ESB News Winter Edition 2022

News

Winter Edition 2022

@ESBUK

(+44) 01695 573439 @ESBUK (+44) 01695 573439

www.esbuk.org

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Contents

Winter Edition 2022

COVER PHOTO - ESB’s Product Development Manager, Anthea Wilson with ESB ESOL Learners who received the Ray Wilkinson Award at New City College's Annual Student Achievement Awards

© 2022 English Speaking Board (International) Ltd.

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CEO

ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw welcomes you to our Winter edition of ESB News

Welcome to this Winter edition of ESB News. We wanted to get back in touch to tell you about the exciting initiatives that we’ve been working on to ensure ESB assessments remain accessible and beneficial for all learners. You can also read all about our plans for the coming months which aim to reach more learners facing disadvantage. Firstly, we are excited to remind you about our 70/70 Campaign and our unwavering aim to support learners facing disadvantage due to socio-economic factors, special educational needs and disabilities and migration status through this initiative. You can find out more about how our campaign has already supported and positively impacted numerous groups of learners from our Centres in Cornwall, Staffordshire and Cambridge. There is also news regarding the work we are doing for our learners with special educational needs and disabilities to ensure that our speech portfolio really allows these disadvantaged learners to achieve their potential. Secondly, we are committed to supporting teachers, helping them to fulfil the potential of learners, so, after listening to feedback from our ESOL Skills for Life centres, we will now provide digital sound files for those teachers that prefer it.

Thirdly, you can read about the work that ESB’s Chief Assessor, Ben Jackson has been involved in and the challenges he faced when he joined us in the English National Lockdown over 15 months ago. There is also exciting news about three new Assessors who have joined ESB to encourage and support your learners to ensure they can reap the rewards of learning from our programme and develop skills that will last them a lifetime. We do hope that you will enjoy reading this ESB News and feel that it keeps you up to date with what’s happening. We would love to hear from you about anything you would like to see, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our work to improve ESB helps to ensure we are providing the best possible products and services to both our centres and assessors. Together, we can continue to raise the achievement of our learners.

Best wishes, Tina

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70/70 Campaign

A school which believes ‘working together leads to achieving more’ has teamed up with ESB. Cornwall’s Liskeard School and Community College has taken advantage of free training, as part of ESB’s 70/70 campaign. Following the training session, Liskeard’s learners entered their Speech Assessments with confidence. The success of these Speech Assessments has led the school to consider expanding the number of courses available to students. ESB Assessor Trevor Brown said, “I thoroughly enjoyed my recent visit to Liskeard School and Community College. I had the pleasure of spending 4 days with a wonderful group of teachers and students. I was particularly impressed by the eclectic mix of students who took part in the assessments. Many of the students had additional needs and challenges and it was a joy to see them rise to the occasion and shine. Most had never performed in public before and I was genuinely inspired by the courage and perseverance

shown in overcoming, not only nerves, but also so many last-minute changes due to COVID. “It was incredibly rewarding to see so many smiling faces and to hear the vast majority of students enjoyed the experience and would love to do it again. In our current climate, this was a complex and complicated series of assessments to bring together and all credit should go to the amazing team at LSCC.”

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Liskeard teacher and ESB Organiser, Jenny Brown added: “Whilst running the Speech Qualifications at Liskeard, we had co-operation between some students of different years and it proved a valuable team-building exercise! We noticed that the qualifications ended up encouraging better behaviour amongst students, as well as boosting confidence! “As a school that caters to learners from disadvantaged backgrounds we value being partnered with ESB. It is a big part of this school and we are now considering offering Debating Qualifications to our higher-achieving students.” ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, says: “We are delighted to see the reach of speaking and listening skills develop at Liskeard. They now will give their Key Stage Five as well as Key Stage Three learners the opportunity to develop accredited Oracy skills.

