English Speaking Board (International) Ltd

Author: Liam Morton

  • Communications to centres: Assessment Update following recent England wide National Lockdown announcement (Update 1)

    ESB International has been successfully carrying out a proportion of its assessments remotely using video conferencing technologies since September. We have been sharing these successful adapted assessment experiences with our centres via our website and social media so that centres could maintain their confidence in working towards and booking assessments, during the continuing uncertain environment.

    As a result of the England wide national lockdown announced by the Prime Minister on January 4th, ESB International’s Speech and ESOL Skills for Life Speaking and Listening assessments will continue to take place remotely. We use the video conferencing facility that centres habitually use and that your learners are used to. We hope, therefore, it will not be necessary for centres to cancel any existing bookings they may already have in place which are due to take place shortly.

    Detailed information about each qualification, how we are adapting it, and what centres and learners need to do to prepare for remote assessments are set out in the guidance documents below:-

    ESB Centre Guidance for ESOL Skills for Life Assessments (Synchronous) during Lockdown 2021 Download
    ESB Centre Guidance for Speech Assessments (Synchronous) during Lockdown 2021Download

    If you have any questions about these guidance documents or delivering adapted assessments, please contact the Product Development team at product@esbuk.org.

    Any centre wanting to have ESOL Skills for Life Reading or Writing assessments during this lockdown period should please email product@esbuk.org.

    Not only do our qualifications build learners’ confidence and boost progression and employability, but they are also built with our learners’ interests at heart, ensuring an enjoyable learning experience.

  • Festive Period Closing Notice

    We would like to inform you that the offices of English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. will be closed from 23rd December 2020 – 1st  January 2021 inclusive, for the festive period. We will reopen on Monday 4th January, 2021.

    Please be assured that all queries will be answered as soon as we return.

    Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to working with you in 2021.

    We wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year from the ESB Team.

  • Prestigious Award for ‘a true living legend’ – Press recognises ESB Honorary Vice-President and Trustee

    Further recognition has come in for ESB’s Honorary Vice-President and Trustee, Merriel Halsall-Williams following her recent award of a Fellowship of the prestigious Girls’ Schools Association.

    Not only has Merriel received a congratulatory letter from Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Mrs Anna Turner JP, praising her for her outstanding achievements but her work has also been acknowledged in the Shropshire Star.

    Having been involved with ESB for more than 60 years, Merriel continues to support learners to develop key oracy and literacy skills. ESB’s qualifications inspire a level of confidence which is key to unlocking their potential and raising achievement. The development of effective communication skills, alongside an accredited qualification, gives learners a clear advantage when applying for a place in college, university or in the job market.

  • Bournemouth Collegiate School sails through on-line assessments!

    Continuing to successfully engage our learners through online assessments, we are pleased to report that 60 learners from Bournemouth Collegiate School, Dorset, recently undertook their ESB Level 1 Award in Speech (Grade 3).

    ESB’s adapted online assessments give the closest experience to learners’ usual face to face assessments. By welcoming the ‘new norm’ and adopting a ‘can do’ attitude to the whole process, both ESB’s assessor, Jillian Evans and teacher Rhiannon Lawton were able to achieve the best outcome for the learners over the three days of assessment.

    Rhiannon Lawton says, “Jillian Evans was utterly incredible and really went above and beyond for my students in challenging circumstances.”

    Equally full of praise for the learners who were committed to their assessments and for Rhiannon’s dedication to preparing the learners for their assessment, Jillian adds: “ ‘It was a very busy three days. The success of the assessment depended on understanding that the key was to help the candidates feel as confident as possible in a virtual setting and on supporting the member of staff who had put in so much time and effort preparing the candidates. It really was a very positive experience where the learners were able to showcase what they could do. There was a real sense of achievement at the close of each session.”

    Tina Renshaw, ESB’s Chief Executive says, “ESB would like to give 3 cheers to Jillian and all our trusted and experienced assessors who have adapted so wonderfully to the online assessment challenges posed by the current situation. They are fantastic and we are very proud of them all!”

    Our supportive Speech assessments aim to improve oracy and literacy skills whilst inspiring a level of confidence which learners can carry with them throughout life. By raising achievement and enriching learning by promoting clear, effective communication, ESB prepares learners for their progression in school, further and higher education and the world of work. With more employers now seeking social and problem-solving skills, communications skills are vital for personal and professional success.