EMTAS Moodle

Designed by Hampshire EMTAS, the EAL Excellence Award is a comprehensive self-evaluation framework that helps schools monitor the impact of their provision for pupils learning English as an additional language (EAL) and address wider aspects of minority ethnic achievement. Covering five key areas - Leadership and Management, Pedagogy and Practice, Data, Assessment and Progress, Teaching and Learning and Parental and Community Engagement - the award originally featured three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. 

However, as schools continued to use the framework to drive sustained improvement, a need emerged for a fourth level to recognise excellence consistently demonstrated at Gold across multiple validations. This blog explores the journey of the award through Merton Infant School’s own experience, offering insights into what sustained excellence looks like in practice.

Merton Infant School's EAL lead Mrs Relf and the Young Interpreters celebrate their Diamond Award

How did the Merton Infant School’s EAL journey start? 

Merton Infant School’s journey began over a decade ago, when EAL was identified as a whole-school priority due to the increasing number of multilingual children joining the school. From the outset, the school worked closely with EMTAS, seeking advice on meeting the needs of multilingual learners, arranging whole-staff training and introducing the Young Interpreter Scheme.

In 2019, the school undertook its first award validation and achieved Bronze. Their EAL journey continued under the leadership of their EAL Co-ordinator, who ensured staff training remained current and provision was consistently maintained across the school. Acting on guidance from their initial validation, the school progressed to Gold in 2021. When they successfully renewed their Gold award in 2023, Headteacher Mrs James posed an important question: “What’s next for us?”

And so, the Diamond Award was born.

What is the EMTAS Diamond EAL Excellence Award and how do schools achieve it?

Working with Merton and other Hampshire schools that had reached similar milestones in their EAL journeys, EMTAS developed the Diamond level to acknowledge schools that not only maintain Gold standards but also act as centres of expertise, extending their impact into the wider community.

To qualify for Diamond, schools must achieve Gold across two consecutive validations and provide evidence of work in at least one of the following strands:

Community - engaging with families across the wider catchment
Collaboration - working in partnership with other schools
Contribution - supporting EMTAS initiatives and developments.

The Diamond Award was launched in 2024: Working beyond Gold – introducing the new EMTAS Diamond EAL Excellence Award.

How did Merton Infant School achieve Diamond?

In 2025, led by their new EAL Co-ordinator, Mrs Relf , Merton Infant School became the first school in Hampshire to achieve the Diamond EAL Excellence Award. To meet the Diamond criteria, Mrs Relf provided evidence in not one but two strands: Collaboration and Contribution. She mentored EAL Co-ordinators in other schools on their own EAL award journeys and worked with EMTAS to help shape the Diamond Award itself, as well as contributing to new content for the Young Interpreter Scheme.

The school also demonstrated that Gold standards had been consistently maintained since their previous validation. A key focus was consolidating the Leadership and Management strand by further embedding EAL into school policies and aligning it with the school’s core values: Motivation, Excellence, Respect, Teamwork, Opportunities and Never Give Up. The Pedagogy and Practice and Teaching and Learning strands remained strong, with EAL embraced by all staff. In addition, much work had focused on the Parental Engagement strand.

In response to parent voice gathered through EAL coffee events and annual questionnaires, families expressed a desire to play a more active role in sharing their cultures with the school. This led to the creation of Culture Day, with multilingual parents and staff invited to lead activities in school. The response was overwhelmingly positive, strengthening partnerships with families, many of whom have already volunteered to take part again next year.

Merton Infant School has been using a ‘Language of the Half Term’ approach since 2016. When Mrs Relf took on the role of EAL Co-ordinator, she refined and adapted the initiative to strengthen its impact. Children are now recognised as language experts and are invited to lead whole-school assemblies, allowing their peers to hear authentic pronunciation directly from one another. This peer-led approach promotes confidence, respect and inclusion.

Parents are actively involved, with families invited to check the accuracy and pronunciation of multilingual words, helping to ensure cultural and linguistic authenticity. Where possible, parents are also invited to attend launch assemblies to share their first-hand knowledge of the language. These contributions are warmly acknowledged and reinforce the school’s belief that families’ languages and cultures are valued and respected.

To support cognitive load, the amount of language taught has been carefully reduced, reflecting the principle that less is more. Previous languages are regularly revisited when new ones are introduced to support children’s long-term memory. As a result, by the end of the Summer term last year, pupils were able to confidently greet others in six different languages and identify where each language is spoken around the world.

