Tooled Up Education

Dr Weston Talks with Professor Mina Fazel: Supporting Refugee Children

In this interview, Professor Mina Fazel talks to Dr Weston about supporting displaced children once they are in a place of refuge. Listen now to find out about the crucial importance of a sense of belonging and how the outcomes of these children are dramatically improved if they are able to form natural social connections. Teachers and school staff can learn some top tips on supporting the mental health of refugee (and in fact all) children in the classroom. Professor Fazel also points us in the direction of some helpful further resources.

30 Tips for Supporting the Parents of EAL Pupils

‘Effective school provision for EAL students and their parents/carers depends on information, coordination, support and communication’ (Evans, et al., 2016).​ Take a look at our top tips for creating a supportive school environment for parents of EAL children, as well as key positive messages that you should send to any parent/carer who does not have English as their first language.

Dr Weston Talks with Professor Victoria Murphy: Supporting Bilingual Children

In this podcast, Dr Weston talks with Professor Victoria Murphy about the misconceptions surrounding children with English as an additional language (EAL) and how teachers and parents can better support emergent bilingualism. They discuss the main stages of children’s second language development and address how bilingualism should be considered a huge benefit, both to the child and to their school class as a whole. We discover that given that almost 25% of UK children having EAL, this is a subject that requires much more research.