English as an Additional Language (EAL) Guidance – March 2024

1. Introduction

Devon Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS) is a dedicated multi-ethnic and multilingual team with over 30 years of experience, working closely with Devon education establishments to remove barriers and inequalities in attainment and achievement.

By working alongside you, we can help your establishment to improve educational outcomes for children and young people from ethnic minorities, including Traveller heritages, as well as those learning English as an additional language (EAL).

We provide expert advice, guidance and training to help raise attainment and close the performance gap for these children.  Our approach is flexible and responsive, giving you the right level of support when you need it.

This resource does not replace our website, but should be used alongside it.

2. Understanding an EAL child

Children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) take around two years to acquire conversational fluency (BICS-Basic Interaction & Communication Skills), but five years or more to learn the type of English needed for academic success (CALP-Cognitive & Academic Language Processing).

Many bilingual children will have vocabulary gaps in English because they have not had the same foundations in the English language as their monolingual peers.  An EAL child might understand words like ‘precipitation’ due to good class teaching but struggle with words like ‘mist’ and ‘drizzle’, because those words might be assumed vocabulary for their age group and so have not been taught explicitly to the class.  EAL children need to learn in a linguistically rich environment where teachers plan for vocabulary extension and talk, within lessons, so these gaps are addressed.

A well-developed home language supports an EAL child to learn an additional language.  If a child has a wide vocabulary in their home language, they will start searching for a similarly wide vocabulary in their additional language – English.  Families should be encouraged to help their children develop their home languages to the highest possible level.

EAL children need to have solid foundation in English speaking and listening skills, and a reasonable grasp of vocabulary to make sense of written language.  It is unlikely that any teacher would expect a monolingual child who was unable to speak more than one or two words to develop as a reader without considerable practice in developing as a speaker.

In the early stages it is inappropriate to focus on teaching phonics without also teaching comprehension and supporting children to build their word banks. If the sounds or the vocabulary are unknown, the practice of decoding a word is likely to result in frustration on all sides; the child’s progress in phonics could be misleading in terms of their overall progress in learning English. The same is true of the teaching of high frequency words; these are quite often the words that EAL children miss out of their speech and written work due to the different ways that their home languages work. These words would need to be taught explicitly to EAL children within context.

New arrivals often come from varied linguistic backgrounds.  Some may have experienced a different language system but are literate in their home language (age-appropriate).  For these children some phonic input alongside keyword-sight recognition is necessary, to support language acquisition.

Some children will use the same language system, such as French or Spanish and be literate in their home language.  For these children, some explicit teaching of English sounds may be necessary.  For example, pronouncing ‘geografia’ in their home language, where the guttural ‘heh’ is used for ‘ge’ sound and is pronounced differently in English where we pronounce it ’je’ for Geography.

Some children may arrive with some knowledge of English already.  For these children, bilingual glossaries and word banks may be appropriate.  Some children may not be literate in their home language, so a mixture of approaches is suggested including phonics and sight words.

It is necessary to use the above strategies whilst developing their comprehension.  Glossaries, bilingual dictionaries, word banks and visual supports are necessary for all EAL children.   Keywords such as ‘is’, ‘and’, ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘but’, ‘he’ are quite often the words that EAL children miss out of their speech and written work due to the different ways that languages work.  Some languages do not use verb tenses, personal pronouns, articles, or punctuation.

Reading also requires children to make linguistic predictions about which words are likely to come next.  Most native English speakers would not experience difficulty in predicting the missing words from the following sentence: When she came home she took ___ _____ shoes and watched _____TV (off, her, the).  To read efficiently we all acquire this skill of predicting what is likely to come next.   Some bilingual children would have difficulty with the above exercise because their particular language does not use the article ‘the’, or personal possessive pronouns ‘her’.

You will find many resources on our bilingual resource page for many languages.

3. New Arrivals

A new EAL child to your establishment can bring many opportunities to develop the establishment’s cultural awareness and can also add a layer of complexity in how to support them during their transition.

