Case Study

Introduction

The Tamil Academy of Language and Arts based in Lewisham is a well-established supplementary school and community organisation, which has operated for 23 years and delivers from Downderry Primary School on a Friday evening and Sydenham Secondary School on a Saturday. It teaches Tamil language and provides support in Maths, English and General Knowledge towards 11+ exams. In addition it runs various arts programmes including traditional music and dance classes. The Academy works in partnership with several mainstream schools.

Collaboration

The Tamil Academy decided to work in collaboration with the mainstream sector because most of the children attending the academy attend mainstream schools throughout the borough, the largest number being at Downderry Primary School where at least a dozen children attend.

The collaborative work grew from the idea of taking the Tamil Arts programme out into the community. ‘The schools we worked with liked what we did and the collaboration has grown as a result.’

The planning involved meeting to discuss the arts programme as well as delivering performances, but developed laterally when the schools appreciated that the academy could provide language support and interpretation to both Tamil students and their parents. With a number of EAL students also having learning difficulties, the Tamil Academy is well placed to offer extra support and advice to mainstream students and schools. Attendance at parents’ evenings and discussions with tutors have also benefited the mainstream schools, the Tamil children and their parents.

The Academy works with several mainstream schools, and although they have no formal agreement, collaboration has grown through the links established over the years and is greatly valued by all involved. They feel that collaboration is vital to fostering an understanding of the way in which both institutions work. Identifying good practice in both schools, and learning from each other, is the key to partnerships of this kind.

‘We have valued the opportunity to work with our mainstream school colleagues and to gain an understanding of the breadth of the National Curriculum as well as an appreciation of the constraints under which they work.’

The overarching aim of the Tamil Academy is ‘to raise the educational attainment of our students through supporting them and their families in providing access to a range of learning opportunities and cultural pursuits.’

ICT and web-based learning is used to support the children’s language development; indeed two of the volunteers are developing software using virtual tactile keyboards, for this purpose. As part of the Arts programme groups of students extensively plan and rehearse their work before completing final performances at the school.

The Academy has eight paid staff but the majority of key personnel are volunteers who are in full time employment and dedicate their spare time to support the work of the Academy. Two retired Lecturers in Education and an expert in Community Languages support the work of the academy. These colleagues act as independent advisors and give their time free of charge to the project.

Impact

The greatest impact has been increased awareness of the needs of EAL students amongst the teaching staff in mainstream schools. Students are more confident and are proud to share their cultural heritage with the community. Also, a strong learning community has been established and this work serves to reinforce it.

An annual evaluation allows the Academy to measure the impact the programme is having on the children, although they have yet to evaluate the impact of the collaboration, but will consider doing so in the future.

Strengths

The mutual respect and interest in the common culture shown by both mainstream schools and the Tamil Academy has a very positive effect on students and teachers in the mainstream schools. Positive outcomes include areas such as an improvement in children’s ability to understand their culture, increased pride in their language, and a better understanding of why they attend and what benefits they gain.

Challenges

High accommodation and staffing costs are an issue as are a lack of resources. The academy would like to develop other arts projects to share with the community and do much more collaborative work on developing greater awareness of their work, but they see lack of time, resources and continued funding as the main limiting factors.

Development

The Academy is currently very dependent on continued funding. At the moment they have a team of Tamil speaking volunteers who support the work of the Academy. The Academy continues to explore the use of software to support language development. It has a clear plan of how it will continue to develop and improve their partnerships and they do not see any major changes in the near future.

They have a strong track record of success in working with young people and their families. An open–door policy that welcomes all members of the community is aimed at advancing social cohesion and they are proud of their achievements in helping young people to develop as socially responsible citizens.

‘If social cohesion is to work then we all have a responsibility to forge the links that will provide the ‘glue’ of tolerance.’

About the School