Southside Introductory English Centre

IEC graduation The Southside Primary Introductory English Centre (SPIEC) is a government-funded resource for students who have recently arrived in Australia and need specialist assistance in learning English before transferring to a mainstream class. 

The Centre is located at Hughes Primary School and caters for children in the Woden and South Canberra regions of Canberra.  Both permanent and temporary residents, including International Fee Paying Students (IPS) may attend an Introductory English Centre.
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The Centre offers an intensive English language course for primary-aged students with minimal English.  The program aims to provide students with basic communication and literacy skills, and to introduce them to the life and culture of an Australian school.

The Centre is located within the Hughes mainstream Primary School.  Although classes are separate, staff and students are part of the wider Primary School community.  Integration occurs on an individually negotiated, class-by-class basis with an emphasis on meaningful interaction between students in the two programs.  Students in the IEC have full access to playground and library facilities and joins with the mainstream for assemblies, sporting and special whole-school events.
The Senior IEC classes visit the Australian Mint.
Students usually attend the IEC for three school terms (30 weeks), though the period of time is flexible and is determined by individual needs and progress.  The time it takes for an ESL student to learn English varies according to a range of factors, such as, previous educational experience, motivation, personality, language aptitude and age going to school.  After completing the IEC program, students are assisted in transferring to their neighbourhood/local school or a school of the parents’ choice.