EAL Ambassador Buddy Scheme
At Fairfield we’re proud to recognise and celebrate our inclusivity and diversity as a community! A successful and ongoing scheme here is our Ambassador Buddy scheme where students who speak English as an additional language and refugees can come to play games and make friends with other students and ambassadors. These sessions run twice a week and have become a really encouraging way to help build student’s confidence and adjust to changes in their lives while still enjoying school and being able to communicate with others in safe and friendly environments.
We’re very proud of what we do to help support new arrivals while they settle into the school community and feel privileged to have the opportunity to learn about the different cultures and languages that these students bring to our school. We asked some students what they thought about the Ambassador Buddy Scheme, and this is what they had to say:
‘When I came to school an ambassador helped me to be happy and settle in; now that I’ve become a buddy myself, I’m happy I can do that for other people.’- Maimouna
‘I think the Ambassador Buddies are good because you can meet other students and play games with students who don’t know English to help them learn more.’ – Steven
‘Because the Ambassadors scheme is so new, lots of our ideas and input are listened to. My experience has been eye-opening, and I’ve loved meeting and making friends with people I wouldn’t have known otherwise.’- Leila
‘I have been doing this for 2-3 years and it’s been a really lovely experience which I have enjoyed a lot.’ – Zaara
Mrs Tolson, Ambassador Project Co-ordinator concludes:
‘Our ambassadors have spent this year completing the Young Interpreter Course which provides training to students to develop the skills needed to help new arrivals with English as an additional language. Through scenario questions and role play they have been able to practise a range of ideas to communicate with new arrivals. Our ambassadors have put into practise what they’ve learnt during the EAL games club. It’s been a pleasure to co-ordinate the project and watch their confidence grow.’