Education case studies: Educational attainment and curriculum
April 29, 2024
- Establishing forums: Rutland County Council found a significant proportion of pupils in its area were Service children. Engagement across the council, partner agencies, Rutland Health Watch, local military unit welfare teams, and Service charities, identified concerns that some Service children were underachieving in education, some rates of SEND were higher than the national average, and there was a confused picture of available support. The council co-ordinated a meeting of concerned parties to discuss ways to improve, leading to the creation of a Forces Family Forum. This meets five times per year with attendees from these organisations to provide updates on concerns, as well as guest speakers who provide targeted information and new support connections.
- English as an Additional Language: A school in South Cerney identified that while Service pupils were achieving normal Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar scores, the group lacked depth in English vocabulary. A large proportion of the Service children were from Nepal, and although they were fluent in English, they lacked technical and colloquial expertise in the language. The school met with the parents via the military base’s Welfare Officer, to discuss the issue of English as an Additional Language (EAL). Many parents had not identified their child as having an EAL requirement, believing their child had an effective command of the language – myths were dispelled, and parents were reassured that EAL children would be supported more, not that less would be expected of them. The school agreed to focus on vocabulary with EAL pupils to ensure they could achieve their full potential.