9. Standards 9.1 A fundamental issue is to establish clear and consistent standards which apply to every part of the learning process - from initial assessment to progression to further and higher education. 9.2 The Government is committed to the establishment of nationally agreed basic skills standards. Our working group gave very careful consideration to the question of whether there should be separate standards for ESOL. There are arguments on both sides. Having separate standards would allow more precise descriptions of language skills, allow more relevance to language learning and skills and more easily provide a base for a specialist ESOL curriculum. But against that, there has been an unfortunate historic tendency to equate separate ESOL provision with low status and value and there is a danger that separate standards might perpetuate this marginalisation. It is important that ESOL learners are perceived as working to and reaching the same standards as other learners. The view of the majority of members of the group is therefore that the national standards for basic skills, which provide a clear benchmark for proficiency in literacy at Entry level, level 1 and level 2, should also apply to ESOL learners. However, this conclusion comes with important caveats. 9.3 We sought to influence the design of the basic skills standards, through input during their development and during consultation, in order to address some of the main needs for ESOL learners. A key issue is the need to recognise that listening and speaking are distinct skills and that learners of English develop proficiency in these receptive and productive skills at often very different rates. We also feel that, for ESOL learners, oracy (listening and speaking) and literacy (reading and writing) should be given equal weight. 9.4 These issues have partly been addressed in the final version of the standards: they have been amended to include distinct speaking and listening descriptors and it has been made clear that 'literacy' encompasses oral communication. But because of the need to ensure consistency and coherence with other frameworks, such as the National Curriculum and key skills, it was not possible to reflect all the concerns of this group in the finalised national standards framework. We therefore feel that it is critical that the particular needs of ESOL learners are reflected by the development and recognition of an ESOL curriculum separate from that developed for literacy. 9.5 In addition, the standards for basic skills only cover entry level, level 1 and level 2, whereas, as we report earlier, some ESOL learners need to develop their competence in English language to level 3 and beyond in order to gain access to higher education or to practise their profession in this country. We believe that more thought needs to be given both to ways of accelerating these learners' progress at basic levels and providing them with clear routes for progression to higher levels. 9.6 It will be important to keep the standards under review and pay particular attention to the impact they are having on the delivery of ESOL in practice. We also believe that ESOL teachers will need specific guidance on how to use the standards in relation to diagnostic assessment of their students' needs and in relation to end of course assessment. Recommendation 6: Standards a) The national standards for basic literacy should encompass ESOL standards up to Level 2 but there must be a distinct ESOL curriculum b) The review of the national basic skills standards framework, planned for 2003/4, should consider the distinct factors relevant to ESOL and involve consultation with experienced ESOL practitioners.

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