Friends' Newsletter

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mes Morrison Elementary School

Friends' Newsletter

123 Anywhere St ., Any City , State • ( 123 ) 456 7890

Autumn 2017

Issue 1

3 Message from our Chief Executive 4 2017 Young Speakers Announced!

6 ESOL Skills for Life

8 My Life with ESB

10 Stoke Pupils are Speaking Up!

12 ESB Ambassador Programme

14 'Learning how to Talk'

17 Prof. Arthur Ridings: A Profile

Contents

A Message from our Chief Executive

Young Speakers Announced!

ESOL Skills for Life

My Life with ESB

Stoke Pupils are Speaking Up!

ESB Ambassador Programme

‘Learning How to Talk’

Prof. Arthur Ridings: A Profile

COVER PHOTO ESB Members (selected from the archive)

CEO

Message from our Chief Executive ESB's Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, welcomes you to the first edition of our Friends’ Newsletter.

TINA RENSHAW

Chief Executive

I am delighted to introduce you to the new Friends’ Newsletter, following the revisions to ESB’s Membership categories as voted for at our latest AGM. Following the vote, a number of the membership categories now form the new ‘Friend’ category. With these changes in place, I am excited to keep you informed of our continuing plans to help keep you connected to ESB through our exclusive newsletter. We are always looking for ways to celebrate the history, voices and memories of ESB, and invite you to contribute to our growing archive. Our Communications Team has begun interviewing some of ESB’s key figures, to record treasured oral histories of the business. Your personal insight is of great value to us, and we would be delighted to accept any contributions from you to help us build a deeper knowledge of ESB’s rich history. Deborah Bassett is curating this archive and she can be contacted on deborah.bassett@esbuk.org . I know that many of you feel passionately about preserving the pioneering work of our founder, and we are asking our Friends to support the Christabel Burniston Fund. We have now established a sub-committee of Trustees to identify new ways of fundraising by you as Friends. We hope to have your valuable input into this work, to maintain our charitable status, and to work together to have a sustainable future for the Fund. Please contact either Trustee Richard Ellis richard@richardellis-training.co.uk or Trustee Merriel Halsall-Williams

halsallwilliams@moretonhall.com if you would like to get involved.

The support from our Trustees is central to the business, and we are always interested to hear from members who may like to serve as Trustees. We hope to build the skills sets currently held and are interested in potential Trustees who have a background in finance or business and who are involved with language provision at schools or FE colleges. The appointment of new Trustees will take place at our next Trustee meeting in November. This year we are also looking to build our Alumni and Ambassador programmes, to recognise learners and leaders who best embody ESB’s ethos. Please click here to hear more about our Ambassador programme. With these plans in motion, I am excited for the future of ESB’s membership, which will play a key part in celebrating the legacy of the organisation and the ground-breaking work of its founder. I thank you for your continued support and commitment to ESB, and I hope you enjoy reading our first Friends’ Newsletter.

Best wishes, Tina Renshaw Chief Executive

2017 Young Speakers Announced!

Events

ESB has announced the winners of its 2017 Young Speakers of the Year Showcase. The successful students have been invited to attend the ceremony alongside their teachers and families to perform their winning poem, reading, or presentation. This year, ESB have two new categories. Our Spirit of ESB category recognises and encourages the potential of all learners, in line with the vision of our founder, Christabel Burniston, who believed that communication skills inspire confidence in every individual. Our new Burniston Bell category will be awarded to a teacher who has shown an exceptional level of expertise and great commitment to ESB.

Bradley Tranter Ellowes Sports College, Dudley, West Midlands Young Speakers of the Year Winners 2017

Emma Young Moreton Hall, Shropshire

Joseph Wright The Chorister School, Durham

Ameerah Saleem Wilmslow Prep, Manchester

Sacha Noursadeshi Broomfield House School, Surrey

Spirit of ESB 2017

Mia Pitts St Francis School, Pewsey, Wilt- shire

Eloise Goddard Calder House School, Chippenham, Wiltshire

Sara Ali Sir William Burrough Primary, London

Morgan Robson Ruthin School, Wales

Malayka Ali Plymouth Grove, Salford,

Burniston Bell Award 2017

Sue Turford Concord College, Shropshire

The 2017 Showcase is being held Crowne Plaza Hotel on Liverpool’s iconic waterfront, on Saturday, 11th November.