As one of our 70/70 Campaign schools we support them with training to achieve the best for their learners and through our benchmarking exercises, we share a full report of the performance of their learners and the impact of our qualifications.” Liskeard’s Head Teacher, Alex Lingard, says in his school website’s introduction, “Someone once said, ‘It takes a whole village to educate a child’. At Liskeard, we believe this to be true. Our aim is that by working together, the improvements we have secured in recent years in both aspiration and achievement will continue to rise and our community as a whole will thrive”.

Well, we are proud to be part of your village as we help you achieve its aspirations.

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70/70 Campaign

“ People with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed when compared with the general population ”, according to new data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics (2020).

This statement reveals the severity of the inequality that exists and which some of the most disadvantaged groups in society face.

At ESB, we want to reach these learners and help equip them with the essential life skills they need to thrive in education, training and employment, giving them the life choices and freedoms they are entitled to. With this in mind, as part of our 70/70 Campaign, we are supporting Cambridgeshire’s Riverside Meadows Academy in Saint Neots to access our qualifications.. Riverside receives a discount on fees for its speech assessments for learners with special educational needs and disabilities, as part of our commitment to closing the disadvantage gap. The centre offers a bespoke education for 110 learners from Key Stage Three to Sixth Form. It aims to provide a sense of security and belonging so that everyone feels safe, confident and able to show respect for both themselves and others in a caring environment. ESB Organiser and Head Teacher at Riverside Meadows, Sarah Anderson-Rawlins, said: “The absolute links between building confidence, communication and attainment with ESB are evident and many past learners are now leaders in their chosen professions.

Riverside learners putting on quite the show in drama!

Having both participated in and taught ESB before, it has even inspired my dissertation, focusing on the impact it has on academic attainment for boys with special educational needs and disabilities!” “We offer three ‘pathways’ for accessing our curriculum: vocational, academic and innovative and ESB neatly weaves in and out of each, complimenting learner’s academic efforts and adding needed differentiation into the curriculum. It’s a great experience for the learners!”

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ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, says "As a social, emotional and mental health specialist centre, Riverside Meadows Academy provides a therapeutic environment for their learners. At the heart of our communication and Oracy assessments are the outcomes of building confidence and finding a voice, giving agency to learners to talk about the things that matter to them and the opportunity to be heard. “Our assessors create an assessing environment that is a safe place, looking for what learners can do, rewarding peer support as part of the ESB skill set is the ability also to listen to each other. I'm thrilled that these learners will have those extended opportunities to develop and find success with their ESB assessments." Our portfolio of tailored speech qualifications for neuro-diverse learners comprises of 14 entry-level qualifications that seek to remove barriers to learning. The qualifications help to build relationships, give a sense of belonging and improve learners’ self-esteem and sense of positive identity. Also available are teacher support materials which suggest ways of isolating and practising effective speaking and listening skills. These resources include lesson plans, games, activities, videos, audio files and presentations that can be used with learners in various contexts. ESB looks forward to seeing the learners at Riverside Meadows completing the qualifications and using them as a springboard for bigger and better things! If you believe your centre may be eligible for financial support through the campaign, please contact ESB at business@esbuk.org or click here. Would you like to find out more about our speech qualifications for learners with special educational needs and disabilities?

ESB Organiser and Head Teacher at Riverside Meadows, Sarah Anderson-Rawlins

More fun for Riverside Meadows learners as they rehearse their lines

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70/70 Campaign

“ Achieving level 3 is valuable in itself: full level 3 qualification on average result in a 16% earning return and a 4% increase in the change of employment. However, its most significant value is in giving students the skills and knowledge that will set them up to succeed when they take the next step. ” (DfE 2021, Review of post-16 qualifications at Level 3 in England). ESB recognises the importance of giving learners the opportunity to develop the skills they need to thrive in education, training and employment and offers a potential alternative to the Extended Project Qualifications (EPQ) at Level 3, with our ESB Level 3 Certificate in Speech (Grade 8) qualification requiring fewer ‘Guided Learning Hours’ (48 rather than 120) and carrying up to 30 UCAS points compared to the EPQ’s 28. ESB’s Level 3 Graded Examinations in Speech qualifications and Level 3 Debating qualification are accepted by the UK Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and carry the following UCAS Tariff points for University and HE entry:

