The Home Office requires Community Sponsorship groups to provide at least 8 hours a week of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) tuition, for the first 12 months after a family’s arrival. This should be supplemented regularly by informal, conversational English.
Before our families arrived, volunteer ESOL teaching teams were recruited. Upon the families’ arrival, an initial assessment of their English provision needs is conducted, and parents are enrolled in local Adult Education classes. The ESOL team then arrange a timetable, which is worked around the commitments of both volunteers and students. The lessons led by our volunteers are designed to consolidate what is taught in Adult Education, as well as adapt to the needs of families, boosting language skills which are useful and applicable to the families’ lives. For example, Welcome’s ESOL lessons with parents have focused on the vocabulary needed for taking a driving theory test; being able to access and understand the online job centre portal; market research for a business start-up; and navigating virtual schooling platforms.