Type=image;ImageID=9314;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Language course offers health service advice to families;TitleClass=strong;
The City of Wolverhampton Council's Citizenship, Language and Learning Team has developed the 6 week programme based on the NHS's Choose Well initiative, which advises people which health service to seek when they are unwell.
The English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) health course outlines what each NHS service does and when it should be used. It also highlights what services people are entitled to, and provides practical exercises to help parents report school absences, register their families with a local GP and understand prescriptions.
Special materials have been devised to meet the needs of people with limited English language skills so they can better understand key information, with the course being run in a number of local schools by representatives from community groups such as Aspiring Futures and the Refugee and Migrant Centre.
Councillor Claire Darke, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education, said: "This is an important programme which will help to improve health outcomes for local parents who don't have English as their first language. What's more, the lessons they learn could one day prove to be a lifesaver.
"It's also great to see some of our local schools getting involved and hosting these sessions. They are taking the opportunity to better engage with some of their families, while many of the learners themselves are keen to study further and our Adult Education Service is enabling this to happen."
For more information about the English for Speakers of Other Languages health course, please email eal.team@wolverhampton.gov.uk.
Caption: Councillor Claire Darke, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Education, Elizabeth Mickiewicz from the Citizenship, Language and Learning Team and Bethune Smith, Selam Uma and Suhair Hassan from Aspiring Futures with learners Baljeet Kaur, Amarjit Kaur, Mryam Mohammed, Narges Adil and Sarabjit Kaur who are all completing the health course for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at St Stephen's Primary School in Heath Town.
- released: Monday 21 March, 2016