To further reinforce the connection between spoken and written language, children are encouraged to write labels and captions in their own language so they can see their language represented in print. This was also set as a whole-school homework challenge, with many children taking part. Their work was proudly displayed across the school to celebrate linguistic knowledge and family involvement.

Following a suggestion from the EAL governor, key areas of the school environment are also labelled using the Language of the Half Term to enable children to see and engage with the language in meaningful contexts across the school. This inclusive approach is now part of everyday practice and extends into whole-school events such as productions, where children are encouraged to showcase the school’s linguistic diversity. When sharing messages such as Merry Christmas, Happy Diwali or thank you, children speak first in their own language. These small but meaningful moments send a powerful message of respect and belonging to children and families alike.

How did achieving Diamond impact the school as a whole? 

Merton’s successful validation coincided with changes to the Ofsted framework, which now includes reference to early-stage learners of English as an additional language (page 20). In a twist of fate, Ofsted inspectors visited Merton Infant School on the very same day as their Diamond validation.

Inspectors were impressed by the school’s strong EAL leadership and parental engagement. During the inspection, Mrs Relf met with the inspector and spoke passionately about the school’s commitment to its multilingual families, from the moment registration forms are completed through to families becoming a valued part of the Merton community. The school’s culture is built on the belief that if provision is right for SEND and EAL families, it is right for everyone. Creating a welcoming environment where children and families feel a strong sense of belonging and are supported to thrive is central to this ethos.

This was evidenced through systematic book monitoring, questionnaires, governor monitoring visits, curriculum monitoring reports and parent feedback. Most powerful of all, however, was the pupil voice. Inspectors commended the children’s passion and maturity as they spoke confidently about their school and their experiences within it.

In their November 2025 report, Ofsted inspectors wrote:

What does it mean to have achieved Diamond level?

Achieving Diamond level officially recognises Merton Infant School as a centre of EAL expertise. This status goes beyond internal excellence - it positions the school as a leader in supporting others.

In the Autumn term 2025, EMTAS called upon Mrs James and Mrs Relf to co-deliver an online network meeting focused on the changes to EAL in the new Ofsted framework. Practitioners from across Hampshire working in different phases learned from Merton’s experience of the updated framework and how they successfully embedded EAL into whole-school practice. Colleagues came away feeling inspired by Merton’s work including the ‘Language of the Half Term’ idea, which other schools have since started to adapt for their own settings.

Coming soon, schools embarking on their Young Interpreter journey across the UK (and beyond) will be able to hear from Mrs Relf’s perspective of running the scheme at Merton Infant School in brand new video material uploaded to our Moodle. Practitioners will also hear from Merton’s Young Interpreters themselves!

What’s next for Merton Infant School?

Both Mrs James and Mrs Relf have reflected that achieving the Diamond Award is not an end in itself. EAL remains a core principle woven through everyday practice, one that is embraced by the whole school community. Work is continuing to maintain high standards, keep up with current approaches such as the Talk Rich Teaching Toolkit and support colleagues across the Hampshire EAL network.

Looking ahead, the Merton team is extending its expertise to Merton Pre-school, where a bespoke version of the EAL Excellence Award will shape provision for multilingual children under four years of age. We look forward to hearing how EAL continues to develop in the Merton community.
 
With thanks to Mrs James, Mrs Relf, staff, parents and children at Merton Infant School.
 

By the Hampshire EMTAS Teacher Team

Hampshire EMTAS is working with Merton Infant School, Cranbourne School and St Swithun Wells Primary School to develop an additional level for the EAL Excellence Award (EXA). The new level will acknowledge the achievement of schools maintaining Gold standards while acting as EAL centres of expertise and reaching out to the community. Schools achieving Diamond level will be recognised by a trophy and certificate and celebrated on the EMTAS website/Moodle.

To qualify for Diamond, schools will need to have been previously validated at Gold. They must also demonstrate they are maintaining their Gold level practice for their subsequent validation. In addition to this they will show further evidence of work within 1 of the following 3 strands:
-       Community (working with families in wider catchment)
-       Collaboration (working with other schools)
-       Contribution (working with EMTAS).

Schools will have flexibility in choosing their area of expertise and how they may like to evidence this. They may also collaborate on a particular project.

