At Windy Ridge School, we embrace and value diversity. We are fortunate to have many students who speak multiple languages, with languages other than English spoken at home or within their communities. Bilingual and multilingual students make up a growing share of our school population.

At Windy Ridge, our aim is to develop in all English Language Learners a positive, enthusiastic attitude towards learning English and to give them the skills, concepts and understanding that will enable them to become confident and happy learners at our school and beyond. One of the ways we enable this is by specialist small group learning opportunities with dedicated ESOL teachers.

Teaching in small ESOL groups enables students to grasp new concepts with more in-depth understanding and gives them the confidence to express their ideas and enrich their oral language skills and ability. It enables us to understand where they are at and to support them to reach their full social and academic potential.

While some students may already have a strong grasp of the English language, working in small groups gives all students the opportunity to share and reflect on their own cultural identity and compare this to New Zealand's culture. We value the opportunity to offer small group work to all of our ESOL students as we know having a strong cultural identity contributes significantly to well-being, which positively impacts learning.

Who is entitled to ESOL support?

Based on Ministry guidelines students who are eligible for support through our ESOL programme are:

Migrants to New Zealand
Former refugees.
New Zealand-born students with at least one parent of migrant or refugee background from a non-native English-speaking country.

What does ESOL support look like at Windy Ridge?

The Ministry of Education funds all ESOL students for a period of time to receive support, and as a school, we employ two specialist ESOL teachers and supply resources specifically designed for English language learners within learning spaces.

Migrants and former refugees are entitled to up to 5 years of support, while New Zealand-born students with at least one parent of migrant or refugee background are entitled to up to 3 years of support.

Generally, at Windy Ridge, students attend ESOL sessions from Year 2.