Evaluation of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinders

considered, may, even in the longer term, be capable only of support work. Oneheadteacher was actively considering alternative solutions:‘We are also looking at a wider range of options: language assistants and other people withlanguage competence, including native speakers, who are not necessarily tied to a timetable.There is a need to consider a long-term plan of how these kinds of people can betrained and supported with a real career to make the national policy work.’ (headteacher)The use of native speaker assistants was seen to be a very cost effective way of ensuringbasic levels of provision, but it was recognised by most headteachers in most localauthorities that it was necessary to increase the linguistic and methodological skills of theclassroom teachers if the whole of KS2 was to be provided with a proper languages diet inthe future. There was still very heavy reliance in a number of local authorities on thepresence of external experts, either in the form of FLAs or secondary outreach teachers.One headteacher, though perhaps overstating the case, stressed the need for continuingsupport:‘The initial idea of going in and setting something up and the primary teachers then taking iton themselves is difficult to run. They have so little time and for them to turn around andstart writing schemes of work and to start producing all the materials without any help isvery, very difficult. I don’t think it is enough for primary colleagues just to be sent on Xamount of courses and to be told: there you go, that’s your training and that’senough.’ (headteacher)Getting the class teachers to take a more active role in lessons when they observeassistants or visiting teachers, and in between visits, were acknowledged to be problems forsustainability in at least three local authorities. In the words of one AST:‘There is tremendous variation in how much they will join in and how much they follow upafterwards.’ (AST)One outreach teacher was proud of the increasingly active role of several of her classteacher colleagues, but there was also the recognition that there was a long way to gobefore even these keener and more confident teachers could take over entirely the whole ofthe teaching.Some classteachers interviewed admitted that it was not always possible to devote as muchtime to languages in between the FLAs lessons. One confessed:109