Below are examples of pieces of work which may lend themselves to each strand. Individual schools may come up with their own ideas for projects which are particularly relevant for their setting and the pupils and families in their local area. Colleagues should discuss their Diamond project ideas with their EMTAS Teacher Advisor first eg to avoid duplication of a resource.

As with other EXA levels, schools’ Diamond award will lapse after 2 years. To maintain their Diamond level, schools will need to evidence that they have maintained their Gold. This revalidation process will be flexible and driven by individual schools’ action plans. Schools will also need to show they have continued to contribute within the above strands.

 
Case studies

School A successfully achieves Gold in December 2022. In March 2024 they revalidate at Gold. In addition to this they demonstrate their work mentoring another school and their contribution to a new EMTAS resource. This school qualifies for a Diamond award.

School B submits evidence for their EXA in October 2023. This is their first ever submission. They are validated at Gold. At their validation they discuss their contribution to a network meeting in February 2021. This school does not yet qualify for a Diamond Award because they have only just recently achieved Gold and their Diamond evidence is out of date. To achieve Diamond the school needs to revalidate at Gold with current/varied evidence of work at Diamond standard.

 
By introducing the Diamond Award, we hope schools which have already obtained Gold will be inspired to use their experience and expertise in EAL to support others. We look forward to supporting schools in their projects and finding out their impact on the EAL community.

By the Hampshire EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisors

Welcome to this new academic year. In this blog you will find out what’s in store for 2022-23, starting with a staffing update and news of fantastic heritage language GCSE results. We also share ideas and resources to celebrate World Fun Fair Month and details of upcoming training opportunities. Finally, we have news of our continued support for refugee arrivals and celebrate the achievement of schools on their EAL Excellence Award.

Staffing

To kick off, we have some news about our staffing. We are delighted to welcome new Bilingual Assistants this year, Olha Herel (Ukrainian), Jenny Lau (Cantonese) and Kubra Behrooz (Dari). 

From our Teacher Team, last term we bade farewell to Specialist Teacher Advisor Jamie Earnshaw, who worked with schools in Eastleigh, Fareham and Gosport. In his place, Lynne Chinnery is now covering Fareham and Gosport districts in addition to Havant & Waterlooville and the Isle of Wight. As a temporary measure whilst we wait for our new recruit to join the EMTAS Teacher team, Claire Barker is back on the team and covering Eastleigh and East Hants whilst Kate Grant has added Hart to her brief. Helen Smith is covering Rushmoor and all things GTRSB – that’s Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater in case you are wondering about the new nomenclature there, following the lead of the Traveller Movement and ‘The Pledge’. 

Finally, Michelle Nye, the erstwhile Team Leader, left EMTAS at the start of this term to take up the role of Executive Head of the Virtual School for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. In her place, Sarah Coles is currently acting Head of Service with Claire Barker as her trusty sidekick, acting up into the Deputy Team Leader role.

GCSE results

2021-22 was a bumper year for Heritage Language GCSEs. In the summer 2022 exam series, EMTAS Bilingual Assistants supported 106 students in schools across the county with their Heritage Language exams. Students took GCSEs in 11 different languages, with Persian added to the list thanks to Sayed Kazimi, our Pashto, Dari and Farsi-speaking Bilingual Assistant who supported our first ever Persian candidate. Our Admin team gathered in the results from schools as soon as we started back in September; the full list is now on the EMTAS website, but we are thrilled to be able to report that 60 of those students achieved Grade 9, with another 25 being awarded Grade 8. Our congratulations go to all those students.

World Fun Fair Month

September is dedicated to celebrating our Showmen children and families. World Fun Fair Month was started by Future 4 Fairgrounds which is a community organisation set up by 6 Showmen women to celebrate the Showmen community as well as raise awareness of the challenges they face. Our team is proud to have supported WFFM by collating ideas and resources for schools to use throughout September to celebrate this important month for our Showmen families. There is still time to share children’s work with us so we can display it on the EMTAS website and Moodle. You can share anything from your school’s celebrations by sending it via email to EMTAS@hants.gov.uk with ‘World Fun Fair Month 2022’ in the subject line, ensuring it includes no photos or names of children (only the names of the schools the children attend will be published).