ESB Level 3 Certificate in Speech (Grade 6)

ESB Level 3 Certificate in Speech (Grade 8)

ESB Level 3 Award in Debating

Pass/Good Pass – 24 UCAS points

Pass/Good Pass – 8 UCAS points

Pass – 4 UCAS points

Merit/Merit Plus – 10 UCAS points

Merit/Merit Plus – 27 UCAS points

Merit – 8 UCAS points

Distinction – 12 UCAS points

Distinction – 30 UCAS points

Distinction – 12 UCAS points

As part of its 70/70 Campaign, ESB is enabling learners at Staffordshire’s St Margaret Ward Academy and Cambridgeshire’s Villiers Park Educational Trust access to its Level 3 Graded Examinations in Speech.

St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy With many learners at the St Margaret Ward Academy facing disadvantage due to socio-economic factors and migration status, ESB is delighted to have supported its learners to reach their full potential through its Level 3 Certificate in Speech (Grade 6) assessments.

Says Mary Yates, ESB Organiser at St Margaret Ward, “We, at St Margaret Ward, are always so impressed with the impact that ESB assessments have on developing our learners’ self-confidence. Public speaking is not a skill many of our learners come to naturally, so it is always a pleasure to witness their oratory skills progress as they practise for the assessment. Watching their sheer relief turn into pride upon receiving their results, only further solidifies the importance of this certification.”

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79% of secondary state school teachers (almost 4 in 5) think that developing their students ’ confidence and competence in spoken language and listening skills would make the students more employable. Teacher Tapp polling for Oracy Network, March 2020

Villiers Park Educational Trust

Villiers Park has registered 100 learners to take part in ESB assessments and is a national social justice charity committed to equality in educational outcomes, delivering evidence-led programmes that develop personal and employability skills and raise academic outcomes for disadvantaged young people aged 14-19. Rae Tooth, Chief Executive of Villiers Park, comments on the partnership. She says, “We’re delighted to be working with ESB. Thanks to the partnership, over 100 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will be better placed

Students learning at Villiers Park

to sit the Level 3 qualification and earn UCAS points. The partnership will see ESB provide free training for Villiers Park’s coaching team who will then be able to work with young people to prepare them for the qualification. “Good communication skills are vital for future life chances, be it taking part in college or university discussions, job interviews or voicing thoughts and opinions. Through our partnership with ESB we will be able to equip more young people with these vital skills, helping them to build their self-confidence and self-esteem, and achieve their future goals.”

ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, adds, "It was evident from my first conversation with the Chief Executive, Rae Tooth, that Villiers Park as a national social justice charity raising academic outcomes for disadvantaged young people aged 14-19 would be a great organisation to support as part of our 70/70 campaign. I so look forward to working with the team to help further develop the Oracy work in their programmes and allow their young people to build great confidence and achieve excellent outcomes with ESB."

Villiers Park Chief Executive, Rae Tooth

St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy and Villiers Park are just two of the centres that are using ESB to help their learners to develop essential life skills, but ESB would like to help many more through its 70/70 Campaign. If you are a school, a community group, a charity (similar to Villiers Park), a Youth or Adult Society and you share ESB’s commitment to closing the disadvantage gap, we would love to hear from you! Please email business@esbuk.org or click here. Together, we can help individuals to develop the essential life skills to last them a lifetime.

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ESOL Skills for Life

ESB listens to its centres’ feedback and extends its portfolio of ESOL Skills for Life qualifications with the development of a Pre-Entry Speaking and Listening qualification. Designed for individuals embarking on their ESOL learning journey, the unregulated Pre-Entry qualification acts as a stepping stone to successful English language development. Learners can complete the qualification prior to their Entry 1 Level assessments. “These qualifications are a brilliant introduction to speaking and listening assessments for learners who are at the beginning of their ESOL learning journey and who may not have studied in a formal educational situation for a long time. Learners can gain confidence from doing an assessment with their peers, they can use the everyday, practical language that you teach them and they can gain a qualification that recognises their achievement.”

