New Arrangements for Schools Wishing to
Buy Back Support for EAL Learners

The population of Norfolk is changing, and this is reflected in increased numbers of pupils in our schools whose first language is other than English.

The English Language Support Service (ELSS) is a specialist support service, working within the Norfolk Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Services (NEMTAS), which is part of Norfolk County Council's Children's Services.

What do we do?
We work with schools to raise the achievement of minority ethnic pupils, and support the particular needs of:

	Pupils for whom English is an additional language (EAL)
	Schools with minority ethnic pupils at risk of under-achieving
	Refugees and asylum seekers

New Funding Arrangements: Personalisation Funding
There is new additional funding available to schools to ensure that good provision is made for EAL learners. This is referred to as 'personalisation funding' and is delegated to schools. Schools Forum agreed that allocations should be on a per capita basis, based on the Annual School Census.

The actual amount delegated per EAL learner is £212, which represents a considerable increase on amounts previously available through the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant, and there will be further substantial increases over the following two years.

The allocation is made annually, with no in-year adjustment to allow for additional pupils arriving during the year.

The Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant
The Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) is the main funding stream which has previously been delegated to schools to support ethnic minority pupils. In the light of the new personalisation funding for EAL learners described above, Schools Forum agreed that the EMAG grant should now be used to support newly arrived pupils, and those with the highest level of support need. Each newly arrived pupil would attract funding of £300.

This funding will be allocated to schools following the usual referral procedure to the English Language Support Service. Referral to the ELSS can be made whenever a new arrival is admitted, and schools will continue to have the option of using the funding to buy back support from the English Language Support Service, or making appropriate alternative arrangements to support their EAL pupils.

New "Buyback" Arrangements
In the light of these new funding arrangements, the English Language Support Service has devised a range of support packages which will enable schools to use all or some of their allocation to purchase a package of regular support from a specialist EAL teacher.

School clusters are welcome to join together to purchase a support package, and schools with relatively small numbers of EAL pupils will still be able to access a level of support through training/advisory visit combinations which we will be publicising separately.

Details of the Proposed New Packages- "Time Slots"
Schools will be able to buyback an agreed "slot" of specialist EAL teacher time e.g.

	One half-day slot of teacher support, on a weekly basis
	One half-day slot of teacher support, on a fortnightly basis
	One third of a day of teacher support ,on a weekly basis
	One third of a day of teacher support, on a fortnightly basis

Any of the above could be made available to clusters of schools

Schools could also opt to buyback relevant training, with a follow up advisory visit. These schemes will be advertised through Children's Services, through ELSS team members and on our website.

School/Service Agreement
Following an audit of need, our specialist member of staff will work with you to create an appropriate menu of support activity.

Strategies are likely to include:

	Initial assessment to analyse individual support needs
	Teaching, individually or in small groups according to agreed pupil need
	Advising teachers and teaching assistants
	Recommending and providing resources
	Advising on developments within National Strategies current good practice, and building capacity to provide particularly for the needs of advanced EAL learners
	Training for school staff e.g. using the primary EAL toolkit, meeting the needs of newly arrived pupils, provision for EAL in the Early Years/ Foundation Stage. Our training can be followed up with in-school advisory visits.
	Providing information and advice on Community Language GCSE entry
	Advising on the progress of individual learners compared to others across Norfolk and nationally.
	Arranging access to the particular expertise and experience of other ELSS team members.

About the English Language Support Service
All members of our team are skilled and experienced in meeting the needs of EAL pupils. But the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Because we are committed to a team ethos, and strive to align our work with colleagues working in the National Strategies teams, you are buying into a stream of expertise far greater than the individual member of the team allotted to you.

Attached is the New Arrangements for Schools Wishing to Buy Back Support for EAL Learners Application Form.