Events

One of ESB’s Young Speakers of the Year 2016, Harriet Lang (right), accepting her award from Chair of Trustees, Pippa Quarrell (left).

Language

ESOL Skills for Life Our Business Development Adviser for Language, Jackie Johnson, tells us the progress ESB has been making with ESOL Skills for Life qualifications.

ESB ESOL Skills for Life assessments have been through huge changes since 2015. Now, with the introduction of reading and writing Skills for Life assessments and the speaking and listening format changed from the traditional group setting to a paired exam, ESB’s ESOL Skills for Life suite

Centres across the UK.

In 2014, the government decided that in order to be eligible for funding, ESOL Skills for Life assessments had to be accredited by the QCF (Qualifications and Credit Framework). One feature of this framework is that all qualifications are unitised and assessed using Learning Outcomes and Assessment criteria. I was part

is proving to be a hit with FE Colleges and Adult Education

of the working party which designed the ESOL criteria, and in January 2015 our new products were launched. ESB now has a unique offer; personal speaking and listening reports for candidates, fast turnaround for results, a supportive customer experience team, a specific, assigned Business Development advisor and good authentic assessments. This has resulted in our numbers growing significantly in the past two years and FE colleges becoming our biggest customers. We provide free training to our biggest centres and the Customer Experience team and Business Development Advis e r are always available to answer queries and respond to comments. In June this year, ESB initiated an exciting new partnership with City of Bristol College. This is a large college with a cohort of 1025 ESOL students. ESB won this-3 year contract through a competitive tender, and training has already begun for the first set of Skills for Life assessments. Like many of our language centres, City of Bristol has a diverse group of ESOL students. Of particular interest is the large group of 16-18 year old

students many of whom are real

beginners at learning English Language, who have been unable to complete their studies in their home countries. While this holds many challenges for both teachers and students, ESB assessors complete thorough training to support candidates. ESB ESOL Skills for Life numbers are continuing to grow, and enquiries are often the result of word of mouth recommendation. We work closely with NATECLA, attending events and conferences across the UK spreading the ESB word! It is very rewarding to see ESB supporting vulnerable members of our society and helping people to achieve their full potential in their new home in the UK. Language

JACKIE JOHNSON BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ADVISER (LANGUAGE)

Members

My Life with ESB Life Member, Marjorie Fenston James, shares her memories with ESB over the years.

As a Life Member of the English Speaking Board I would like to tell you how it influenced my life in a positive way. My Speech and Drama teacher handed me a leaflet which encouraged people to join ESB, a new venture presented by Christabel Burniston in 1953. I showed it to my father who remembered Christabel and immediately decided to join me as a Life Member to this new club for my birthday present! My father, William Fenston, a Radio Officer for Marconi who had travelled the world, was a man with insight. I then went to train as a teacher, studying English and Drama in the Midlands. I had already passed many Speech exams in Guildhall, London College and Poetry Society to a high standard from aged seven to eighteen with my Speech teacher Rita Trantom Jones.

study for the English Speaking Diploma (Dip ESB), which I passed in 1986. I also trained pupils for ESB examinations in local schools and acted as an Ambassador for ESB in Cornwall for many years.

Marjorie , aged 11, holding cup presented by Christabel Burniston at Liverpool Festival, 1951

Later, I took early retirement and trained to be an ESB Assessor. I thoroughly enjoyed 16 years of visiting schools, meeting pupils who have benefitted from ESB exams with the confidence it gave them.

