Tracy Crute

About the Speaker

I started my career as a primary school teacher in Lewisham in 1987. During this time I had the chance to work with refugees from Bosnia and Somalia. I then moved on to work in a primary school in Lambeth from 1988 until 1993 – where I again worked with refugees and children from many cultures with a range of languages. I then spent three years working in an international school in Paris – teaching English from Year R through to Lycée level, which furthered my experience of and interest in second language acquisition. When I returned to the UK following a six month round the world trip, I joined the language support team in Lewisham where I supported refugees and children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) across several schools. I joined the Language Support Team at Kent County Council in 1999 and have stayed in this role ever since – now as an Advisory Teacher on the EDIT (Equality Diversity Inclusion Team) for The Education People – continuing to work with refugees and new arrivals with EAL.

Session Information

This session will look at the refugee pupils we are welcoming into our schools. We will think about how they may be feeling and explore how best to support them, from their early days with you through to developing their language and curriculum access. Once these young people are settled happily in school they can show you who they really are!