The Learning & Work Institute has released new resources commissioned by the Department for Education which encourage collaborative working and support local areas to develop ESOL partnerships. The resources include a collection of local partnership case studies and a partnership guide. The development of these resources follow the launch of the government’s Integrated Communities Action Plan, which aims to support both knowledge and establishment of different ESOL providers and the type of provision they facilitate.

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The collection of case studies incorporate providers from Bristol ESOL Network, Luton Adult Learning, Suffolk ESOL Steering Group, Newham ESOL exchange, Leeds Migrant English Support Hub and the New Immigrants Multi-agency Group. Each case study provides details of how and why ESOL partnerships were developed, the different roles of the partners, challenges encountered over the duration of the partnership, and successes and outcomes.

The partnership guide discusses the benefits of ESOL partnerships, how to support a partnership in your local area, challenges to expect and how to approach them, ways to measure impact and a framework for collaboration. The guide references providers discussed in the case studies collection and provides information about others in local areas.

The resources will be most useful to ESOL providers and professionals considering starting partnerships within their local areas, but may be of use to anyone with an interest in ESOL teaching and the level of provision on offer in the UK.

You might also be interested in:

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• Toolkit for Teachers: Involving volunteers in language learning (resource) - a guide for language teachers who want to work well with volunteers, in order to support refugees to learn the language of their new country, produced as part of the Erasmus+ funded Volunteers in Language Learning for Refugees project
• The Promised Land - Intercultural Learning with Refugees and Migrants (resource) - the Promised Land Erasmus+ project has released the Intercultural Learning with Refugees and Migrants project ebook, which explores the experience of refugees in Europe and Turkey and considers the role of cultural hubs such as museums and theatres in driving positive attitudes towards migration
• E+ Cross Borders celebrates end of project and range of resources (blog) - covers the Cross Borders project's achievements and presents a range of useful resources that can support those working with refugees and migrants 
• The Family Skills Project – Family Skills Toolkit for parents and carers who are speakers of other languages (resource) - assists parents and carers who are still developing their own language skills and caring for children who are also building English ESOL skills, containing lesson plans, activities and resources to reinforce learning and encourage language acquisition