 
For your diaries - upcoming training opportunities

Back by popular demand this term are our online network meetings which will be co-delivered after school by different members of the EMTAS Teacher Team. There are three dates for a session focussing on catering for the needs of refugee arrivals: September 22^nd, October 11^th and November 8^th. We also have three dates for a session focussing on the needs of new to English arrivals on September 27^th, October 20^th and November 16^th. There are details of how to join these meetings on our website.

This half-term we also recruit for our Supporting English as an Additional Language (SEAL) course. This course is suitable for teachers, EAL co-ordinators and support staff in both primary and secondary phases. This is a two-year course: it comprises of six units taught over 6 days. It is held in Winchester and starts in November 2022 and ends in May 2024 therefore it can be budgeted over three academic years. The benefits of sending a member of staff on this course are far-reaching. Not only does it upskill a member of your staff in becoming an expert in English as an Additional Language (EAL) but it also leads to raising EAL standards at your school. Through the course colleagues will explore different cultural practices, learn how to confidently assess pupils with EAL including whether a child’s needs are SEN or EAL, discover the latest technologies to help support pupils with EAL and become more aware of how to support parents of children with EAL. The course also helps towards gaining the EAL Excellence Award. For more information about SEAL, please visit our website. 

Plans are already underway for our not to be missed EMTAS conference which will take place in the Autumn of 2023. Keep an eye out for save the date information which will be sent out this Spring term. We look forward to seeing many of our blog readers at this event which promises to be as thought-provoking as ever. 

Refugee arrivals 

EMTAS referrals for refugee pupils are continuing to arrive and we are pleased to see many school colleagues book on our network meetings to find out more about how to cater for this group of children and young people. We are also delighted to see schools make good use of our resources centre by borrowing dual language stories, translated texts and devices such as talking pens.

Some schools in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight have been receiving requests from Ukrainian parents for patterns of attendance/provision that differ from full time attendance at school/participation in mainstream lessons every day. In many cases families are looking to return to Ukraine once it is safe to do so and it is therefore understandable that they may want their child(ren) not to miss out on the Ukrainian curriculum. In a recent School Communication also available on our Moodle we share some considerations and points to bear in mind which may help with the decision-making around such requests as well as alternatives to explore.

Later this term we look forward to adding a new blog to our refugee series where we will unpick the differences and similarities between refugees arriving from Afghanistan and those arriving from Ukraine. Later this academic year we will also be sharing cultural information about these countries on our website.

EXA news

By the Hampshire EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisors 

Welcome to this new academic year. The EMTAS team is feeling refreshed after the summer holiday and looks forward to continuing their work. We’re particularly excited to support more schools this year as they work towards achieving an EAL or GRT Excellence Award. In this blog you will find out what’s in store for 2021-22 to support your professional development as well as your award submission. You will also learn more about our Heritage Honours Award, find out about staff changes in our team and catch up with important research projects.

Network meetings 

The dates of our EAL network meetings can be found on our website. We will also be holding specific network meetings for Early Career Teachers, the details of which can be found on the same page of our website. The termly GRT-focused network meetings will continue to be held online this year. Like our EAL network meetings, they are free to attend for Hampshire-maintained schools. To find out when the next ones are, check the Training section of the EMTAS website.

EMTAS conference 

We are very much looking forward to the EMTAS Conference on Friday 15^th October at the Holiday Inn in Winchester. It promises to be an enlightening day with Eowyn Crisfield as one of our keynote speakers. She is an acclaimed expert in languages across the curriculum and has a wealth of knowledge in this field. Sarah Coles will be sharing her research findings on ‘Pathways to bilingualism: young children’s experiences of growing up in two languages’ and Leanda Hawkins will speak of her experiences of education from the perspective of belonging to the Romany community. There will also be a selection of cross phase workshops for delegates to take part in and stalls to see some of the latest resources available to support EAL and GRT pupils in education. Everyone who signs up will receive a free set of the latest EAL Conversation Cards valued at £45. There are limited spaces so please sign up as soon as possible. For further information and online booking please see our flyer attached to this blog. 

New e-learning 

We are pleased to announce that we have new E-learning modules now available: 

- Supporting children and families from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) backgrounds

- Developing culturally inclusive practice in Early Years settings

- The appropriate placement of learners with EAL in groups, sets and streams.

Our e-learning modules are free to access for Hampshire-maintained schools. To find out how to obtain a login, please see our Moodle.

