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EMA

Ethnic Minority Achievement at Princess May 

Princess May Primary is a multi-lingual, inner-city school, with majority of pupils having English as an additional language for their first language/s. Staff at Princess May respond positively to a pupil’s ability to speak other languages. We see bi-/multi-lingualism as a valuable asset, which can extend everyone’s social and cultural experiences.

Staff at Princess May are committed to raising the achievement and attainment of pupils with EAL and enable them to do the best they can within a positive and supportive environment.

At Princess May School the teaching and learning, achievements, attitudes and well-being of all our children are important. We encourage all our children to achieve the highest possible standards and to embrace the cultural and linguistic diversity of the school. We do this through taking account of each child’s life experiences, cultural and linguistic needs, and reflect this diversity in our school.

Children who are learning English as an additional language have skills and knowledge similar to monolingual English speaking children. Their ability to participate in the full curriculum may be in advance of their communicative skills in English.

Induction of New Arrivals

  • The new arrivals are introduced to the whole school in the assembly and 2 buddies are assigned for them by the class teacher, preferably pupils who speak the same language and support pupils in developing communication skills, using good role models.
  • Pupils arriving with little or no English are prioritised for support. The EMA Team aim to provide some immediate timetabled support (induction programme) for KS2 children in particular after the initial assessment.
  • The induction programme is delivered by the EMA Team 3-4 hours a week for up to a term depending on the child’s progress. Once the EAL child develops the basic concepts of English vocabulary and language, then the child joins the mainstream and is supported in the classroom by the EMA Team.
  • The EMA Team provides literacy, numeracy, topic resources and bilingual dictionaries where possible for each classroom to support the new arrivals in accessing the curriculum.

Ema Activities

In Induction programme EMA Team is following a Beginners’ Scheme of Work which consists of Listening & Speaking, Topics/Vocabulary, Language Functions, Grammar & Structure and Literacy Skills & Concepts.

Some of the activities are Role Play, Book Making, and Interactive Learning.

Useful websites