Over term three and four, Lesley Cowie and I have been talking to a range of students and teachers as part of a project inquiring into the link between ELL and mainstream programmes and working to improve learning pathways between the programmes.

We have been talking with ELL students to find out more about their experience of working in mainstream classes. Several classroom teachers have generously given their time to talk with us about what they think are potential barriers to learning and social integration for ELL students, as well as the strategies they use to overcome these barriers.

Lesley and I are working together to collate the information we have gathered and to identify successful strategies used in the classroom to encourage social integration and academic achievement for ELL learners. Lesley has also been working on developing a template for a profile that will accompany each ELL student into mainstream classes to help teachers build relationships with ELL students and better cater to their academic needs. Our next steps are to develop practical strategies teachers can use to help ELL learners navigate the academic and social demands of mainstream classrooms. Additionally, we are investigating opportunities to involve ELL students more often with mainstream students in curriculum areas in 2021. We are looking forward to working with teachers and students to improve learning pathways between ELL and mainstream programmes in 2021.