ESB ’ s Product Development Manager, Anthea Wilson

“We would definitely recommend these assessments. They are a great confidence booster and provide detailed feedback to learners, which helps to shape the targets we set for them.

“We work with asylum seekers and being able to introduce them to the fundamentals of functional English in this way is brilliant as it helps them to smoothly integrate into the community. We enjoy working with ESB”.

Amanda Scarborough from Liverpool ’ s Adult Learning Centre

ESB’s portfolio of ESOL Skills for Life qualifications is available at five different levels: (Entry 1 – Level 2). The assessments enable learners to become competent in core language skills; reading, writing and speaking and listening and support engagement in daily life activities, develop further learning and independence, and gain or progress to meaningful and sustainable employment.

Online resources and sample materials are also available to guide and support teachers throughout the ESB experience.

Please get in touch today if you are a centre and believe that your learners would benefit from ESB’s ESOL Skills for Life assessments. You can also call ESB’s Head Office on 01695 573439.

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ESOL Skills for Life

Centres told us that they would like the assessors to play audio files for the Listening Task without needing a CD player. So, now, if you would prefer the assessors to play the audios from your classroom computer, this is possible. This is an alternative to using a CD player, not a replacement – if CDs are the most convenient option, then please continue to use them.

If you would like the assessor to play digital sound files - this is what you need to do:

 Arrange for the assessor to be able to access a computer/laptop with an internet connection. They may need a guest account.  Ensure that the sound quality and volume is satisfactory, and that the assessor can control the volume.

We suggest that you agree with the assessor before the session whether you will be using the digital option or CDs.

Find out more about our ESOL Skills for Life qualifications here!

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Ben joined ESB almost two years ago and has been an integral member of the ESB Team ever since.

Outside of work, Ben enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. Being the fitness fanatic he is, you can also find him on the tennis court or enjoying the outdoors.

Below, you can read all about Ben ’ s time at ESB so far - including the initiatives that he ’ s been involved with and his future ESB projects.

First challenges

Well, it has certainly been an interesting start to life at ESB!

My first day was Tuesday, 31 st March 2020, exactly 1 week and 1 day into the first English lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the (many) motivations for applying for this role was the opportunity to return to working in an office, as my previous job had been remote – the irony is not lost on me here! relating to the types of qualifications offered and the market each was operating in. For us, it was centre closures meaning assessments were unable to take place. At this stage, most centres were not set up to offer either remote learning or remote assessment, and the reality was – regarding the latter – neither were we! What quickly followed was the first of three Ofqual regulatory frameworks, all within 12 months; the main purpose of these was to provide opportunities for learners to achieve the qualifications they There were some immediate challenges faced by all awarding organisations, with nuances

Ben and the team scaled all the challenges they faced this year, so he decided to scale another for good measure!

have been working so hard towards, despite the restrictions. For some learners, this meant an adapted assessment, i.e. online instead of face-to- face and for others, calculated grades (CAGs or TAGs – Teacher Assessed Grades), where teacher judgement decided the outcome or grade of each learner, backed up with supporting evidence. The team worked incredibly hard to put new IT systems, policies, processes, training and guidance documents in place to support centres with adapted assessments and CAGs. The outcome was that we managed to result thousands of learners that otherwise would not have been able to complete their qualification, despite all the effort that had been put in to prepare for their assessments. The feedback from centres was that our processes were easy to follow and non-burdensome, and as a result, we received zero complaints or appeals – a fantastic outcome! Alongside this, we also managed to build, pilot and deliver a fully online offer for our ESOL International qualifications. This meant that our centres in Italy, Greece and North Macedonia were able to continue with assessments, despite the restrictions in their respective countries. It took a monumental team effort to get this ready in a relatively short timeframe which culminated in a fully online assessment series in March 2021, where over 2,000 learners in Greece completed their assessments online with fantastic outcomes relating to the validity and reliability of the results.

