Whole school approach to EAL in schools

It is important to have a complete overview of English as an additional language (EAL) in your school or setting.

Overall responsibility for EAL should lie with a member of the senior leadership team. This ensures that EAL issues are dealt with appropriately and are considered when developing your school development plan. We have created suggested role descriptions for Primary EAL coordinators (PDF, 168 KB) and Secondary EAL coordinators (PDF, 173 KB).

Many schools and settings also have a governor with responsibility for EAL that can regularly review progress and attainment for CYP with EAL.

• An EAL register should be kept for CYP and their families, it should record languages spoken, whether they are a refugee/asylum seeker, as well as assessment and support details. EAL CYP are not a homogenous group, and it is important that all staff understand the religious and cultural differences that may present challenges to CYP with EAL, especially when they first arrive.
• Leaders need to understand the funding available for CYP with EAL and refugee cohorts and how this can be utilised. All EAL CYP receive funding for their first 3 years in school in the UK. Refugee CYP may also be entitled to additional funding.
• Leaders should recognise and understand the importance of supporting bilingualism and multilingualism. This should be communicated to all staff through policy and CPD opportunities.
• Leaders must ensure that CYP with EAL have the correct access arrangements when sitting SATs and GCSEs. Where these are available, CYP should be encouraged to sit GCSEs in their first language.
• An EAL assessment framework like Bell Foundation, NASSEA or Solihull should be used to track CYP progress and provide effective teaching strategies.  This ensures that you have an accurate picture of progress and can identify areas for development and gaps in learning.