Schools with the best practice share a commitment to providing opportunities for all pupils to learn and achieve, including those who are newly arrived from overseas. Many schools are recognised as having developed a range of effective strategies that enable new arrivals to:

• participate fully in the educational opportunities provided
• make the best possible progress both academically and socially.

How can the national curriculum inclusion statement support the teaching of new arrivals?

The statutory inclusion statement in the national curriculum provides a clear framework for schools and teachers to consider the diverse needs of pupils, including those who are new arrivals. It outlines how teachers can modify the programmes of study, devise their own schemes of work and adapt their teaching to meet pupils’ needs. You can read the inclusion statement, view general support materials and find resources on the National curriculum online website.

The three principles for developing an inclusive curriculum can support teachers’ planning for new arrivals:

• setting suitable learning challenges
• responding to pupils' diverse learning needs
• overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

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Setting suitable learning challenges

It is important to remember that:

• the QCA schemes of work are a non-statutory resource that can be adapted to meet the needs of individual pupils or groups
• schools are free to devise their own schemes of work that meet their pupils’ needs.

Schools have developed:

• flexible approaches that modify and adapt the curriculum to teach the knowledge, skills and understanding in ways that best meet the needs of new arrivals and other pupils
• effective practice in assessing the abilities and learning needs of new arrivals, including those with English as an additional language, who are gifted and talented learners
• approaches to meet the needs of those pupils, such as refugees and asylum seekers, who may have gaps in their learning resulting from interrupted schooling, or who may have little or no previous school experience.

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Responding to pupils' diverse learning needs

Pupils arriving from overseas may:

• come from different national, cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds
• have a wide variety of school and other educational experiences before coming to the UK
• be highly motivated
• be able to speak, read and write other languages
• be gifted and talented
• have gaps in their learning resulting from interrupted schooling
• have little or no previous school experience
• have learning difficulties.

Schools have:

• ensured that teaching and learning about diversity permeates the whole curriculum. Where pupils appreciate and value diversity, teachers find that new arrivals integrate into the school more readily and engage more actively in learning activities
• ensured that teachers use a wide range of teaching methods that are supported by varied and differentiated learning materials and resources. New arrivals from overseas can be genuinely included when curriculum planning ensures that a range of teaching strategies are used that are appropriate for pupils' different learning styles
• used appropriate assessment approaches to support teachers in providing opportunities for new arrivals to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and ability they bring to their new schools. Effective assessment for learning can help pupils build on what they already know and assist teachers in setting clear and appropriate learning goals.

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Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils

To overcome potential barriers to learning teachers take account of pupils’ learning and assessment requirements. For newly arrived pupils, barriers to learning may be linked to:

• learning English as an additional language
• difficulties in managing the transition to a new country
• feelings of insecurity or trauma due to prior circumstances
• being isolated and without new friends
• changes in their family situation including, for some, separation from one or both parents
• gaps in education, little prior education or a very different style of prior education.

Schools have:

• developed effective EAL support to meet the language needs of new arrivals
• responded to the needs newly arrived refugee and asylum-seeking pupils who have fled armed conflict and human rights abuses. Some schools have developed innovative activities and projects linked to the curriculum to support emotional well-being and help pupils manage harsh memories and difficult feelings
• developed the roles of additional adults, including teaching assistants, learning mentors and induction mentors, to ensure that new arrivals are welcomed and that barriers to learning are recognised and addressed.

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