THE PROJECT
Recent migration waves into Europe have created a significant challenge, and in particular for schools, who have the responsibility for both integrating migrant pupils and ensuring their education. Many schools face the challenge of integrating newly migrant pupils and in particular engaging with the local communities if language is a barrier.
This project brings together 6 partners from 5 countries, all of which have faced different types of migration. It aims to overcome these issues by training up a team of ‘Young Interpreters’ in the Primary School sector to use their languages in the “official” school environment. It will exploit formally the potential that exists within each school community for bi- and multi-lingual pupils to use their skills, develop their leadership skills and will also facilitate peer learning. By supporting new learners of the country’s language, they are more likely to feel safe, settled and valued from the start and this will speed up their integration. The identified Young Interpreters will undergo specific training to prepare for this role and will be selected on the basis of their personal qualities.
Their skills can also support school staff in a variety of ways at different points during the school day.
The objectives of the project are to:
• identify up to 20 priority communication needs for newly arrived migrant pupils and their parents
• create an outline scheme of ‘young interpreter’ challenges to exploit the bi- and multi-lingual skills of existing pupils
• create a set of training materials to support the ‘young interpreter’ scheme
• create an accreditation system of badges to recognise achievement of the ‘challenges’
• recruit 120 young interpreters in 5 countries in up to 10 languages
• pilot, test, evaluate and refine the training and accreditation in 2 schools in each of 5 countries
• identify and use tools to evaluate impact, including data and feedback from students, teachers and parents
• create a set of case studies from each country
• disseminate the outcomes widely and build a network of interested bodies
This project brings together 6 partners from 5 countries, all of which have faced different types of migration. It aims to overcome these issues by training up a team of ‘Young Interpreters’ in the Primary School sector to use their languages in the “official” school environment. It will exploit formally the potential that exists within each school community for bi- and multi-lingual pupils to use their skills, develop their leadership skills and will also facilitate peer learning. By supporting new learners of the country’s language, they are more likely to feel safe, settled and valued from the start and this will speed up their integration. The identified Young Interpreters will undergo specific training to prepare for this role and will be selected on the basis of their personal qualities.
Their skills can also support school staff in a variety of ways at different points during the school day.
The objectives of the project are to:
• identify up to 20 priority communication needs for newly arrived migrant pupils and their parents
• create an outline scheme of ‘young interpreter’ challenges to exploit the bi- and multi-lingual skills of existing pupils
• create a set of training materials to support the ‘young interpreter’ scheme
• create an accreditation system of badges to recognise achievement of the ‘challenges’
• recruit 120 young interpreters in 5 countries in up to 10 languages
• pilot, test, evaluate and refine the training and accreditation in 2 schools in each of 5 countries
• identify and use tools to evaluate impact, including data and feedback from students, teachers and parents
• create a set of case studies from each country
• disseminate the outcomes widely and build a network of interested bodies