Last reviewed: 1 September 2025 Next review: 1 September 2026

1. Introduction

1.1. The term EAL is used when referring to pupils who have a home language other than English and who use, or are learning to use, English as an additional language. This policy may also be applied to children who only speak English but may have learnt English from a parent or carer who does not have English as a ﬁrst language.

1.2. This policy details the school’s aims, objectives and strategies to meet the needs of such pupils. Throughout this policy, and in other related policies and documents, these pupils are referred to as EAL pupils.

Also see Inclusion Policy, Equal Opportunity & Cultural Diversity Policy

2. Aims

2.1. The school is committed to making appropriate provision for pupils for whom English is an additional language.

2.2. The school aims to ensure that all EAL pupils are, over time, able to:

use English conﬁdently and competently
use English as a means of learning across the curriculum
where appropriate, make use of their knowledge of other languages
feel safe, settled, valued with a sense of belonging to their class, school and wider community

2.3. It also aims

to identify and make maximum use of opportunities for modelling ﬂuent English, encouraging pupils to practise and extend their use of English
to give all pupils the opportunity to overcome any language barrier
to welcome and value the cultural, linguistic and educational experiences that pupils with EAL bring to the school
to implement school-wide strategies to ensure that EAL pupils are supported in accessing the full curriculum attainment

3. Principles of learning

3.1. The key principles of the school’s approach to EAL are embodied in the school’s primary aims. These are to:

help pupils to develop their skills and abilities, intellectually, emotionally and socially
provide inclusive teaching which makes learning challenging and engaging, enabling all pupils to reach their potential

3.2. This policy is an integral part of the school’s broader aims to provide maximum educational opportunity for all pupils and reinforces the school’s commitment to equality and providing an environment in which all pupils are enabled to realise their potential.

4. Key principles

High expectations and tasks that stretch the child intellectually
Language develops best when used in purposeful contexts across the curriculum
Effective use of language is crucial to the teaching and learning of every subject
Access to learning requires attention to words and meanings embodied in each curriculum area. Meanings and understandings cannot always be assumed but need to be explored
The use of support time for pupils is best seen as an integral part of curriculum and lesson planning
All languages, accents and cultures are equally valued
Parents and the wider community are positively encouraged to play a full part in the life and development of the school#

5. Procedure on admission for EAL children

5.1. The school’s normal admission procedures are followed; in addition, the following information is gathered about:

the pupils’ linguistic background and competence in other children’s entry to school
the pupils’ previous educational and schooling experience
the pupils’ family background
the school’s EAL coordinator will collate this information and may also conduct an informal oral interview. This interview may be recorded as evidence and saved on Google Drive.
The school’s EAL coordinator is responsible for ensuring that regular assessment of EAL children takes place and ﬂuency is recorded using the assessment document for the school
Form teachers assess pupils’ competence at the beginning of the autumn term and again at the end of the summer term. These assessments are conducted using the school’s EAL ‘stage’ system, and the results are recorded on the EAL register every academic year.

6. Provision for EAL children

The literacy teacher of the child will assess the child’s stage of English ﬂuency using the tracking document for the school
Class teachers in conjunction with other staff, including the EAL coordinator, will assess and identify needs and set teaching objectives and strategies appropriate to the pupil’s stage of learning
All teachers and support staff will implement the teaching strategies for children learning EAL

7. Placement in ability sets

7.1. EAL pupils will have

access to the whole curriculum
will be taught with their peers
will be placed in groups with ﬂuent English speakers to provide them with good language models
will be placed in as high a set as possible, i.e. with their intellectual/academic equals
will not be subjected to standardised reading tests or VR tests in order to place them in sets
the placement of EAL pupils in a lower year group may be considered but only after very careful consideration and consultation with parents

8. Teaching and learning

8.1. It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that the needs of EAL children are met, usually through differentiation. Best practice advocates that pupils will make the most rapid progress when engaged with their peers and not when working in isolation or being tutored one to one. However, some guided group work and occasional one-to-one sessions may take place if deemed appropriate for the child concerned.

8.2. Lesson plans should identify the fundamental objectives and provide differentiated opportunities matched to individual EAL pupils’ needs.

8.3. Staff will use a wide range of practical activities and approaches, including:

activities which create links between new learning and what is already known
visual material, particularly material which communicates key concepts and interconnections
activities which involve pupils in using language from an early point of the lesson onwards
activities that involve sorting, matching, selecting, comparing and reasoning
activities which involve pupils exploring and expressing concepts through practical and manipulative activities
problem-solving tasks that are cognitively demanding and challenging even though the language for them may be reduced
attention to the development of academic English skills, for example through the use of writing frames or through working with subject-related texts
collaborative group work to engage pupils in genuine communication and exploratory talk, and in order to assist them to internalise key concepts and specialist terminology.
grouping children to ensure that EAL pupils hear good models of English
ICT activities that help communicate meaning, and that support the development of language and the learning of curriculum content at the same time
activities that require genuine communication, argument, thinking aloud and talking things through.