Heritage Honours Award

The EMTAS Heritage Honours award, launched last academic year, celebrates the achievements of children from BME, EAL and GRT backgrounds at school and within the home/community. Children and young people can be nominated for an award by the school they are currently attending. More than 60 successful nominations were received last year. Reasons for nomination variously include success in heritage language examinations, practical and creative use of first language within the school environment, sharing cultural background with peers, acting as an empathetic peer buddy, success in community sporting events and excellent progress in learning EAL. Nominations are now open for this year. To find out more about how to nominate a pupil, see our Moodle. 

Research 

Debra Page is entering the third and final year of her PhD researching the Young Interpreter Scheme. Data collection happened online due to the pandemic and the first and second wave of data collection with 84 children across 5 schools is now complete. The third and final data collection will be in November and all the data will then be managed and analysed. In her last update, Debra shared a YI diary and additional training resource she created. She delivered this virtually with each school during their YI training session and initial feedback has been very positive. It is hoped that these extra resources will form part of the YI training in the near future. The children are excited to complete their diaries about the work that they do as a Young Interpreter. If the diary is something that you are interested in, please get in touch. We look forward to finding out results of what is learnt about the Young Interpreter Scheme. 

Sarah Coles will update us on her own PhD in a separate blog very soon. Her PhD is part time and she’s just embarking on her fourth year of study. She’ll mainly be involved in data collection this year and a number of schools with children from Polish and Nepali families starting in Year R have agreed to support this. Sarah is hoping the families she and members of our Bilingual Assistant team approach will be similarly willing to be involved. 

Staffing

At the end of last term, we wished Chris Pim a happy retirement and welcomed back Astrid Dinneen following her maternity leave. As a result, we have made some changes to the geographical areas the specialist teacher team will be covering:

Sarah Coles – Winchester

Lisa Kalim – New Forest

Astrid Dinneen – Basingstoke & Deane

Jamie Earnshaw – Eastleigh, Fareham and Gosport

Claire Barker – Hart, Rushmoor and East Hants

Lynne Chinnery – Havant, Waterlooville and Isle of Wight

Helen Smith – Test Valley

Sarah, Claire and Helen will also cover GRT work across the county.

We also welcome Abi Guler to our Bilingual Assistant team. He will be working with our Turkish families. We are delighted to have also newly recruited Fiona Calder as our new Black Children's Achievement Project Assistant. 

We are all looking forward to continuing working with you. In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to the blog digest and visit our website.

The Hampshire EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisors have been supporting schools to complete the EAL Excellence Award for over a year now. Many schools have successfully earned their Bronze and Silver awards and are already working hard to achieve the next level up. Working with schools to drive EAL practice and provision forward through the EAL Excellence Award has highlighted areas of support which the EMTAS Teacher team has been keen to address.

One particular aspect of EAL good practice which many schools have had to consider is the use of first language as a tool for learning. Whilst most could confidently say that pupils felt comfortable speaking their languages at school (a feature evidenced at Bronze level), EAL co-ordinators felt that pupils could be better encouraged to use their languages to access the curriculum in the classroom (a feature evidenced at Silver level). In response to this, the EMTAS Teachers have been working closely with their schools to introduce ideas and strategies to support this and they are now keen to share their work with the EAL community.

Discover our brand new materials which consist of a narrated animation (below) with supporting material you will find attached to this blog: a transcript, activities based around the animation and an aide-mémoire summarising key strategies. Our work is still ongoing with a brand new piece of EAL elearning currently under development – watch this space!  

Visit the Hampshire EMTAS website

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In this new blog, Annie Kershaw shares her experience of using the EAL Excellence Award and Young Interpreter Scheme to develop practice at her school in Nottingham.

I am an EAL Co-ordinator for an inner city School in Nottingham - Victoria Primary School. The headlines for our school are:

- The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well above the national average.

- There are 33 languages spoken at the school.

- The rate of pupils’ mobility is well above the national average.

- The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is well above the national average for primary schools.

In 2018, in response to the Local Authority cuts leading to a much reduced central service for supporting schools with EAL and BME achievement, Nottingham City sent out a request for experienced practitioners to apply to become an Advanced Practitioner of EAL (APEAL); The LA would provide specialist training and support for the APEALs and in return they would complete an in-school EAL audit and action plan, identifying current examples of best practice, an action research project,  write up the report for publication on the LA website, and the APEALs would each deliver a workshop at the Local Authority EAL Annual Conference. In exchange, the APEALs received consultant support and training from the Local Authority, a network of cross-phase peers for support and specialised professional development, and access to the Hampshire EMTAS Moodle.

