ESB News - Spring Summer 2021

ESB celebrates 70 years!

Spring/Summer 2021 www.esbuk.org

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Contents

Message from our Chief Executive

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ESB launches its 70/70 Campaign

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Website Improvements

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ESB is now on Trust Pilot

Invaluable benefits of ESB’s Speech qualifications for learners with special educational needs and disabilities 8 ESB supports the Oracy APPG’s Final Report 9

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Introducing ESB’s new “e-certificate first” programme

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Keeping English language learners on the road to success in Greece!

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Another ESB baby!

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New support document for ESOL Skills for Life Tutors

ESOL Skills for Life learners (above)

© 2021 English Speaking Board (International) Ltd.

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Message from our Chief Executive

CEO

Tina Renshaw, Chief Executive

Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw is delighted to welcome you to the latest edition of our Spring/ Summer ESB News.

For the past year, the team has been working to make ESB even better. Please watch Tina ’ s introductory video to find out more.

We do hope you enjoy the read!

Au-

www On behalf of all the team, we look forward to continuing to support your learners to achieve their aspirations and we would also like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support.

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ESB launches its 70/70 Campaign!

70/70 Campaign

English Speaking Board (International) is celebrating its 70 th Anniversary in 2023!

To honour this special milestone, we are launching our 70/70 Campaign - a significant outreach project that will make access to our suite of speech and language qualifications more available to groups and organisations with limited finances that are seeking to close the disadvantage gap.

ESB ’ s Chief Executive Tina Renshaw, says: “ This campaign is not the first time that we have provided financial support to grant learners access to our qualifications. The Christabel Burniston Fund, a support fund to celebrate the legacy of our founder, has supported more than 40 centres over the last three academic years. “ The 70/70 Campaign, however, provides an expansion on the support we already offer and aims to give confidence to learners providing them with a clear advantage as they progress through secondary schools, FE colleges, and employment. ” ESB ’ s search for 70 centres has already begun. “Being seen and being heard” , is a newly established collaborative project between ESB and RECLAIM, a Manchester-based youth leadership and social change organisation, and one of ESB ’ s loyal and committed centres. As part of its 70/70 campaign , ESB is funding the role of an ‘ Oracy Practitioner ’ within RECLAIM to help embed ESB qualifications into their existing programmes. Says RECLAIM ’ s CEO, Roger Harding: “ We are really excited about this partnership with ESB. At RECLAIM, a lot of us come from working class backgrounds ourselves, so we know how hard it can be to take those first steps to speaking out in public and telling your story. Combining what we do, supporting working class people to lead change today and lead the country tomorrow, with the fantastic expertise of ESB, supporting individuals to improve their communication and oracy skills will lead to something really extraordinary. We can ’ t wait to see what our young people will achieve as a result of it! ”

Since 1953, English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. has been an innovator in the field of oracy. Its founder, Christabel Burniston MBE, was a true pioneer in oral communication, championing the importance of spoken English as a vital life skill and believing that true development of personality and security in social relationships could only grow through the confidence of speaking and listening. To mirror Christabel ’ s innovation and mark ESB ’ s achievements over the past 70 years, we are aiming to find and financially support by 2023, 70 centres where their learners, children, young people or community members face disadvantage and would be supported in their aspirations if they could achieve an ESB qualification. The 70/70 Campaign is part of our purpose to stretch the most able and support the least confident and to realise the potential of all by clos- ing the disadvantage gap. Our search for 70 centres, which share our belief that communication lies at the heart of social mobility, will be inclusive and spread across both the education and third sectors. The initiative will allow centres to provide their learners with speaking and listening qualifications when this may not have been previously possible.

