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All News Articles 1. 8th October 2008 OFSTED Report on ESOL finds greater emphasis on listening and speaking skills. A recent OFSTED report highlighted the benefits of Speaking and Listening Skills for both learners and providers. As one of only 7 boards offering ESOL Skills for Life, ESB has particular expertise in Speaking and Listening. Contact esol@esbuk.org or see website for more information on our ESOL provision. Page 11-12 "5. Skills for Life ESOL qualifications had clear benefits for learners and providers. The qualifications motivated many learners to succeeded while providing them with qualifications which had currency within the learning and skills sector and beyond. A particularly welcome feature observed during provider visits was the greater emphasis placed by teachers on developing learners’ speaking skills in response to the introduction of specific listening and speaking qualifications. The providers had a clear framework of qualifications to offer with outcomes explicitly cross-referenced to national standards on which to base their programme and course planning. Of the providers visited, 13 were piloting or planned to pilot new ESOL for work qualifications which had been introduced in October 2007." Full report at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/ 2. 18th September 2008 UCAS Tariff Points for ESB Graded Exams UCAS has agreed tariff points for our Advanced Schools exams, along with other Speech and Drama Boards. These will be available for Senior Proficiency, Advanced Certificate in Spoken English and Advanced Certificate in Language Arts, with different points according to the grade achieved e.g. Distinction is worth more points than Merit. For further information contact us admin@esbuk.org or speak to our Principal Schools Consultant. UPDATE - Details can now be found on the UCAS website and also on our Downloads page 3. 2nd September 2008 Memorandum and Articles of Association Members who attended the last AGM will be aware that the Trustees have decided to update the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The Memorandum sets out the name of the Company and its objectives whereas the Articles describe how the Company will organise itself to achieve the objectives. The documents are registered at Companies House. However, they do not adequately describe the Board as it currently exists and there is a need for clarification. Minor changes can be written in the form of an Addendum but the changes required are such that a rewrite is necessary. The existing document layout and wording have been retained as far as possible. The proposed new Memorandum and Articles were discussed at last year’s AGM and several small changes have been made since then. Overall, the document redefines the structure of the Board and the responsibilities of the Trustees as the Directors of the Company in line with current practice, the objectives have been changed slightly and the wording simplified. Some members at the AGM were concerned that the Life Membership category was to be closed to new applicants feeling that this category might have been used to reward service. However, the rewording of the Honorary Membership category and the mention of ESB Fellowships should now satisfy members that there are opportunities to honour service. The new Memorandum and Articles are published here on the website for perusal by Members before the formal documents are proposed for acceptance at the next AGM. Please e-mail any comments to graham.baskerville@esbuk.org Graham Baskerville Amended Memorandum and Articles of Association (PDF) 4. 10th April 2008 Mutual recognition of Awarding Bodies' Units Recognition of ESOL Skills for Life Units ESOL Skills for Life Qualifications: Mutual recognition of Awarding Bodies' Units There is a requirement for mutual recognition which applies to national awarding bodies offering the ESOL Skills for Life qualification. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's requirement is that all awarding bodies offering the ESOL Skills for Life qualifications must recognise prior achievement of the qualification at unit (mode) level where this has been completed with another awarding body. Where a candidate is able to show evidence of having already completed a unit of this qualification, the candidate should not be disadvantaged by a requirement to complete a unit of the same title and level with another awarding body. On completion of a unit of an accredited qualification, a candidate is entitled to request and receive unit certification from the awarding body. Awarding Bodies Mutual Recognition (PDF) 5. 11th March 2008 League Table Support Performance Points for ESB Exams in Schools For your convenience, you can now download a nifty table showing the performance points for all ESB exams taken in schools, to help you with league table calculations. Visit our downloads section for a complete listing of performance points and level contribution info. here. A full table including accreditation codes and dates etc. is also available here.
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