As EAL Co-ordinator, the Moodle was just what I was looking for. I quickly engaged with the e-learning packages for myself and for colleagues and it was great having a tool to hand which confirmed and supported our good practice in school. One of our proudest achievements was finding a way to formalise the support and training for our ‘Language Ambassadors’ through the Young Interpreters Scheme. We had already nominated children to undertake the role and asked them to do some tasks informally, but this really gave us, as a school, a structure to develop their role further, some well thought out materials to use in their training and an end goal through awarding certificates and badges. In fact, the role of the Ambassadors was recently acknowledged in our OFSTED inspection:

Finally, as with many of my increasingly isolated EAL Co-ordinator colleagues, I am always reflecting on whether my practice is ‘correct’ and ‘current’ or not. For me, validation for my school and for my own role came in the form of the EAL Excellence Award, developed by Hampshire. As a school, we decided to pursue the award as we accept that EAL is a big part of our identity and that we had made a lot of progress in recent years with our practice; the award seemed to us to be a good way to acknowledge that progress and a useful tool to raise the EAL profile of our school. As EAL Co-ordinator, it gave me a real structure for evaluating where we are, and how we can keep improving and moving forward with our practice in school. My colleagues were positive and encouraging and, when needed, were more than happy to provide the evidence and the support for me.

We were delighted to receive the Silver Award recently and I am already mentally preparing for our journey to Gold! The ‘Gold’ criteria has motivated me to think more holistically around our Parental Engagement and how we can make steps in this area. I look forward to the challenge!

Visit the Hampshire EMTAS website to find out more about the EAL Excellence Award and Young Interpreter Scheme.

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In their last blog article published in the summer term, the Hampshire EMTAS team concluded the academic year with a celebration of their schools’ successful completion of the EAL Excellence Award. Now feeling refreshed after the summer break, the team look forward to the year ahead.  

EAL Excellence Award 

Our work supporting schools to develop and embed best practice for their EAL learners through the EAL Excellence Award continues. Surgeries will be held to help colleagues get ready for Bronze level and many of this year’s network meetings will focus on aspects of the award which practitioners need to develop for the next level up. For example, many schools will want to work on planning for the use of first language as a tool for learning this year (more on this in a future blog). See the EMTAS website for more information about the Award and how you can introduce it in your school or setting. 
 
GRT Excellence Award 

Following the success of the EAL Excellence Award, we have developed a similar award to support schools who have Gypsy, Roma and/or Traveller pupils on roll. At present, we have eight schools piloting the GRT Excellence Award and working towards getting their accreditation. To find out more, please contact: claire.barker@hants.gov.uk 
 
NALDIC Berkshire & Hampshire Regional Interest Group (RIG) 

NALDIC is the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum and has an EAL remit. Part of the work of NALDIC is to run Regional Interest Groups (RIGs) across the country. Many of you may have heard that Dr Naomi Flynn is giving up her role as convenor of the Berkshire and Hampshire RIG. Whilst we are sad as this means we will see less of Naomi, we are also excited that the responsibility will now be shared between Portsmouth EMAS, Dr Anna Tsakalaki at the University of Reading and ourselves at Hampshire EMTAS! We wish Naomi all the best in her new role of Events Chair for NALDIC and look forward to working with our new co-convenors. 
 
Network meetings 

EMTAS network meetings are a great opportunity to meet colleagues with an interest in EAL practice and provision, to share ideas and to access input and take part in discussions on a range of EAL-related issues. These termly meetings are free to Hampshire maintained schools; staff from academies or the independent sector are also welcome to attend for a small charge. To find dates and information about how to register for a network meeting near you, see the Training section of the EMTAS website. 
 
EAL E-learning 

Our EAL E-learning has been given a complete overhaul this year to bring it up to date. The modules will now play even better in the Chrome browser and are optimised for seamless delivery over mobile devices. Check out our latest module on the ‘Role of the EAL coordinator’ and look out for new modules being developed this year. 
 
