Case Study

Introduction

Lambeth Academy is a new academy, providing extra secondary school places for Lambeth which had a severe shortage. In September 2007, it started its fourth year. It is a school with twin specialisms of languages and business.

Collaboration

The main criterion for admission to Lambeth Academy has always been proximity to the school itself, so opportunities for connecting with the local community is a high priority. Around 25- 30% of Lambeth pupils can be classed as EAL, with the 3 largest groups being Portuguese, Somali and Yoruba. Lambeth already had good links to the Portuguese community through the Lambeth Ethnic Minority Achievement Team (EMAT) and the timing of the ‘Our Languages Project’ coincided with a school initiative to focus on raising the achievement of the growing Somali cohort.

Lambeth Academy’s Director of the Language College specialism wanted the school to be involved in the project as it fitted in well with the overall vision for the school. At an introductory briefing meeting, the newly-appointed EAL coordinator was informed about ways in which this project would help Lambeth Academy learn more about its EAL pupils and develop work that would help raise their achievement.

The Lambeth EMAT – in particular the Lambeth Somali Education Officer using his connections with the local Somali community - put the Academy in contact with two Somali complementary schools; the lead complementary school being the Aayatiin Foundation. Connections have also been established with LAMSOM (Lambeth Somali Association).

Regular meetings with the complementary schools and others involved in the project have been held at Lambeth EMAT facilities. Work so far has been mostly planning events to attract other complementary schools into the partnership. The EAL Coordinator has also visited both Aayatiin and LAMSOM in the evening to observe what they offer their local communities and to sit-in on Somali language lessons. The Coordinator was impressed with how much good work the local community associations do in providing support and help, and in maintaining and extending students’ knowledge of their mother tongue. It was also encouraging to see the obvious enthusiasm of many of the students at the complementary schools about their learning.

An excellent dual language guide for parents in Somali and English, produced and published by LAMSOM, has been adopted by Lambeth Academy as the basis for one of its “How to” guides.

Current focus is on identifying and signing up other complementary schools to the project; and identifying and agreeing what the complementary schools want and need, and how best the Academy can help. Areas such as tutor training have already been identified; they also anticipate that there will be a need to help boost English competence particularly amongst students for whom it is an additional language.

The Academy are aware that some of the groups work in another consortium, and therefore are mindful to ensure that this collaboration complements what they are already doing and avoids duplicating effort.

Impact

The project is still at an early stage, so it is difficult yet to measure the impact that the partnerships are having. Since Lambeth Academy is being accredited as an Asset Languages Centre, there are plans for more students to be put forward for Asset languages qualifications in their home languages. Accreditation is expected to have a positive impact on EAL students’ pride in their language and their overall confidence and achievement in mainstream subjects.

A small example of positive impact is a new arrival from Somalia, who has little or no English, and is not able to write much in Somali. Through the partnership, she has been given details of the Somali link schools, which means she will be able to improve her Somali as well as her English.

Staff at Lambeth Academy are now more aware of the needs of their Somali students generally and have a clearer understanding of the education they are receiving outside of the Academy at the complementary school. They also have a better understanding of how to support new arrivals, for example by using peer groups to act as interpreters.

Future plans

Through the connection with Lambeth EMAT, Lambeth Academy hopes to extend its links to community language groups other than Portuguese and Somali. The Academy is currently developing a simple form, which can be used by both complementary and maintained schools to communicate with each other about pupils who attend both schools, so that each may identify and meet their needs more closely.

A meeting has been planned with the Somali students in the Academy, involving the lead complementary school. The aim is to focus on precisely how to raise the achievement of Somali students both in their own language and at the Academy. It will all be part of ‘getting to know the student better.’

Having established the consortium and gathered information, the second phase will focus on developing schemes of work, which will be used in both school settings.

About the School