The first decade of the twenty-first century witnessed British policy-makers turning attention to the home experiences of children of immigrant backgrounds as well as recognising the relevance of knowledge acquired at home in the children’s learning and in the construction of their identities. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES), then responsible for the education system and children’s services in England, set out the entitlement of pupils as young as seven years old to learn languages and emphasised the importance of learning after school (National Languages Strategy 2002). Primary schools were encouraged to develop closer links with their local communities as a way of better supporting their pupils (Aiming High 2003). Later, in 2006, the Excellence and Enjoyment report guided teachers on strategies to support the learning of bilingual learners, including the use of their first languages as resources, whilst the Curriculum Review report (2007) recommended that issues of identity, including religion, be dealt with explicitly in order to fulfil the necessary pedagogical strategies for fostering citizenship. In addition, in 2009, the cultural and religious dimensions of a child’s background were considered relevant in promoting emotional and mental well-being (Your Child, Your Schools, Our Future, Department for Children, Schools and Families, DCSF). More recently, a publication by the Department for Education (DfE 2011) recognised as good practice schools’ offer of individual tuition to learners of English as an Additional Language at flexible times, both in school time and at weekends, to ensure it did not clash with pupils’ community/faith commitments.
Souza, AnaBarradas, OlgaWoodham, Malgorzata
Year of publication: 2016Date of RADAR deposit: 2018-01-09