Ascentis Level 1 Award in Volunteering to Support English Language Teaching and Learning

Qualification Overview

This qualification has been designed to provide the basic skills required to support teaching and learning of English as a second language in a wide range of contexts. It uses the NATECLA Framework for Good Practice in Voluntary ESOL as a springboard for the design of the units of assessment.

Aims

The aims of the qualification are to enable volunteers to:

• Be able to support English language teaching and learning in their own organisational context.
• Understand the importance of safeguarding and confidentiality in the classroom.
• Be able to recognise and address some of the challenges and issues that English language students encounter.
• Support students within their social setting

Target Group

The Level 1 Award in Volunteering to Support English Language Teaching and Learning is appropriate for volunteers who:

• would like to understand how to support others to learn English as a second language.
• need to understand how the ability to learn English can be affected by a wide range of personal, social or environmental factors.
• are not currently working in a learning support environment but are considering doing so in the future – in school, further or community education or other environments.
• would like to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to support ESOL students in a wide range of settings.
• may have learned English as a second language themselves and now wish to support others

Assessment

All units are internally assessed through the learner building up a portfolio of evidence that covers the relevant assessment criteria, internally assessed, and verified by the centre and then externally verified by Ascentis. On completion of the learners’ evidence for either the individual units or the qualification, the assessor is required to complete the Summary Record of Achievement for each learner. The Summary Record of Achievement asks assessors and the internal verifier to confirm that the rules of combination have been followed. This is particularly important in cases where a learner has taken units at different levels. Centres are required to retain all evidence from all learners for external verification and for four weeks afterwards in case an appeal is made. The overall grading of this qualification is Pass or Fail.