Cavendish Community Primary School 'Creating Brilliant Citizens'

Young Interpreters Scheme

The Young Interpreter Scheme® provides peer support to pupils who are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL), to their families and to schools.

Young Interpreter Scheme

The Young Interpreter Scheme® recognises the huge potential that exists within each school community for pupils of all ages to use their skills and knowledge to support new learners of English so that they feel safe, settled and valued from the start.

Young Interpreters undergo specific training to prepare for this role and are selected on the basis of different personal qualities they may have. The support they can offer to a newly-arrived pupil can be very reassuring from a parent or carer's point of view at a time when their child may be adapting to substantial changes. It also supports school staff in a variety of ways at different points during the school day.

Bilingual pupils use their language skills in a variety of ways to help new arrivals access English and feel part of the school. Alongside English-only speakers, they learn different strategies to clarify, explain and ‘interpret’ a whole range of school activities, systems and procedures to new entrants through the medium of pupil–friendly English where first language isn’t shared by other pupils or adults.

Young Interpreters do not replace the need for professional adult interpreters. Young Interpreters are trained and guided by a designated member of the school staff who can ensure pupils’ safeguarding.

At Cavendish, we have approximately 40 different languages spoken by children and their families. This scheme will help us to celebrate those languages and support children across the curriculum at school.

As this scheme is new at Cavendish, some of our Year 6 children are undertaking the training to become Young Interpreters with aims in the future to open this up to applicants from across Key Stage Two.

Meet our Young Interpreter team: