Creating an inclusive languages policy for Coventry city

Podcast Description

School language policy – do you have one? In this episode Hamish Chalmers talks with language specialist Dr Eowyn Crisfield about why language policies are central to inclusion, and how the Coventry Language Policy for schools is being developed. Grounded in both research and reality, the collaborative process Coventry Ethnic Minority Achievement Services (EMAS) has engaged in will provide a strong policy base for widening participation in languages and ensuring all students are supported to see themselves as language users, language learners, and language experts.  

Learn more about the project at Eowyn’s website: https://ocme.uk/blog/coventry-language-policy 

Read about the project at the Languages Gateway website: https://www.thelanguagesgateway.uk/blog/4-june-2026-why-school-language-policy-matters-lessons-from-the-coventry-project/  

And learn about similar work Eowyn did on the Island of Jersey: https://www.gov.je/Education/Schools/ChildLearning/pages/languagepolicyjerseyeducation.aspx  

Explore the WoLLoW resources that Eowyn references: https://theworldoflanguages.co.uk   

Learn more about the Oxford Education Deanery: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/oxford-education-deanery/ 

Join our mailing list: https://education.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2b84fd25801a8e6f131fdf744&id=1a0dba83bc 

More from this series

    Podcast
    Singing songs with young learners is a classroom technique beloved by many teachers, especially languages teachers.
    9 June 2026
    Discover More
    Podcast
    In this special extended edition of the Oxford Education Deanery podcast, Professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek joins Dr Faidra Faitaki and Jasen Booton to explore how playful pedagogies can transform education.
    9 June 2026
    Discover More
    Podcast
    About 40% of children and young people are exposed to bullying, but this rate has been reported to be as high as 69% for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
    9 June 2026
    Discover More
    Podcast
    More than one in five of the 120,000 kinship children in England live with minority ethnic kinship carers.
    9 June 2026
    Discover More
    Podcast
    Schools, teachers and parents are regularly introduced to new measures designed to improve education.
    9 June 2026
    Discover More
    Podcast
    The ‘Expert and Mentors’ programme, which was funded by the Department for Education’s £180 million Early Years’ Recovery initiative, provided on-site coaching for up to six hours per term to Early Years’ settings, with a focus on improving the way the setting supported personal, social, and emotional development (PSED) and communication and language skills.
    9 June 2026
    Discover More