From September 2018 schools are no longer required to collect EAL Proficiency Levels however EMTAS strongly recommends schools continue to use the updated assessment tool to track EAL progress and set appropriate language learning targets.
Schools also need to continue collecting language data for all pupils and record the language as stated by the parent/guardian or child. See DfE School Census guidance for further information on collecting data from a parent/guardian or pupil.
Where a pupil’s first language is other than English, schools may record specific languages from the extended language codeset or continue to use codes from the short codeset used in CBDS.
The school must not ascribe a specific language to the pupil. The codes ENB (Not known but believed to be English) and OTB (Not known but believed to be other than English) are only appropriate to use where all of the following conditions apply:
- pupil’s first language is not known with absolute certainty
- parents have not responded to enquiries
- school is able to judge with a high degree of confidence whether the pupil’s language is English or not
Where the parent/guardian or pupil have declined to provide a first language, code ‘REF’ (refused) must be used.