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Amongst many others, ESB funding has already benefitted children from Manchester ’ s Plymouth Grove Primary School, a Community School based in Ardwick. At our previous Young Speaker of the Year ceremony, Tina was thrilled to present one of Plymouth Grove ’ s pupils with a “ Spirit of ESB ” award in recognition of showing great promise in their assessment. Sarah Thompson, Oracy Lead at Plymouth Grove Primary School says: “ The Christabel Burniston Fund has been instrumental in opening up a whole world of opportunities for young speakers at Plymouth Grove Primary School. “ The funding has enabled our children to realise that their voices are important, valuable instruments and essentially the key to their future in our increasingly noisy world. Oracy is now at the forefront of everything we do at Plymouth Grove and ESB has enabled the children to present, read aloud and listen with passion and spirit. All children have been immersed in spoken language and our dialogic classrooms have been enriched and supported by Christabel ’ s legacy. ”

Who can apply for funding from the 70/70 Campaign?

Education Sector

Third Sector

Charities

Primary Schools

Community Groups

Secondary Schools

Youth or Adult Societies

Further Education

Special Schools

Pupil Referral Units

Prisons

We are looking for centres that share the common belief that communication lies at the heart of social mobility We use two main sets of indicators for state schools: The percentage of pupils receiving Pupil premium and the Government ’ s Indices of Deprivation for the area that your school serves . For third sector organisations we will look at your current income and external funding and the Government ’ s Indices of Deprivation for the community your organisation supports. How can you apply for funding? If you are interested in finding out whether your centre is eligible for funding and wish to know the options available to you, please email business@esbuk.org.

Please watch the video below demonstrating ESB in action.

We can ’ t wait to hear from you!

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ESB Founder, Christabel Burniston

ESB Website has a Facelift!

Speech Website

Improvements

Easier to navigate and more user friendly, we have designed several new webpages to provide a better experience for users who wish to find out about ESB assessments. With the improved layout and attractive and simple design, ESB hopes its centres will enjoy browsing through its new pages!

New features include:

Updated and simplified homepage design ESB ’ s homepage is now easier to navigate and includes personalised videos from ESB ’ s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw introducing ESB ’ s three product lines: Speech, ESOL International and ESOL Skills for Life. On the homepage you will find a ‘ Take our assessments today! ’ button, so by a simple click, you are immediately directed to a page with information relating to the full ESB journey together with details about how to start taking ESB assessments.

Why choose our assessments? Whether you are interested in ESB ’ s Speech, ESOL International or ESOL Skills for Life qualifications,

browse these pages to find out more information about the Skills , Experiences and Outcomes that these assessments are able to offer.

Explore our qualifications Comprehensive information highlighting the provision of our Speech, ESOL International and ESOL Skills for Life qualifications can be found on these pages. Discover more about the qualifications ESB offers including relevant qualification information and FAQs about qualification preparation time, target learner groups, UCAS tariff points, reasonable adjustments, how to download qualification specifications and which of our qualifications are recognised and regulated. All the information is here to help you choose which ESB qualifications would best suit your learners!

Funding Pages Here, you can read about the funding options available for your centre. You can learn about your eligibility for our Christabel Burniston Fund or whether you qualify for External Funding options.

ESB Chief Executive, Tina, says: ‘ We ’ re proud of our new website developments. There is a whole host of impactful changes, all designed to make the experience of our website that much better for our centres and learners. We wanted to give our centres the opportunity to get to know us better and who we are as an organisation, with a more personalised approach. ‘ Shifting to a customer-centric layout, we want centres to be able to easily locate the information they need. There is also a greater emphasis on the skills, experience and positive outcomes that our ESB assessments provide, highlighting the progressive benefits that ESB assessments provide learners within the future, well beyond the classroom. ’’

Your feedback is very important to ESB as it strives to develop a website that is valuable to its centres and learners so please forward any questions, comments or feedback to comms@esbuk.org.

ESB is continuing to work on further improving the website, so keep an eye out for more developments in the coming months. Enjoy browsing here !.........

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ESB is now on

Attention all centres, ESB wants to hear from you! ESB International is always looking at ways to improve its service for its centres. The best way to do this is to find out exactly what individual centres want - deliver it where possible - and as a result build customer loyalty and high satisfaction levels. Your honest feedback enables ESB to provide an outstanding customer experience to all. What steps should you take if you would like to leave ESB a review on Trustpilot?

