A significant number of students do not have English as their first language and require additional support in the classroom. Such students include those born into bilingual families who do not speak English at home, but have awareness of English usage in the community, those whose families and communities speak little or no English, and older students arriving in the country with poor or non-existent English language ability.
The Hounslow Language Service provides specialist staff alongside school staff to help bilingual pupils succeed in both English and their other school subject areas. Besides assistance in the everyday classroom environment, support includes additional English language instruction as well as first-language teaching to help pupils to maintain their mother tongue.
Bilingual instructors in the Language Service can also help in communication between home and school to make reports on a child's progress, help address problems or queries, provide subject and career advice and offer pastoral care.
Further reading
Leaflets outlining the school curriculum, offering advice on how to help children to read and write, and detailing special educational needs are just some of the many currently available in eleven different languages from the Department for Education.
Contact
Special Schools and Education
Tel: 020 8583 2676