8.4. In addition, staff will

monitor progress carefully and ensure that EAL pupils are set appropriate and challenging learning objectives
recognise that EAL pupils need more time to process answers
allow pupils to use their mother tongue to explore concepts
give newly arrived children time to absorb English (there is a recognised ‘silent period’ when children understand more English than they use – this will pass if their self-conﬁdence is maintained)

9. EYFS

9.1. The publication English as an additional language is used as guidance for EYFS pupils https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/get-help- to-improve-your-practice/english-as-an-additional-language-eal

9.2. In the EYFS, pupils learning English as an additional language are also supported by:

building on children’s experiences of language at home, and in the wider community, so that their developing use of English and of other languages support each other meaningful speaking and listening activities with native speakers
the provision of activities which build on children’s experiences of language at home, and in the wider community, so that their developing use of English and of other languages support each other
the provision of a range of opportunities for children to engage in speaking and listening activities in English with peers and adults
the provision of bilingual support, where possible, to extend vocabulary
the provision of opportunities for children to hear their home languages as well as English

10. ICT Links

10.1. ICT will be used, where appropriate, to enhance teaching and learning.

10.2. Pupils will use ICT to:

ﬁnd things out
develop ideas and make things happen
exchange and share information
review, modify and evaluate work as it progresses.

10.3. Pupils will be given opportunities to apply and develop their ICT capability by using ICT tools to support their learning through a variety of ICT-based tasks; such activities may include:

the use of an interactive whiteboard to introduce or reinforce concepts
the use of laptops to aid research and presentation of work
the use of presentation software to improve pupils’ understanding and create a real-life audience for work
the use of internet resources to develop and enhance both learning and teaching
the use of communication devices to encourage speaking, listening and interaction.

10.4. Subject coordinators will be responsible for sourcing appropriate resources to develop ICT links within their subject; the ICT coordinator will provide support and offer advice to support cross-curricular ICT.

Special educational needs and gifted and talented pupils

11.1. The school recognises that most EAL pupils need additional support but do not have SEN needs. However, should SEN needs be identiﬁed during assessment, EAL pupils will have equal access to the school’s SEN provision.

11.2. Similarly, the school recognises that there may be EAL pupils who are gifted and talented even though they may not be fully ﬂuent in English. Such children will have their needs met as stated in the Gifted and Talented policy.

12. Staff development

12.1. The school will enable all staff to undertake professional development to ensure that provision for EAL pupils is appropriately delivered and coordinated. Stages of English Learning

The following simpliﬁed scale describes aspects of bilingual children’s development through English, which teachers might ﬁnd helpful. It is important to remember that children may move into English in very individual ways, and that the experience for an older child will be different from that of a young child. The scales emphasise the social aspects of learning as well as the linguistic. Obviously, attitudes in the school to children and the languages they speak will inﬂuence their conﬁdence in using English, as well as any other languages they may speak.

Stage 1-

A child new to English joins in activities with other children, but may not speak.
Uses non-verbal gestures to indicate meaning-particularly needs, likes and dislikes.
Watches carefully what other children are doing, and often imitates them.
Listens carefully and often ‘echoes’ words and phrases of other children and adults.
Needs opportunities for listening to the sounds, rhythms and tunes of English through songs, rhymes, stories and conversations.
If young, the child may join in with repeating the refrain of a story.
Begins to label objects in the classroom and personal things.
Begins to put words together into phrases (e.g. no come here, where ﬁnd it, no eating that).
May choose to move into English through story and reading, rather than speaking.

Stage 2-

Becoming familiar with English and growing in conﬁdence to use the English s/he is acquiring. Growing ability to move between the languages and to hold conversations in English with peer groups.
Simple phrases may be combined or expanded to communicate new ideas.
Beginning to sort out small details (e.g. ‘he’ and ‘she’ distinction) but more interested in communicating meaning than in accuracy.
Increasing control of the English tense system in particular contexts, such as story-telling and reporting events or activities that they have been involved in.
Able to understand more English than they can use. Describe things in more detail (e.g. colour, size, quantity) and use simple adverbs.
Increasingly conﬁdent when participating in activities with other children through English.
Beginning to write simple accounts of their activities, with help.
Continuing to rely on the support of friends.

Stage 3 –

Becoming conﬁdent as a user of English in most social situations. This conﬁdence may mask the need for support in other subjects (e.g. in science investigation, in historical research)
Growing command of the English grammatical system, including relationships of time, expressing possibility with might, could, etc., and more complex sentence structure.
Developing an understanding of metaphor and pun.
Pronunciation may still be inaccurate.
Widening vocabulary from reading stories, poems and information books and from being involved in maths, science investigations, and other curriculum areas.

Stage 4 –

Very ﬂuent in English in most social and learning contexts.
May continue to need support in understanding subtle nuances of English metaphor and the content of English poems and literature.
Conﬁdent in exchanges and collaboration with English-speaking peers.
Writing conﬁdently in English with growing competence and across different genres.
Using English drawn from own reading and books read aloud and showing this progress in their own writing.
Will move with ease between English and the ﬁrst language.