With that in mind, ESB is embarking on a new venture – which will make that process even simpler. You can now share real time feedback and experiences with ESB through the launch of its new Trustpilot Account! ESB values transparency as one of its most defining characteristics and it hopes that this new feature will bring us closer together with our centres and deepen our working relationship. ESB hopes to see a continuation of the many, many positive views that centres already feed back to us on a regular basis and constructive feedback is always welcome. Y ou may wish to leave a review about your assessment day, your assessor, ESB qualifications themselves, the feedback given to your learners on their reports, the Head Office team or your ESB experience as a whole. Your input is invaluable to us and will be listened to. Please help to empower positive changes at ESB by leaving your feedback today.

Please follow this link to start your review : https://uk.trustpilot.com/ evaluate/esbuk.org

You will need to register as a Trustpilot user to leave a review. If

you do not already have an account, this will be done automatically.

If you need any guidance on how to write a review, please read Trustpilot ’ s guidelines here: https://uk.legal.trustpilot.com/ for-reviewers/guidelines-for- reviewers

Together, we can continue to raise - and celebrate - the achievement of our learners!

Tweet Tweet ….. Don ’ t forget to head over to our Twitter page where you can read about what some of our centres and learners have been up to recently!

EnglishSpeakingBoard (@ESBUK) / Twitter

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Birmingham School highlights the invaluable benefits of our speech qualifications for learners with special educational needs and disabilities

Speech

One of our loyal centres, the Wilson Stuart School, a Special Academy located in Birmingham has voiced its positive views on the quality and value of our qualifications for learners with special educational needs and disabilities in a letter of support for continued Government funding. Trish Bowden, Director of English & Communication at Wilson Stuart School states, “ Each of these qualifications has provided the correct level of content and challenge for our adult learners, particularly those with speech, language, and communication needs. “ The emphasis on adult outcomes has always been beneficial: phone calls, interviews, CV writing, answering questions and responding to others appropriately and listening skills – many of our adults achieve supported, paid employment and for others volunteering in the community becomes more achievable – so these qualifications have been invaluable in preparing them for employability and volunteering. “ We have also found the visits from the external examiners to be another invaluable part of the process – the interaction with an unfamiliar person provides another ‘ real life ’ experience in a very constructive way. ” ESB Chief Executive, Tina adds, “ I was thrilled to read this letter of support for the case to Government to continue funding these qualifications as part of a Government Review of the ESFA funding program and to hear about the fantastic impact that our assessments continue to have on our learners. These qualifications support learners to develop key communication skills which remove barriers to learning by enabling access to a wide range of curricula, building

relationships and a sense of belonging, developing self-esteem and a positive self- identity. ” If you wish to read the full letter of support for funding of our qualifications for learners with special educational needs and disabilities, please click here. ESB International is dedicated to the outcome that this group of learners have the opportunities to develop and demonstrate their Oracy skills and build their confidence to lead full and productive lives. Interested in our Speech qualifications? There is no time like the present, so don ’ t hesitate to get in touch with us today! Read about the qualifications that we have on offer here, or alternatively if you simply wish to have an informal chat about our qualifications, please email business@esbuk.org.

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ESB supports the Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Final Report

Speech

With the pandemic having had a devastating impact on oracy, particularly on the spoken language development of disadvantaged learners, the report acknowledges how a greater focus on oral language improves outcomes for the most disadvantaged students. ESB is therefore delighted that its recently launched 70/70 campaign aims to find and financially support 70 centres from within Charities, Community Groups or Youth and Adult Societies as well as educational sectors with members who face disadvantage and who would be supported in their aspirations if they could achieve an ESB qualification. The report calls attention to the debate about whether Ofqual should reinstate an improved form of English Language GCSE spoken language assessments as a contributory element of the GCSE grading. Says Tina: “ This is something we would wholeheartedly support as teachers have asked for it and we know that there are forms of valid assessment that could be reintroduced ”, says Tina. “ We feel we could contribute to the success of this reintroduction as ESB assessments are a clear path for oracy success with each level building on learners ’ development from the previous level, providing a perfect journey to progress to GCSE level. ”