SEAL (Supporting English as an Additional Language) 

Due to popular demand, this course is running again starting in October 2019. It is a training programme for support staff and EAL co-ordinators to help them build up their knowledge of EAL good practice and pedagogy and has a strong focus on practical strategies to support pupils with EAL within their school environment. The course covers best practice in the classroom, SEND or EAL?, assessment, working with parents of children with EAL and the latest digital technology and resources to support learning in the classroom. If you are interested in signing up for this course, please check details on our website. 
 
NALDIC Conference 

This year the NALDIC conference takes place at King’s College London on 16th November (easy walking access from Waterloo station). The conference title this year is ‘Inclusive practices in multilingual classrooms: assessing and supporting EAL and SEND learners in the mainstream’. The NALDIC conference always has a good variety of workshops to suit all tastes, stands from publishers/resource providers and is a great place to network with colleagues from all over the country. 
 
As you can see there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with EAL this year. We look forward to seeing you at an event near you.  

Last September we kicked off our second year of blogging with an article introducing our new EAL Excellence Award, a self-evaluation tool for schools created with a view to support practitioners in developing EAL practice and provision. As they are about to break for their Summer holiday the Hampshire EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisors reflect on their work with schools using the EAL Excellence Award in their area. 

 
 
Getting ready 
The award was met with much enthusiasm after its launch in our blog and during network meetings. Practitioners found it helpful as a way of mapping out the areas where provision was already strong whilst identifying areas for development. For example, many schools identified the need to appoint and train an EAL Governor. They reflected on policies and the importance of writing a stand-alone EAL policy. The self-evaluation tool also highlighted staff training needs which we supported through bespoke sessions as well as our e-learning. Feedback from schools indicated that they found the self-evaluation criteria relevant and purposeful.   
 
Some schools have collated evidence into folders to make the validation visit as smooth as possible. They have used each statement from the EXA as a divider and then placed any appropriate evidence, such as lesson plans, copies of school policies or photos of work, into each section. This made the validation process relatively straightforward since all the evidence could be found in one place. For one school, the portfolio of evidence was a piece of work which particularly impressed the Ofsted inspectors.
 
 
The validation process 
Validation visits were, in most cases, carried out by a Specialist Teacher Advisor not previously connected with the school in order to get a fresh take on practice and provision.  It has also been great being able to meet Young Interpreters in some schools and in one school there was even the chance to meet with the school governor responsible for EAL. This was supplemented by tours to see displays and collections of resources in the library or in classrooms.  One tip for schools thinking about gaining their own award might be to take pictures of anything ephemeral like a classroom display and keep them in readiness.   
 
 
What’s next? 
Since the launch of these materials in September there has been interest from colleagues beyond the bounds of Hampshire. Schools have already purchased licenses to use the tool within their establishment and EAL specialists have been trained as validators to work with schools in their own locality. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact: Chris.Pim@hants.gov.uk.
 
More materials will be produced to support schools with gaining their EAL Excellence Award in 2019-20. There will also be training opportunities to support aspects of the framework which some schools have found trickier e.g. using first language as a tool for learning. We will also work with our current bronze schools who might be thinking about developing their practice and provision towards silver.
 
Building on the success of the EAL Excellence Award, the EMTAS Traveller Team have introduced a Traveller Excellence Award that is currently being piloted in eight schools all around Hampshire. We hope to present our first award early in the Autumn term. This award helps schools audit their provision for their Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and helps to ensure that all staff are well informed about the different GRT cultures in their setting. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact: Claire.Barker@hants.gov.uk. 
 
 
Finally... 
We congratulate the following schools for their hard work in achieving their award:  

 
Visit our website to find out more about the EAL Excellence Award and contact the Specialist Teacher Advisor for your area to book a visit:  

Astrid Dinneen shares the exciting news

Left to right: Astrid Dinneen, Chris Pim, Michelle Nye & Sarah Coles 

The Young Interpreter Scheme^® has featured in several articles since the inception of the Hampshire EMTAS blog and this was mostly with a view to share best practice when using children and young people as buddies in school. In this article we are blowing our own trumpet and telling you about the latest award received by Hampshire EMTAS for the scheme.

On Wednesday 14 November, The Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) held their annual award ceremony which celebrates "the importance of language and cultural understanding, the value of languages to business and industry and excellence in language learning". Awards were given to individuals, teams, organisations, schools and language centres who all demonstrate excellence in language learning, translation and interpreting. The Threlford Memorial Cup, CIOL's most prestigious award was given to the Young Interpreter Scheme^®.

