New Arrivals Excellence Programme (NAEP): Case study 2

• Date: Nov 2006
• Programme: New Arrivals Excellence Programme (NAEP)
• Focus: Partnership work to meet the language and learning needs of new arrivals and their families
• Number in series: 2
• Phase: Primary
• Key stage: Key Stages 1 and 2
• Ref: 00150-2008DWO-EN-01

Background

The school is a large urban primary in London with 440 children on roll, at least 96% of whom are bilingual. The school is situated in an area of socio-economic deprivation and there is considerable mobility as previously well-established Asian families are moving away and more rented housing is becoming available for newly arrived families.

This is an outstanding school which offers a caring learning environment which is both stimulating and secure. The outstanding leadership of the highly respected headteacher is underpinned by excellent teamwork between pupils, parents, governors and staff, all of whom have been key elements in creating and maintaining the school’s success. Pupils love coming to school where they thrive physically, linguistically, intellectually, and socially. Their outstanding personal development is supported by similarly excellent levels of care, guidance and support. As governors explain “We don’t just deliver the curriculum, we nurture future citizens”. As a result, this highly successful and over-subscribed school acts as “the hub of the local community” and is wholeheartedly supported by its parents who value both the high academic standards and the way their children’s confidence and abilities in all areas are developed and sustained. Ofsted 2006

The school admitted 50 newly arrived bilingual learners between September 2006 and March 2007. These new arrivals speak Panjabi, Urdu, Somali, Tamil, Malayalam, Pashto, Farsi, Russian, Albanian, Polish and Romanian and many children arrive in the school new to English. Many children also arrive directly into school without any prior schooling. Some children living locally have had to wait without schooling for up to nine months until a place becomes available in this school.