head of AEN, once compiled. All AEN staff members must ensure that the Head of AEN is informed promptly of any revisions to their timetables.

Planning Files

Staff must ensure that their planning files are properly labelled, concise, legible and well organised, to meet the agreed needs of the department and / or individual school. (See appendix 11 EAL Schemes of work)

Planning files are working documents and should contain evidence of reflective teaching.

Student f i les (hard or soft copies) should contain the following:

• Current IEP (EAL), or SIS

• Referral form

• Previous IEP (EAL), or SIS

• School reports



• CAT / CEM scores (where appropriate)

• Samples of work

• Important correspondence

Transit ion

During Term 3 AEN teacher will pass on all documentation required above (Student file contents) to the relevant AEN teachers (Including an IEP (EAL) to work on at the start of Term 1 – the following academic year). Teacher or key stage transition meetings, where recommendations for provision in terms of required support and programs will take place at least 4 weeks before the end of the academic year. (See appendix 12 EAL Transit ion document)

Report Writ ing

EAL teachers will write reports to parents at the end of the academic year. This will give the teachers the formal opportunity to inform parents of progress made. EAL reports will only be written for Students at the Induction phase.

Workload

The AEN department provides a flexible staffing model throughout the college where staff may be required to teach in different schools to utilise their skill set and best meet the needs of the College cohort.

Should staff find that they have additional long-term extra free periods they should ensure that the Head of AEN is informed and that these periods are used for strategic development within the department.

The Head of AEN will oversee the effective deployment of the AEN team throughout the college in terms of workload and responsibility.

Staff absences

Should an AEN teacher be absent for any reason they are expected to inform their Head of School and the Head of AEN as soon as possible so that their lessons can be adequately covered. Similarly, should the Head of AEN be absent then they should inform their line manager and team straight away.



Whilst it is understood that EAL staff may be used as cover when class teachers are absent, this should be the exception and not the rule. AEN lessons should not be cancelled so that staff can be used as cover.

When a EAL staff member is absent students can return to the lesson when it is not disruptive to the class or the child’s learning (e.g. if they are withdrawn from Mandarin for the year, it would not be appropriate for them to be placed back in because the AEN teacher is absent). Where possible LS lessons will covered internally.

dcsg senior template - dulwich college bukit batok west avenue 8, singapore 658966 t (65) 6890 1000...

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