Ben and his children enjoying a bike ride through the woods

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All of these resources will be easily accessible – for free – to our approved centres, via the ESB website (we are almost ready to launch a Level 2 ESOL Skills for Life online learning resource – keep an eye out for this on our News Page on the Website!) We are also currently working on an improved reporting system for ESOL Skills for Life Reading and Writing assessments. This will allow our centres to pull down reports from the Customer Hub regarding their learners, including pass rates and specific assessment criteria that learners may need to work on. The Educational Delivery team continue to work closely with our Business Development team to offer bespoke centre training. Centre training is delivered by our Senior Assessors or one of our highly experienced assessors to support centres with their specific training needs. On a personal note, I can’t wait to get out and visit some of our centres and watch their learners go through the assessment process. This has been hampered somewhat by the pandemic. However, during an easing of restrictions last year, I did manage to get out and observe some Speech assessments at Stoke’s Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, a recipient of our Christabel Burniston Fund, set up to support centres and learners in bridging the disadvantage gap. Watching our assessors ‘in action’, putting learners at ease and enabling a positive assessment experience was fantastic and the students themselves were a credit to the school – watching their initial pre-assessment nerves turn into a newfound confidence post-assessment was just great – more of the same this year, please!

The Educational Delivery Team—(Left) Anna Domaszek, Lauren Kearney, Isaac Hart, Ben Jackson, Anthea Wilson and Suzanne McKittrick (right)

The Team

This leads nicely on to my next topic – the ESB team and its key stakeholders. Everyone I have met and worked with in the last two years – both internally and externally – has been so welcoming, supportive and incredibly knowledgeable. Although we are a small organisation, the ESB ethos and investment in what we are striving towards, allows us to achieve so much – as our CEO Tina Renshaw often says – ‘Small but mighty!’ developed and released an online resource for teachers delivering our Level 2 (Grade 4) Speech Pathways qualification; developed and released an online learning resource for learners taking our Level 1 ESOL Skills for Life qualifications; developed resources and improved and rebranded our suite of qualifications for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and; improved our Qualification Specifications for our suite of Speech qualifications to make them more user-friendly and focused on the national curriculum and Ofsted outcomes required by our centres.    Primarily, we hope to have a year not impacted so significantly by the pandemic. This means that learners will get the opportunity to display the skills they have developed, in front of our wonderful assessors – actual face-to-face! Our Product Development team are working hard to grow our bank of teacher and learner resources to support the delivery of our qualifications. This will include things like schemes of work, sample activity worksheets, sample lesson plans and more! The last two years have not all been about reacting to Covid-19 either. We have also:  We’ve been busy! So, what ’ s next?

Ben with ESB’s Quality Assurance Manager, Anna Domaszek (left) and ESB’s Product Development Manager, Anthea Wilson (right)

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ESB loves to receive honest feedback, whether positive or constructive. Being able to act on feedback where possible, to do things differently or to continue doing the things centres most value, ensures learners receive the highest quality learning experience possible. In a recent drive to live up to ESB’s ethos of being a ‘customer-led’ organisation, our Senior Assessor (Language), Nicola Rose, has been catching up with our ESOL Skills for Life centres.

After talking to staff at Joseph Chamberlain College in Birmingham, Nicola was delighted with the positive feedback.

“ESB has clear assessments for all levels and modes, appropriately linked to the ESOL curriculum. The assessors are friendly and know how to put the learners at ease. Additionally, there are opportunities for feedback and communication with the ESB organisers. More practice papers and recordings of speaking and listening exams would be useful. An online version of assessments would be welcome in the future.” Joseph Chamberlain College

Staff from Mary Ward Centre in London have provided recent feedback, expressing their thoughts about ESB assessments to Nicola.

“A smooth process from start to finish. A supportive exam board who works hard to develop personal relationships with the centres. The examiners are highly professional, they provide constructive reports which help all students to improve. I can't recommend them enough.” Mary Ward Centre

Nicola has also been in touch with staff at Woking College, Gateshead College, Stanmore College and Hull College who all had many positive comments to say about ESB assessments.

