English as an Additional Language (EAL) information
In our school, we have lots of pupils who are able to communicate using a range of different languages, and English may be an Additional Language (EAL). To help all our children to access our curriculum and classroom learning, we use different teaching strategies that provide different forms of support. Our approach is set out in our Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy. which states that:
At Bishops Down Primary School and Nursery, we are committed to ensuring quality of education and opportunity for all pupils and staff. We constantly aim to provide a culture of inclusion and diversity ..... We welcome differences and celebrate different cultures, respecting the needs of the individual, the group and the school community as a whole.
Teaching Resources
We use a range of resources to help our EAL pupils to learn in class. These include:
- Small steps. Break tasks into smaller, manageable steps, so that children have time to listen, process and try new skills.
- Use clear, simple language. Teachers focus on clear instructions and modelling, keep learning at an appropriate pace. This allows children time to make connections in their first language before transferring back to English.
- Scaffolding. Provide and adapt it to the child’s level of English.
- Use visuals, sensory aids and technology. We might use power-points in lessons to provide visual clues and information to support teaching. We also use specific visual resources, such as widgets, to help link words to pictures to support pupil understanding.
- Collaborative learning. Use group work to encourage peer support and if possible, pair a learner with a peer who speaks the same home language (if that peer is fluent).
- Checking understanding. Teachers take time in lessons to check that pupils understand the teaching and can try to apply skills correctly.
Tracking and Monitoring
At Bishops Down Primary School, we use the Bell Foundation Assessment Framework to track the progress of our EAL pupils. The Bell Foundation is a Charity established in 2012, that through research, provides teaching strategies to support EAL pupils develop in the areas of: Listening; Speaking' Reading and Writing. We use the Bell Framework to track our EAL pupils in these 4 areas, across Bands A,B,C,D and E, when the children are completely fluent. By doing this, we can ensure that our teaching strategies are effective in supporting our children to learn well. Please ask your child's class teacher if you would like further information.
Useful links and websites for Parents
Mantra Lingua are trying to help households where the Home Language is not English. They have one of the largest library of dual language ebooks in the world. Currently, there are over 550 books and 38 languages. Each book is read aloud in English and your Home Language. There are folk tales, myths, stories of multi-cultural life here in the UK and reference books. Each book has a video and a set of activities to help build your child's English language skills. The library covers reading ages from 3 to 15 years, so other members of your family can also access and enjoy.
Use this link to explore some of the videos using dual language books:
Early Reading
At Bishops Down Primary School, we use the Read Write Inc phonics teaching scheme to teach children the skills for early reading and writing. The children learn to recognise letters and the sounds letters make. They learn how to blend sounds to make words and they learn how to read words in simple sentences to make meaning. It is a very structured approach, that parents can also support at home.
The Read write Inc programme is found on the Ruth Miskin website. Please use this link to access the resources to help families learn early reading and writing together. https://www.ruthmiskin.com/parentsandcarers/