ESB ’ s assessment methodology has been endorsed as a valuable part of teaching Oracy to learners, in the Final Report published yesterday by the Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry ‘ Speak for Change ’. Whilst the inquiry heard a spectrum of views as to whether oracy should be formally assessed, there was general agreement that the absence of currency and accountability undermined oracy ’ s status and value. As a proud contributor to the enquiry, we fully support the report ’ s recommendations to raise the status and priority of oracy in education by calling for a shift in values, policy and practice. Tina Renshaw, ESB ’ s Chief Executive, says: “ I am delighted that these recommendations pave the way forward to improve oracy education in schools. We have been successfully offering oracy assessments to learners for many years and know its value as a valid pathway to promote oracy in schools. “ We take a learner-focused approach to assessment, recognising and encouraging the potential of all. We do not only assess what the young person knows or says, but what they have become. Clarity of communication and an ability to express thoughts simply, sincerely and persuasively, are qualities needed by everyone in this specialised, competitive world. Along with other examples of established practice, the report recognises that ESB ’ s assessment frameworks can act as a scaffolding tool for embedding Oracy into a school curriculum. ” Echoing the view of others that there is lack of specificity and ambition for oracy in the National Curriculum, Tina is quoted in the report: “ There is not enough differentiation in the current National Curriculum for English in terms of spoken language to facilitate the delivery of high-quality oracy education, and the guidance given is insufficient for such a crucial skill set. The requirements focus largely on formal speaking and listening (presentations, speeches, debate, performance) and do not make enough reference to the broader range of talk possibilities. ” Tina Renshaw, English Speaking Board, evidence to the Inquiry, pg. 36

To read our full article please visit our news section on our website and click here to read the Oracy APPG ’ s final report.

Emma Hardy MP, Chair of the Oracy All Party Parliamentary Group

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Introducing ESB ’ s new “ e-certificate first ” programme!

ESOL

International

ESB is taking its qualifications ’ certificates for its ESOL International centres and their learners to the next level by moving to an innovative Electronic Certificate service. The Digital Certificates Web is a holistic secure document system, creating a self-service secure web portal for learners and centres to access their awarding documents. Placing learners at the forefront of its assessments, the service allows centres and their learners to view their e-certificates online, and on any online device, 24/7/365 days a year. Celebrating the introduction of its newly launched "e-certificate first ” service, ESB ’ s Chief Executive Tina Renshaw, says: “ This is a fantastic opportunity for us to provide an even better service for our centres and learners! Our e-certificates are fully secure and can be viewed and downloaded through our secure portal. “ Preparing today ’ s learner for tomorrow ’ s world is something we are passionate about here at ESB. Learners receive a fully recognised certificate highlighting their achievement, but we never think of it as simply a ‘ certificate ’, it ’ s more like a golden ticket to help them progress on every step of their journey! ” Please watch the video below for an introduction into how ESB ’ s learner e-certificate portal works:

Why e-certs first? The benefits and security features of digital certificates ensure verification of authenticity and maintain the highest levels of protection against fraudulent attack, including: QR Code Scanning Technology / Smart Verify (2D Barcode). Easily access, scan and verify e- certificates on a smartphone or any other online device. Each electronic certify cate contains a Smart Verify Code; a QR code which, when scanned using a device such as a mobile phone camera, redirects you to the Smart Verify Portal. This then displays the electronic certificate and provides crucial information about whether the document is valid, has expired or has been cancelled.  ESB ’ s e-certificates are available for both paper-based and online assessments and e-certificate portals are available for the following groups: Learners' Portal : A hub where ESB learners can directly access their e-certificates, order one free printed copy, and ‘ connect ’ and share their e-certificates with Employers and Education Providers. Centres' Portal : A hub for the staff of ESB centres to view their learners ’ e-certificates. It also comes with the added bonus of enabling centres to print and download e-certificates for presentation events or for auditing purposes. Third-Party Portal : A hub for Employers and Education Providers to connect with learners and view their e-certificates. Learners can still receive printed certificates, if they wish. The Learner Portal also permits learners to order one free printed certificate, in addition to their e-certificate. Printed copies are also extremely secure, containing their own security features such as a bespoke hologram overprinted with corporate colours/logo on controlled watermarked paper together with a unique security design, audit numbering, thermochromic ink and microtext. If you as one of our centres would like to be part of our “ e-certificates first ” programme, please contact a member of our Customer Experience Team at customer@esbuk.org.  Environmentally-friendly and reduce our carbon footprint.

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Keeping English Language Learners on the Road to Success in Greece!

Almost 2,000 Greek ESOL International learners carried on with their assessments this Spring thanks to ESB International ’ s innovative online offer. Most Awarding Organisations, operating in Greece took the decision to postpone or allow only online assessments in centres until face-to- face sessions are able to resume in the Summer. International ’ s online capabilities, is one of only two Awarding Organisations allowing learners to take their assessments at home or any other place of their choice. ESB ’ s intuitive and easy-to-use online assessment option using ©Cirrus Assessment offers numerous benefits such as heightened security, using fully automated proctoring/invigilation through a sophisticated artificial intelligence software: ©Proctorio, reduced carbon footprint and improved efficiency. Working tirelessly to promote ESB language qualifications at conferences and events across the country, Europalso President, George Zikopolous says: “ Every year, over 17,000 students in language schools across Greece sit ESB ESOL International assessments. Our learners are usually assessed in two examination sittings in Summer and Winter with some of our largest centres in Athens, Thessaloniki and Larissa. To be able to offer our learners the opportunity to take their assessments at home or any other place of their choice, under the present circumstances, is a fantastic achievement! ” Empowering its learners with the opportunity to gain access to further and higher education and enhance their employability is one of ESB ’ s main goals. To find out more about our online ESOL International assessments, please email business@esbuk.org or click here. However, Europalso, one of ESB International ’ s exclusively licensed centres in Greece, backed by ESB

We have a wealth of experience in promoting language in many countries, certificating over 40,000 ESOL International learners in 2019/20, and we deeply care about each and every one of our centres and learners.

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The ESB family is expanding... another ESB baby!

ESB family!

Wishing Topaz Scarlett Hannaford a warmwelcome into the ESB family!

The entire ESB family would like to extend its warmest congratulations to ESB ’ s Finance Manager, Matthew Hannaford and his wife Steph, on the recent addition to their family, a beautiful baby girl, Topaz Scarlett Hannaford! To have a baby during this extraordinary moment in history is, we are sure, an experience that Matthew will always remember.

We wish the Hannaford family much happiness, joy and laughter in the future with their new baby.

Too much cuteness for one day? PA to the CEO and Board of Trustees, Carolanne Leary has also welcomed her small sausage dog into the ESB family. Everybody meet Minnie!

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New Support Document for ESOL Skills for Life Tutors

ESOL Skills for Life

Marking guidance for Writing assessments

ESB has designed a new support document available for ESOL Skills for Life tutors.

This document provides guidance for tutors who are preparing learners for Writing assessments from Entry 1 to Level 2. It can be used together with the sample papers at https://esbuk.org/web/ online-resources/.

The page is password protected so if you wish to view the support document, please contact a member of our Product Development team at product@esbuk.org.

Here are just some benefits of taking our ESOL Skills for Life assessments:

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English Speaking Board (International) Ltd.®

9 Hattersley Court, Burscough Road, Ormskirk L39 2AY

T. +44 1695 573 439 | E. business@esbuk.org | www.esbuk.org | twitter.com/esbuk

Registered in England Company no. 01269980 Registered as a Charity no. 272565

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