My main link with ESB at that time was to attend summer conferences, where I met up with members from many parts of the International scene. Therefore, I decided to

Members

Marjorie at Fowey Festival giving a Speech workshop. May, 2017

Since my retirement, I have presented a local radio programme for poetry and story on Radio St Austell Bay with great enjoyment for twelve years. I have had the pleasure of poets, storytellers, ESB students and even ESB assessors joining me ‘on air’. I have become very involved with the Daphne du Maurier Fowey Festival, judging poetry competition. There were about 150 entries this year, followed by a grand presentation of prizes. I also run a poetry circle in Fowey for local poets and storytellers and am a member of The Cornish Literary Guild. So you see how ESB has influenced my life! I started Infant school with John Lennon and I am still able to tell you the tale! My husband has always supported me while out examining as his ancestor was from the family of Samuel Johnson!

I have been so proud of my Life Membership with ESB, which helped to start the wonderful style of communication initiated by Christabel Burniston that I have felt impelled to share my story as ESB continues its special mission.

MARJORIE FENSTON JAMES ESB LIFE MEMBER

Stoke Pupils are Speaking Up!

Speech

Pupils in schools across Stoke-on-Trent are finding their voice with ESB

speaking and listening skills, as well as self- esteem. When asked about teaching ESB, one teacher commented on how it helps to improve '[both] communication and language, and personal, social and emotional skills' which are crucial to Early Years development. Key findings of the study reveal that 71% of teachers asked felt that ESB was either 'extremely successful' or 'successful' in helping their class to select and use appropriate registers for effective communication. Of the 50 Early Steps learners asked, 75% of them felt ESB had improved their listening skills, while 73% felt ESB had make them a better speaker. In the Debating group, an impressive 100% of them felt confident working in a team and responding to arguments . On 7 th June this year, ESB held a successful conference for teachers in Stoke-on-Trent at the city’s Bet365 Stadium to showcase the progress schools have already made since embracing ESB assessments.

Over the last three years, our relationship with schools in Stoke-on-Trent has gone from strength to strength.

Following a pilot scheme initiated in 2014, ESB’s innovative project in Stoke has led to 39 schools registering as ESB centres. This was helped by Stoke Local Education Authority’s match funding offer in 2016. With 20 of those schools taking Speech assessments this academic year, from Early Steps all the way up to Senior Proficiency and Debating qualifications, Stoke-on-Trent pupils are stepping up and finding their voice with ESB. To track the progress ESB has made in Stoke-on-Trent schools, our Product Development Team has carried out a micro-study project on two key primary schools in the city, interviewing teachers and conducting surveys with small groups of students to record their development in relation to

Speech

ESB Learners from Thistley Hough Academy and Oakhill Primary School at the Stoke Conference, 2017

To see some of our work at this year’s conference, please go to: https://vimeopro.com/inspiredfilm/ english-speaking-board/ video/220985938

ESB’s work with Stoke aims to give confidence to learners who need additional support, and allows the most able pupils to enhance their skillset, giving them a clear advantage as they progress into secondary school, FE college, or employment.

Said ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw:

“Schools in Stoke-on-Trent are trailblazing the inclusion of ESB into the school curriculum and the results are already paying off. Indeed, the strength of the presentations and readings given by Stoke pupils at the

conference reinforced how much improved oracy skills can make a difference in state schools”.

ESB Ambassador Programme

Ambassador

At our Stoke-on-Trent Conference earlier this year, Tina Renshaw awarded our prestigious ESB Ambassador award to star pupil, Mohammad Zaid Bin Zaheer. Zaid, who attends St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy, and was former Head Boy at St Gregory’s Catholic Academy, has shown continual commitment to ESB, and has shone in his Debating assessments time and time again. Said Zaid, “It was a complete surprise to be awarded ESB Ambassador, and I can’t wait to tell more people about how ESB changed my life.” Stoke-on-Trent Pupil, Mohammad Zaid Bin Zaheer, is awarded ESB Ambassador

Zaid accepted his award following his speech on the positive impact of ESB. His speech can be viewed here . ESB’s Ambassador programme has been introduced as part of the membership changes, to ensure our Friends stay connected to the work of ESB. In his new role as ESB Ambassador, Zaid will be using his gift of public speaking to spread the word of ESB at events and conferences. His first task will be to give a speech at our upcoming Young Speakers of the Year Showcase, about ‘what makes a great teacher’. We would like to congratulate Zaid on his achievement.

