Guidelines for Language Training Providers for CLARS
Draft #14
June 2012
Funded by / Financé par:
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Guidelines for
Language Training Providers for CLARS
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3
The Vision of a Coordinated Language Assessment and Referral System 3
The Vision for the Learner 3
The Vision for the Language Training Provider 4
History of Assessment Referral and Training System (HARTs) 4
Summary of Changes 6
CLARS Protocols 7
CLARS at-a-glance 7
Readiness Checklist 34
Communicating with the CLARS Centre 36
About this Manual 36
2. Courses 37
Course Profiles 37
Language Training Programs with Additional Eligibility Requirements 37
Programs with Fixed or Limited Enrolment Dates 37
Course Information Template 38
Opening New Courses 39
Modifying a Course 39
Closing a Course 39
Monitoring Seat Availability 39
Wait Lists 40
3. Learners 41
General Principles 41
Learner Routing 41
Attendance Recording and Monitoring 44
Types of Course Options 44
Tracking and Reporting 45
Addressing Complaints 47
Fee-payers 47
4. In the Classroom 48
Introduction 48
What Changes for the Classroom Instructor under CLARS? 48
Governing Principles 48
Receiving a Learner into the Course 50
Learner Assessment, Progress and Promotion 50
5. Itinerant Assessment and Referral 58
6. Community Partnership Committee 63
Appendix A – List of Language Training Courses available in Ontario 66
Appendix B – Eligibility Determination 67
Questions and Answers to Clarify Eligibility and Proof of Eligibility 69
Appendix C – Gathering Preliminary Client Information 73
Appendix D – Available Tools for Formal Language Assessment 74
Appendix E – General Needs Assessment 75
Appendix F – Referral to other settlement services 77
Appendix G - Training Options Variations/Options 78
Appendix H - Learning Pathway Template 79
Appendix I – Waitlist Protocol 81
Appendix J - Supporting Clients with the Assessment Process 85
Appendix K - Addressing Client Needs 89
Appendix L – Guiding Principles for Referral to Courses 89
Appendix M - Handling Transfers at CLARS centres 104
Appendix N - Childcare Options 105
Appendix O - Transportation Assistance 107
Appendix P - Learners with Special Needs 108
Appendix Q – Website Resources 111
Appendix R - Glossary 113
This document is for use during the CLARS Orentation phase and is subject to further refinement and final approval by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.
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1. Introduction
The Vision of a Coordinated Language Assessment and Referral System
The Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement identified four strategies including the coordination of settlement services provided by the federal and provincial governments to create a clear pathway for learners to access programs such as language training. Identified more specifically was the development and implementation of a comprehensive language assessment, referral and training system that assists learners to become competent in English or French as quickly as possible.
These strategies were in response to recommendations made as a result of the 2006 consultations with learners and service providers. One recommendation proposed the coordination of information services to assist learners with acquiring accurate and timely information on how to access government funded programs that would provide support in settlement and integration. Another recommendation proposed coordination of assessment and referral services and the standardization of language assessment using assessment tools that were referenced to the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLBs) and applied consistently by certified assessors anywhere in Ontario.
The CLARS model embodies these recommendations. It consists of 18 centres which provide eligible learners across Ontario access to provincially and federally funded language training programs. The system is learner-centred, driven by the goals and needs of the learner on their pathway to settlement. Its elements include standardized assessment, standardized protocols and procedures for referral, and a portable record of assessment, participation and progress.
The Vision for the Learner
CLARS centres are centralized access points to both federally and provincially funded language training programs. In the CLARS model, the eligible learner’s pathway begins at a CLARS centre with a language assessment administered by a trained and certified assessor using assessment tools referenced to the Canadian Language Benchmarks. The assessor is equipped to identify needs and advise the learner on the next step along the individual’s pathway to full settlement, with particular focus on language training but including appropriate referral to address other settlement needs as well. Upon completion of the language assessment, the learner is then offered the options of language courses that best fit based on the learner’s eligibility for the program, assessment results, language needs and goals, time and availability of courses, and other supports to enable access. The learner is then given the choice of being referred at that time to courses provided by a specific language training provider or of going directly to the language training provider at a later date. Whatever the decision may be, the learner leaves the CLARS centre with a copy of the results of the assessment and the list of appropriate courses. Because the learner’s personal information and language assessment are entered in to an electronic data base under a unique identifier, this information is now portable within the province. Ongoing language assessments and language proficiency updates will also be entered creating a “learner passport” which will be a history of the learner’s participation in federally and provincially funded language training programs.
With the implementation of CLARS, the learner is assured of having access to standardized and professionally-administered language assessments, full disclosure of all training opportunities available to him, record of participation in language training, and a history of progress and graduation from federally and provincially funded language training programs in Ontario.
The Vision for the Language Training Provider
For language training providers, the local CLARS centre is the entry point through which learners will access your federally and/or provincially funded language training program.
In the CLARS model, all publicly-funded language training providers and the regional CLARS assessment centre become a community joined by a web-based data management system called HARTs. The courses offered by every language training provider in your region will be in the CLARS centre database, or HARTs. Additional supports such as childminding or transportation will also be noted.
When a learner asks about your language training program, you can make a preliminary determination of eligibility for publicly-funded language training. If they are eligible, you will be able to assist the learner in his next step using HARTs. A learner who comes with a current assessment can be enrolled in an appropriate level. If the learner does not have an assessment, you can schedule an appointment for him/her on HARTs.
Because learners will have the option of being directly referred to your program, you will be able to manage enrolment in your courses as well as withdrawals.
Language proficiency updates will also be recorded in HARTs allowing you to assist learners in the management of their access to language training throughout the course of their learning pathway.