What we heard from Woking College...

What we heard from Gateshead College...

Assessments were very learner-orientated as my learners left the assessment room smiling. Assessors are very fair and make students feel at ease, encouraging them to do their best. They appear to have a genuine interest in the learners and what they have to say. Reports are well-written and very useful for the development of learners.

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Gateshead College added that they are happy with the quick turnaround of results. They believe that all assessors are friendly and adaptable and run the day very well. They value the external assessment model.

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What we heard from Stanmore College...

What we heard from Hull College …

The feedback from assessors in learners’ reports was very thorough. Reports gave specific examples of language. Students, although initially nervous, felt very calm due to the assessor’s warm welcome and positive attitude.

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ESB Centre, Hull College also highlighted how fair and approachable ESB assessors were and appreciates the thoughtful feedback that they provide on their learners’ reports.

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Centres would also like to see:

Improvements to the online booking process

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More resources

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Assessment timetabling templates or guidance

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ESB appreciates all feedback and will respond individually to all centres ’ comments. It will do its utmost to implement changes to improve and further enhance its service to its centres.

Please also read some of the positive reviews that we have received about our ESOL Skills for Life assessments on our Trustpilot account :

“Excellent, as always with ESB. ESB sent two assessors to examine our students for their ESOL Speaking and Listening qualifications. The assessors were friendly, approachable, and flexible with their exam timings. They also communicated clearly with the students, matching ESB's well-designed assessment tasks. An excellent experience, from a great exam board.”

“Excellent assessors and support throughout, from start to finish.”

Please help to empower positive changes at ESB by leaving your feedback on our Trustpilot account today. We not only want to talk about the value of our assessments with potential new centres but also wish to evidence it.

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

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New to the world of assessing learners, Sarah has previous experience as a teacher, having worked at The Downs School as a Learning Support Tutor. She has a wealth of experience working with learners and she has prepared young learners for their ESB qualifications for four years. This experience allows her to bring in a unique and insightful perspective to the team, as first teacher and now assessor.

Says Sarah, “ESB qualifications are such a positive experience for learners. I remember one speech given by a young learner, who had previously been an awkward and quiet child, delivering a speech about his parents’ furniture company. He brought the frame for a chair made by the company and spoke incredibly well from beginning to end. I had a lump in my throat. It was amazing to see.

“Teachers work extremely hard to help students to complete these assessments, whether in the sense of creating time to complete the assessment or assisting learners that aren’t sure about how to craft their speeches. I feel this will help me in my new role as I think it’s paramount that assessors provide support to the teachers, as well as the learners, as that is what I needed in the past.”

Sarah has a history of tutoring children—certainly looks like the children are having fun!

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Barbara is an experienced assessor having previously worked for several other Awarding Organisations. She has worked with charities that help asylum seekers to learn English and prepare for assessments. Barbara believes that ESB is a valuable programme for learners and is looking forward to working at ESB. “I feel nervous but excited”, said Barbara. “I feel very supported by the assessors at ESB, having received brilliant guidance during my training sessions in Liverpool and London. Many awarding bodies don’t offer this level of support upon training, and I now feel well equipped to do my job. I particularly like ESB’s detailed feedback to learners which is so useful to them and the chance to work with such a helpful team is one I’m going to appreciate greatly.

Barbara with some of the many learners she’s assessed over the years

“I think the assessments themselves are extremely thorough and if the goal is to teach English in a way that will benefit the learner for life, then ESB’s programme is definitely one of the best at achieving this.”

Finally, Theresa comes in with extensive experience, having worked as an assessor previously for another Assessment Organisation. She has also taught ESB and, like Sarah, can bring an understanding of ESB from a teacher’s perspective into the assessor team. Says Theresa, “Having taught ESB, I am a fan of what it can do for learners. The assessments revolve around real-life situations in a way that helps to equip learners for life in the UK. I enjoyed the training process and meeting the team. I hope my experience both assessing and teaching can be valuable to the team!” ESB is always excited to bring in new assessors to the team, especially as we look to expand the number of centres that we cater for. Having a large team of quality assessors ensures that more and more learners can reap the rewards of learning from the ESB programme and can develop skills that will last them for a lifetime. We hope that Theresa, Barbara and Sarah have a great time assessing our learners!

