The Baytree Centre Case Study
Hello and welcome to the Pearson ESOL blog. This is the second of our case studies, shared with The Baytree Centre. I would like to thank Christina Christofi for her help and support with this case study.
Our provision
The Baytree Centre is an educational charity for women and girls in the heart of Brixton, south London. Inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, we respond to local needs and address adverse childhood experiences and community environments. This includes poor housing conditions, homelessness, limited language and basic skills, and other barriers that can prevent the 1000+ women and girls we support, and their families, from thriving.
We’ve developed our services with and for our clients. They focus on education, training, and employability skills building confidence and self-esteem, raising aspirations and creating opportunities and networks to improve the lives of the women and girls whom we serve.
Our education and support programmes are flexible and tailored to the needs of the local community. Every project combines learning with one-to-one mentoring. Social mobility mentoring is a science-based intervention that gives women and girls the tools to identify and overcome their specific challenges and improve their life chances. Our relational, trauma-informed and professional approach helps them recognise their worth and take practical steps towards building a brighter future for themselves, their families and their communities.
Learners study at our centre to improve their English skills. Offering ESOL qualifications means they can show that they have achieved a certain level of English. A recognised qualification can also help them progress to further courses, build confidence to improve their lives by engaging in their communities and improve their job prospects.
Classes are delivered at our centre in Brixton. Learners typically study for around seven hours a week over two weekly sessions. In the past, we have delivered classes in children’s centres with learners taking their exams at our centre. We design the classes to meet the needs of our learners, many of whom are mothers and need to pick up their children from school, so classes run until 3pm. Many learners also work early shifts, so classes usually start at 9.45am to support regular attendance.
We offer a wide enrichment programme during the day. Learners can attend skills booster classes, conversation clubs and other wellbeing activities. If they want extra support, our befrienders can work with them one-to-one, and learners can also ask for help from coaches.
We currently offer Entry Levels 1,2 and 3 in Reading, Writing and Speaking & Listening.
Our learners
When we ask learners why they’re studying ESOL, the main reason given is to improve their English so they can play a part in their community, support their children and families, progress to further study or to gain employment.
Case Study: Deka
Deka has been studying at The Baytree Centre since September 2025. She is enrolled on an ESOL accredited course and also attends Baytree skills and wellbeing courses. She started on the Entry 1 Reading course and joined our conversation clubs to develop her spoken English.
Deka passed her Pearson Edexcel Entry 1 Reading course and is now studying for the accredited Entry 1 Writing course. She has also attended health and wellbeing events at the Baytree Centre.
Alongside her ESOL studies, Deka has become a Healthy Living Platform food ambassador after successfully completing the course. She gained a Food Hygiene certification, learnt how to reduce food waste, and developed essential skills in safe and nutritious food preparation along with experience in a professional kitchen. As part of the course, participants (including Deka and other Baytree women) designed and delivered a food-based community event. They chose to run it at the Baytree Centre's Exam Celebration, where they shared the recipe boxes and cards they created.
Many of our learners have Indefinite Leave to Remain. Others are asylum seekers or refugees, have pre-settled status or are on spousal visas. Some have gained British citizenship or are in the process of doing so. As a women’s centre, we welcome ESOL learners from across the world. Many are from African countries including Angola, DR Congo, The Ivory Coast, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Algeria and Morocco. Others are from South America, chiefly Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil, and from Central America including the Dominican Republic. We also support learners from western or eastern Europe (Spain, Italy, Ukraine) and learners with European citizenship who were originally from Brazil or other South American countries. Those from Asia include India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as China. 39.7% of our learners are unemployed, on low-wages or receiving benefits. 16.8% are aged over 60 and 81.7% were assessed below Entry level 2 in their initial tests. Most learners live in Lambeth or neighbouring boroughs including Southwark and Wandsworth.
Many of our learners have low literacy or limited prior education, so they may need extra support to build study skills. Many are living in poor housing or temporary accommodation. Other are managing complex immigration matters or health issues which can affect attendance. We support learners by checking in on attendance, helping them catch up on missed work and offering wider support through our on-site coaches, so they can stay engaged and complete their course.
The impact of ESOL
Through ESOL, learners develop skills that help them to better engage in the communities where they live and work. As their confidence grows, they can manage everyday situations more independently, communicating clearly in English and accessing the service and opportunities around them.
Learners tell us that they value learning in a group, where they can practice English in a safe and supportive setting. Tutors keep lessons engaging by using a range of approaches including the interactive whiteboard and language games. We also gather regular feedback through learner surveys and focus groups so learners can share honest views and help us improve the programme.
As learners progress through ESOL, they improve both communication and literacy skills. They learn to recognise different texts, improve reading and writing skills so that they can complete various forms and write simple sentences. This helps them become more confident in everyday life.
Case Study: Fadumo
Fadumo began attending Baytree Centre in autumn of 2023 joining our English conversation clubs. In 2024, she began ESOL classes at the centre, and in spring 2024 she completed an ESOL Entry 1 preparation class. The following academic year, Fadumo studied and passed Pearson Edexcel accredited courses in Entry 1 Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.
This year, Fadumo has continued to develop her skills. She has passed the Pearson Edexcel accredited Entry 2 Reading course and achieved her goals on the Everyday Digital skills course. She is currently studying Entry 2 Writing and has just taken the Pearson Edexcel Entry 2 Writing exam.
Fadumo’s goal is to develop her skills so she can find work. With support from Baytree Women’s Services, she has signed up for a Food Ambassadors course with a local charity and recently passed her Food Hygiene Certificate. As part of the course, she worked with other participants to create, test and produce recipe kits. These will be distributed at Baytree’s upcoming certificate celebration, where Fadumo will also receive her ESOL Entry 2 Reading certificate. The Food Ambassador course will also lead to a local volunteering opportunity alongside her ESOL Entry 2 Writing course.
Fadumo is determined to continue to improve her English and work skills. ESOL has helped her feel more confident and she hopes her new skills and certificates will help her to find work. As her confidence has grown, she has also started to access and attend a variety of wellbeing sessions, career support and community activities at Baytree.
Learners attend classes regularly and we track progress throughout the course. Each of them complete individual learning plans with goals agreed and reviewed regularly with their tutor. At the start of the course, learners are given a Student Handbook and take part in an induction to familiarize themselves with the overall aims of the centre.
ESOL helps learners build the confidence to progress to further study and improve their job prospects. Course topics also introduce workplace language and vocabulary helping learners communicate more effectively.
Pearson ESOL
We choose Pearson ESOL because we’re confident that the exams that the learners take are of a high standard, and we have always had excellent customer service when we’ve needed support. Our learners are able to take exams in Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening when we feel they are ready which gives us the flexibility we need as a small centre. Over the years, we’ve had an excellent working relationship with our Standards Verifier, who has always supported us whenever we have had any queries and help reassure us that our marking and internal marking meets the required standard. Pearson is an internationally recognised exam centre with great prestige.