The RTLB practice responds to school initiated requests for support and also to current Ministry of Education priorities.
The Ministry of Education has developed a Bilingual Assessment Service (BAS) that enables students to access a targeted group of RTLB Bilingual Assessors who administer an assessment of the learning needs of students from language backgrounds other than English. A BAS distinguishes between language learning needs, additional special learning needs and social/emotional needs.
Cluster 16 has 3 trained Bilingual Assessors. The process in Cluster 16 of accessing a Bilingual Assessment is as follows:
- The school identifies a student who may meet the criteria for accessing this assessment. That is a student who was not born in New Zealand and who comes from a background where English is not the first language. The student is likely to present with learning difficulties that may be explained by a variety of challenges, including a limited ability to understand or express themselves in English. The school would then contact their liaison RTLB about this concern, who then contacts their Lead RTLB (Practice Leader).
- The Lead RTLB will assign a Bilingual Assessor to support the school with the application to the Ministry of Education (MOE).
- When MOE approves the assessment the RTLB Bilingual Assessor completes the assessment. Information in the assessment report for the school and family will show ways forward to support the student to reach their learning potential.
For further information regarding Bilingual Assessments in RTLB Cluster 16, please contact
Kathy Meredith kmeredith@rtlbcluster16.co.nz or Leah Jackson RTLB ljackson@rtlbcluster16.co.nz
For more general information about Bilingual Assessments click here