History of Assessment Referral and Training System (HARTs)
The History of Assessments, Referrals and Training system (HARTs) is an innovative web based upgrade and replacement for the Automated Reservation System (ARS). Updates are automatic and will be available the next time you log into the system. HARTs operates with a centralized database where each client will have a single file.
Some of the benefits and features of the system are:
- User friendly - basic internet environment
- Client friendly - fast and easy to use web based application
- Consistency - Ontario wide reporting capabilities
- Adaptability and Flexibility - enhanced to meet program needs in a real-time format
- Security - user groups and individual password access
- Accountability - information is updated as required by authorized users
- Analysis - of current and/or historical information
- Speed and accuracy - files maintained on centralized database
The History of Assessment Referral and Training system (HARTs) is mandated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to provide CIC-funded stakeholders in Ontario with an efficient method of client inventory, referral and statistical information. The HARTs interfaces with the Immigration – Contribution Accountability Measurement System (iCAMS), and assists users by providing a real-time information system. Its primary features include real-time collection, storage and retrieval of data records, and generation of statistical reports.
HARTs is a live system. It is the hub of the wheel of the language training system, so it is critical that all users – CLARS centres and language training providers alike – develop practices that ensure that learner and course data are up-to-date at all times.
For further information or assistance in using the HARTs, please contact the HARTs Help Desk at:
- Locally: (905) 279-0024, extension 1247
- Toll Free: 1 (866) 277- 5462, extension 1247
- You can also email the Help Desk at .
- The website address is: http://www.tcet.com/HARTs
Summary of Changes
What is new and what will change?Pre-CLARS / CLARS
q Centred on the program and course offer / q Learner-centred – learner choice based on best fit for learner
q Separate approaches for assessment & referral for LINC and ESL / q One common approach to assessment and referral for all LT in Ontario
q Centralized Assessment Centres serve only LINC clients / q Centralized CLARS Centres serve all ESL/provincial and LINC/federal clients
q Assessment tools/tests vary in standard and application / q One standardized set of tools/tests, CLB based, applied by trained and certified assessors
q Learners assessed at LT site and registered at course site on arrival / q Learners directed to CLARS first for language assessment; register at course site after referral to best fit course(s)
q Assessors may also be teaching LT to learners / q Assessors are in CLARS Centres and cannot also teach
q LT courses promoted through SPO own independent channels / q LT courses also, all profiled in central searchable data base in HARTs (for each community)
q LT Providers may manage both LT and assessment activities / q LT Providers manage only LT, not assessment (Third Party principle)
q Assessment function co located with LT courses / q Assessment function centralized in CLARS, separate from LT
q Learners fill courses based on local promotion, word of mouth, proximity / q Providers will receive learners appropriate to their course positioning, fit to learner needs
q Learner can be assessed and registered with first/any LT Provider contacted (in ESL) / q All settlement SPOs (including LT, etc.) on first contact will direct new first time learners to CLARS
q Learners may have different language training and progress records in different systems / q All learners assigned unique identifier and tracked in one common data base (HARTs)
q Courses are described using LINC levels / q Courses are described by CLB
CLARS Protocols
These protocols form the basis of the CLARS system and will guide the assessment and referral process at the CLARS Centres. Any changes will be subject to final approval by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.
CLARS at-a-glance
CLARS / LT PROVIDER PROTOCOL 1
First Contact
Purpose: To provide a client with basic information about the language training system and how to access it (including how to secure an appointment at a CLARS Centre)
Subject / Objective / Process / ConsiderationsDetermine Interest in language training / Step 1: To provide client with basic information about the language training system and how to access it (including how to secure an appointment at a CLARS Centre) / A client expresses an interest in language training
/ Should a client not be able to communicate, an interpreter may be required.
See Appendix A – List of Language Training Courses available in Ontario
If the client wants more information, refer to Appendix B – Eligibility Determination
The worker may explain the eligibility criteria in detail if they are knowledgeable.
An ineligible client should be provided with relevant information helpful to the client’s needs. Ex: referred to one of the school boards or colleges that offer fee-for-service assessment and language training.
Information on language assessment centres is widely available.
CLARS / LT PROVIDER PROTOCOL 2
Schedule an Appointment
Purpose: To schedule an appointment for client needs assessment and eligibility determination for language assessment. There may be a number of access points for scheduling an appointment with a CLARS Centre some of which will be connected to a data system where appointments can be made online.
Subject / Objective / Process / Considerations /Conduct Preliminary eligibility screening / Step 1: Determine eligibility for publicly -funded language assessment /
Yes or unsure No
/ - If a client's eligibility is unclear, refer to Appendix B – Eligibility Determination
An ineligible client should be provided with relevant information helpful to the client’s needs. Ex: referred to one of the school boards or colleges that offers fee-for-service assessment and language training.
Gather preliminary information / Step 2: Gather client information for the purpose of booking an appointment to be used by the frontline worker or the CLARS centre /
/ There is no limit to the number of appointments that can be scheduled for others (e.g. group members) as long as the names and contact information are provided.
Where there are multiple accessible CLARS Centres, these should be made known.
In remote areas, clients can travel to the nearest CLARS Centre or wait for the itinerant assessor to visit their area.
Refer to Appendix C – Gathering Preliminary Client Information for questions related to booking an appointment.
Provide information / Step 3: Inform client/agent of need to present photo identification
Step 4: Explain the needs assessment eligibility and language assessment process /
/ - A certified copy of immigration documentation is acceptable as proof of status.
Schedule an appointment for language assessment / Step 5: Schedule the appointment for assessment / / - Note: It is good practice to clarify with the client whether or not they intend to bring children to the CLARS Centre during the assessment time. While some sites accommodate children during the assessment, this is not always the case. It is distracting for both the parent and for other clients to have children present during the assessment.
- Provide information on parking where applicable.
- Advise client to bring eye glasses if needed.