The cup was first presented in 1935 by Sir Lacon Threlford, Founder of the Institute of Linguists. In the archives of the time the cup was described as "the world's greatest trophy for fostering the study of languages" – so a huge achievement and a massive honour for Hampshire EMTAS which I was proud to represent alongside my colleagues Michelle Nye, Sarah Coles and Chris Pim seen on the photo above.

This historical cup stays with the CIOL however we are keeping an engraved medal and a certificate which I look forward to showing everyone involved in the scheme. I particularly want to dedicate this award to everyone who has contributed to the success of the scheme over the years: the children and young people, the schools, the Young Interpreter co-ordinators, the practitioners who shaped the scheme right from the beginning, the whole Hampshire EMTAS team and all our supporters in the field of EAL.

I know that Young Interpreters and practitioners in schools across the UK - and beyond - will be so excited at the news. And who knows, perhaps one day the CIOL will be giving accolades to linguists who started off as Young Interpreters… So watch this space!

In the meantime why not log into your Young Interpreter Moodle account, sign up to the scheme, follow us on Twitter or Facebook or read the December issue of the Young Interpreters Newsletter?

Hampshire EMTAS Consultant Sarah Coles discusses how you can make sure you’re heading in the right direction.

EAL is a broad topic that touches on many different aspects of school life.  Because of this, staff in schools, EAL Co-ordinators in particular, are given to wonder how they might know whether or not practice and provision in their setting makes the grade.  Others want to identify not just areas for improvement but also ideas as to how they might achieve these improvements.  This is where the EAL Excellence Award comes in.

The EMTAS Specialist Teacher Advisor team devised the EAL Excellence Award as a way of enabling schools to evaluate both strategic and operational aspects of their EAL practice and provision.  It is an online, interactive tool that covers 5 core strands:

• Leadership and Management
• Data, Assessment & Progress 
• Pedagogy and Practice
• Teaching & Learning

• Parental and Community Engagement.

On screen, it looks like this:

© Copyright Hampshire EMTAS 2018

Within each strand is a series of statements at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels.  Progression is clarified as the statements are linear and there is help with the supporting evidence element in the form of a list of possible examples.  Practitioners click on the statement they feel most closely reflects current practice in their school and type into a text box the evidence they have to support their judgement. 

This is an example of statements at Bronze, Silver and Gold from the first focus within Leadership and Management, together with examples of where the evidence might be found to support the school’s judgement:

© Copyright Hampshire EMTAS 2018

Once all the statements within one strand have been completed, practitioners can see the overall awarding level for that area, Bronze, Silver or Gold.  Once all 5 areas have been completed, they can see the complete picture for their school with the overall awarding level being the lowest of the 5 strands. 

© Copyright Hampshire EMTAS 2018

For example the school above is asserting they are at Gold level for Leadership & Management, Data, Assessment & Progress and Parental & Community Engagement, Silver for Teaching & Learning and Bronze for Pedagogy and Practice.  For this school, the overall awarding level would be Bronze.  The outcome, presented pictorially, means the EAL lead can readily identify areas of strength and places where some developmental work might not go amiss. In the example above, they might choose to focus on Pedagogy and Practice through their EAL Development Plan for the year, using the Excellence Award tool to support them to develop this area.  Thus the tool enables EAL Leads in schools to work in a focused way,  achieving a balance of strategic and operational tasks within their role, thereby ensuring they make best use of the time they have available for their EAL work.

When the EAL Lead has completed all statements in all strands of the EAL Excellence Award, they can submit their work to EMTAS.  A validation visit will be arranged and if successful, a Bronze, Silver or Gold certificate, valid for 2 years, will be awarded to the school to acknowledge the work they do for their EAL learners.

The EAL Excellence Award includes access to resources such as model EAL Policies, suggestions on where evidence might be found and links to sources of further information and guidance.  It links with the EMTAS suite of e-learning modules too, which practitioners can dip into to improve their knowledge of EAL Pedagogy or to find out more about the role of the EAL Co-Ordinator.

To find out more about how to get hold of the EAL Excellence Award to use in your school, or to talk about how you can be trained as a Validator to use the tool in schools outside of Hampshire, please contact Sarah Coles, sarah.c.coles@hants.gov.uk.