Do you want to improve the oracy skills and confidence of the learners at your centre? If you think your centre could benefit from ESB, please get in touch at business@esbuk.org and we can discuss how we can help.

Theresa Raffin preparing for a day of assessments

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ESB has also established an exclusive relationship with SKT Education Group, based in China. SKT Education Group will act as the Centre for a limited number of ESB’s Speech qualifications which include: Group Speaking qualifications, Speech Pathways and ESB’s Level 3 Graded Examinations in Speech. The exclusive centre will manage a range of satellite centres where these assessments will take place.

Acting as the Centre for ESB International’s ESOL examinations in Malta, ESBinMalta manages a wide range of satellite centres that fully utilise ESB’s digitised assessment option by solely providing online assessments and e-certificates for all of its learners. We can’t wait to support their learners to reach their full potential through our assessments.

ESB is delighted to have established a new and exclusive relationship with SEED

International in Beijing, China. SEED International will act as an international EAL Speech Centre by

delivering a limited number of ESB’s Speech qualifications (Speech EAL) to a range of its third parties known as satellite centres where ESB International assessments will take place. ESB is very much looking forward to a fruitful working relationship with SEED International.

If you would like to become an ESB Centre, please email business@esbuk.org.

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As ESB joins the world of hybrid working, staff are finding joy in having some new company by their side as they go through their daily tasks – their pets! ESB team members certainly love their pets and are always delighted when they get the chance to show them to the world. So, with that, here is the ESB pet showcase!

Tina Renshaw, Chief Executive

“ My cats always like to sit by my side when working and have a lot of fun when I ’ m busy. They will often climb up my chair and try to join me on important calls, much to the amusement of those on call with me. They help put a smile on my face during long working days and for that, I consider having them around to be a huge benefit! ”

Isaac Hart, Educational Delivery Support Officer

“ Meet Beau and Franc, my French Bulldogs. Beau is the big one with the soulful eyes, and Franc is the little one with the naughty ones! They love nothing more than snuggling up to me and my sister while we are working from home and then sleeping the entire day! Beau is the loveliest, gentlest boy, while Franc is a rascal with a heart of gold. Everyone in the office loves to be kept up to date on what the pair of them are up to! ”

Ayrton Roe, Finance Officer

“ Here is one of my four dogs, Skye. My mum and dad have been breeding dogs for fun and I help them out with that, especially when new puppies come along. New-borns need to be given attention for the first couple of weeks, which I love to do! Funnily enough, when I first joined ESB, I found out that Georgie ’ s dog, Daisy, was one of our breeds! Shows how small of a world we live in. We also have 2 cats, so our house is always full of animals! ”

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Lulu Dale, Senior Assessor

“ Mistress Daisy was given to us many years ago by a friend who ’ d heard that we love cats and was looking for a loving home for her. Over the years she has given us two litters and has outlived most of her offspring. She is now an old lady but still very pretty and very much in charge! ”

Becca Lewis, Senior Customer Experience Officer

“ Here is football-mad Theo! He is struggling to decide what team he is going to support. Is it Mum ’ s team or Dad ’ s? Either way we can ’ t help but spoil him because we love him so much. ”

Georgie Anderson, Customer Experience Officer

“ Here is Daisy, my cheeky, fun-loving, gorgeous goldendoodle! She keeps me active when I have time off, always wanting to head down to the beach for a game of fetch! She is still very playful at four years old, and I couldn ’ t be without her. Dogs truly are a man ’ s best friend! ”

We hoped you enjoyed meeting our furry friends as much as our team enjoy having them around!

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English Speaking Board (International) Ltd.®

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

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