Alumni/ Ambassador Ambassador

“I can’t wait to tell more people about how ESB changed my life”

‘ Learning how to Talk’

Articles

In 2009, ESB Trustee, Merriel Halsall-Williams , inspired by comments from Professor

Brian Cox, wrote the following article. Eight

years on, Merriel’s message couldn’t be more relevant.

Leading Times columnist, Alice Thompson, recently supported their sentiments, believing “everyone should be taught public speaking”. She writes, “children should be encouraged to discuss, argue, persuade and question”, and links clear expression to social mobility. Here we can read Merriel’s original thoughts on teaching oracy in schools, which still ring true for learners in 2017.

It is clear from the ever-increasing number of schools integrating ESB practice and philosophy into their curriculum that Professor Cox’s words have not gone unheeded and that the importance of talk is indeed recognised. As a teacher, examiner and co-ordinator, I hear all the time from parents and friends, from school principals and their staff how important, how vital the ESB training is, not only because it develops oral skills but also because of the confidence it gives to young people. Long gone is the notion that this is ‘elocution’, a ‘frill’ or a random ‘off-shoot of the English course’.

the ESB progressive grades is being successfully integrated into the English lessons, project work often linking with other subjects. In the lower grades, prepared talks can range from pets (how else do you learn that a tortoise moves about a hundred yards in three hours!) to football, barge holidays, making chocolate buns, fishing and playing the cello. From a Yorkshire prep school, the head of English writes: “Whatever the grade achieved, pupils learn a great deal about themselves, a revelation that brings confidence from which they never look back. ESB work complements what we ask of them every day—to talk unaffectedly, thoughtfully and clearly, in a way

At all levels I see and hear how the work for

Articles i l

No child has ever failed to enjoy the ESB day.”

are skills which go beyond the classroom and, in a highly competitive world, the oral and presentation skills required for most occupations are greater than ever before. I have no doubt when I hear articulate A-level candidates presenting their work with confidence, that they are well-prepared to respond to the challenge.

As a teacher with many years’ experience in both single sex and co-educational schools, I can immediately identify those who have prepared for ESB. They know how to stand and present themselves with confidence—even those who are naturally quiet have that ability to talk to a listening group, make easy eye- contact and share a reading or a poem. In the higher grades it is encouraging to see choices of projects and literature complementing and linking with academic subjects, be they biology, history, chemistry or theatre studies. The advanced higher grades also give ample opportunities for curriculum

MERRIEL HALSALL-WILLIAMS ESB TRUSTEE

enrichment and evidence for key skill communication. Reading, researching,

selecting, structuring, presenting; participating in discussion; defending or modifying one’s views; evaluating the views of others: these

Prof. Arthur Ridings: A Profile Following the passing of our previous Chairman, ESB pays respect to the work of Professor Arthur M. Ridings.

Members

It is with great sadness that ESB learned of the passing of previous Chairman of the Committee of

reputation of the business. ESB’s founder, Christabel Burniston herself remarked upon his resignation from the Committee that she “will never forget his magnetic force as a speaker and his general authority as a Chairman”. Outside of work, Arthur was a family man who enjoyed the pleasures of living in rural Lincolnshire. It is said that he was also something of a ‘yo-yo’ wizard during his time at university, partnering the world champion at one time! ESB is indebted to Arthur for his valued work over the years. “[we] will never forget his magnetic force as a speaker” Christabel Burniston, 1994

Management, Professor Arthur M. Ridings earlier this year, who played a key role in the work of ESB during the period 1992-94. A Lancastrian by birth, Arthur demonstrated a lifetime of commitment to education, as Principal of North Lincolnshire College, a Tutor at the Open University, and external examiner for Universities of Manchester and Leeds for the CNAA.

Professor Ridings , Lincoln College, 1981

Arthur, who was also Lincolnshire’s Director of Education, worked tirelessly for ESB to maintain the legacy and

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