EnglishasanAdditionalLanguage
(EAL)Policy
Compiledby:
GrahamMcEwan,January2012
Reviewedby: SamanthaLea,January2017
Reviewdate:
January2018
POLICYONCHILDRENWITHENGLISHASANADDITIONALLANGUAGE
Introduction
ThetermEALisusedwhenreferringtopupilswherethemotherlanguageathomeis
notEnglish.
ThispolicysetsouttheSchool’saims,objectivesandstrategieswithregardtomeetingthe
needsandcelebratingtheskillsofEALpupilsandhelpingthemtoachievethehighest
possiblestandards.Allpupilsneedtofeelsafe,acceptedandvaluedinordertolearn.For
pupilswhoarelearningEnglishasanadditionallanguage,thisincludesrecognisingand
valuingtheirhomelanguageandbackground.Asaschool,weareawarethatbilingualismis
astrengthandthatEALpupilshaveavaluablecontributiontomake.Wetakeawhole
schoolapproach,includingethos,curriculum,educationagainstracismandpromoting
languageawareness.
Aims
• Theaimofthispolicyistoensurethatwemeetthefullrangeofneedsofthose
childrenwhoarelearningEnglishasanadditionallanguage.Thisisinlinewiththe
requirementsoftheRaceRelationsAct1976.
• Towelcomeandvaluethecultural,linguisticandeducationalexperiencesthat
pupilswithEALbringtotheSchool.
• ToimplementschoolwidestrategiestoensurethatEALpupilsaresupported
inaccessingthecurriculum.
• TohelpEALpupilstobecomeconfidentandfluentinspeakingandlistening,
readingandwritinginEnglishinordertobeabletofulfiltheiracademicpotential.
Objectives
• Toprovideanynewlyarrivedchildrenwithasafeandwelcomingenvironment.
• TobeabletoassesstheskillsandneedsofpupilswithEALandtogive
appropriateprovisionthroughouttheSchool.
• Toequipteacherswiththeknowledge,skillsandresourcestobeabletosupport
andmonitorpupilswithEAL.
• Tomonitorpupils’progresssystematicallyandusethedataindecisions
aboutclassroommanagementandcurriculumplanning.
• Tomaintainpupils’self-esteemandconfidencebyacknowledgingandgiving
statustotheirskillsintheirownlanguages.
• TomakemaximumuseofopportunitiestomodelfluentuseofEnglishand
provideopportunitiesforchildrentopractiseandextendtheiruseofEnglish.
Strategies
School/ClassEthos
• TherewillbeanunderstandingthatalimitedknowledgeofEnglishdoesnotreflect
alackofabilityoralackofliteracyinapupil'smothertongue.Appreciatingand
acknowledgingapupil'sabilityinher/hisowncultureiscrucialforher/hisselfesteem.
• Diversitywillbevaluedandclassroomswillbesociallyandintellectually
inclusive,valuingculturaldifferencesandfosteringarangeofindividual
identities.
• Wewillgatherasmuchbackgroundinformationonthepupilsowecanassesstheir
strengthsandweaknessesinordertoprovidethecorrectsupportrequired.
• Weacknowledgethetimeittakestobecomefluent,withagoodcommandofthe
rangeoflanguageneededforacademicsuccess,inanadditionallanguage.Wewill
givenewlyarrivedyoungchildrentimetoabsorbEnglish.Thereisarecognized
“silentperiod”whenchildrenunderstandmoreEnglishthantheyuse---thiswillpass
iftheirself-confidenceismaintained.
Teachingandlearningstyle
Wewilltakeactiondevelopapupils’speaking,listening,readingandwriting.Wewilldo
thisusingvariousmeans:
• Ensurethatvocabularyworkcoversthetechnicalaswellastheeverydaymeaning
ofkeywords,metaphorsandidioms.
• ExplainhowspeakingandwritinginEnglisharestructuredfordifferentpurposes
acrossarangeofsubjects.
• Providearangeofreadingmaterialsthathighlightthedifferentwaysinwhich
Englishisused.
• Ensurethattherearemanyeffectiveopportunitiesfororalcommunication,and
thattalkingisusedtosupportwriting(andviceversa).
• Encouragepupilstotransfertheirknowledge,skillsandunderstandingofone
languagetoanother.
• Buildonpupil’sexperiencesoflanguageathomeandinthewidercommunity,so
thattheydevelopusesofEnglish.
• ShowdifferentiatedworkforEALpupilsinplanning.
Responsibilities
SeniorLeadershipTeam
Toobtain,collateanddistributeinformationonnewpupilswithEAL.Thisincludes:
• MonitoringprogresscarefullyandensurethatEALpupilsaresetappropriateand
challenginglearningobjectives.
• Assessingthepupil’scompetenceinEnglishinrelationtotheNCstandardsand
expectationsassoonaspossible.
• Language(s)spokenathome.
• Fromthepreviousschool,informationonlevelofEnglishstudied/used.
• Detailsofcurriculumatpreviousschool.
HeadofSchool
Toensurethat:
• AllinvolvedinteachingEALlearnersliaiseregularlyandsharegoodpractice.
• Parentsandstaffareawareoftheschool’spolicyonpupilswithEAL.
• RelevantinformationonpupilswithEALreachesallstaff.
• Traininginplanning,teachingandassessingEALlearnersisavailabletostaff.
• ChallengingtargetsforpupilslearningEALaresetandmet.
• TheeffectivenessoftheteachingofpupilswithEALismonitored.
SENCo---coordinator
• Overseeinitialassessmentofpupils’standardofEnglish
• Giveguidanceandsupportinusingtheassessmenttosettargetsandplan
appropriatework(completeandIndividualLearningPlanforeachpupil)
• Provideadvicetoteachersandsupportstaffonclassroomstrategies.
• MonitorstandardsofteachingandlearningofpupilswithEAL
• LiaisewiththeMulticulturalService
• Liaisewithparents/carers
• Supportpupils’languagedevelopmentbothinclassandbywithdrawal(for1---1
work)asappropriate
• ReporttotheHeadontheeffectivenessoftheaboveandtheprogressofpupils.
Class/SubjectTeachers
• Ensurethatknowledgeaboutpupils’abilitiesandneedsinEnglishandothersubjects
isuptodate.
• Usethisknowledgeeffectivelyincurriculumplanning,classroomteachingandpupil
grouping.