Admissions

Devon county council has a central Admissions team, who would be happy to advise on the admissions process. Please contact them directly either through their website or by phone (0345 155 1019).

All children are entitled to 25hrs of education a week, a new arrivals language barrier should not be considered as a reason to not provide a school place. A school must not request immigration status information, as set out by the School applications for foreign national children and children resident outside England guidance.

Welcome Meeting

A good welcome meeting helps the child and their family feel comfortable, whilst giving them the opportunity to ask questions and gain an understanding of the establishment’s system.  It is also a chance for the establishment to begin to build a profile of the child and you can use our checklist to help you.

To welcome new arrivals you should:

• arrange a short meeting with the parents and an interpreter (if necessary) before the child joins and complete the bilingual and interpreter booking form.
• reassure parents that maintaining and developing their home language will support with learning English and enable the child to communicate with their extended family.
• check the pronunciation of children’s names.
• find out about the child’s prior learning experiences and their abilities in their home language.
• record cultural and religious information (customs, diet, festivals, worship).
• use this opportunity to inform the parents (and encourage them to ask questions) about the setting.
• complete a tour of the school and introduce them to key teachers and staff.
• introduce the child to a ‘buddy’ who will support the new arrival during the first few days.
• ensure that there is a recognised and understood system of communication between home and the establishment (home-book, reading diary, emailing or phone calls) and a key member of staff to communicate with the family. Regular communication is key.
• share key establishment information such as contact numbers, email addresses, pick-up/drop off location and timetables etc
• discuss free-school meals and if they are unable, support them in registering if appropriate.
• agree a start date and time.
• share information regarding school transport.
• discuss attendance and safeguarding.
• Maintained schools and EYFS attached to maintained schools can book free EAL clinics to access initial advisory support.

Attendance

The ‘rules’ for attendance in education establishments is different in most countries.  In order to prevent an EAL child from poor attendance it is vital that this is discussed clearly in the welcome meeting.

The discussion should contain information on:

• The expectations of the child’s attendance – such as that the child should be attending every day during the week and on time.
• What good attendance looks like and the importance of this.
• The establishment’s policy on attendance – rather than talking about percentages, use the number of days of absence that trigger certain steps in your policy.
• The establishment’s policy on holidays, religious events etc.
• The steps they should take, including the contact number, if their child is poorly. Some thought might need to be given about this, as the parents English might not be strong enough to explain an illness or other absence over the phone.  Creating some simple English sentences to give to them might help, or a strategy to interpret the messages that they leave with the establishment.

It is also crucial that a significant absence is followed up with an attendance meeting with an interpreter.   It is the establishment’s Equality duty to ensure that you have arranged an interpreter for any supportive meetings. Allowing absences to accumulate, will only confuse parents into thinking it is approved, impact a child’s education and be harder to maintain a good relationship.

Stress the importance of contacting your establishment on the first day of absence as in many countries, parents are required to provide a note after their child comes back to an education establishment.  Also gather information about cultural days that are important to the family.

If an EAL child is not accessing full time UK education please follow the usual process of making a referral to the Child missing in education team.

Safeguarding

Just like attendance, safeguarding will ‘look’ different or may even be non-existent in other countries’ education establishments.

It is important to explain:

• What safeguarding means
• What it ‘looks’ like in your establishment
• What is the process for a safeguarding concern
• Who is the DSL and what is their role
• How do parents report or raise a safeguarding concern

Be mindful that some families may have or be experiencing significant trauma, which has led them to be in England.  This topic does need to be discussed and made clear, but provide them with the opportunity to ask questions, check they have understood and if need be, give them time to collect their thoughts on their own before you continue.

Be aware that some EAL parents were educated in other countries with different child-protection systems/cultural contexts. Any safeguarding concerns should be clearly communicated and explained to families by arranging a meeting and providing a professional interpreter. Do not allow other family members, siblings or friends to act as an interpreter.

 Ensure you involve both parents. Due to the language barrier, some parents may feel reluctant to be part of the process, but it is important to engage both parents in any communication to get a full picture of the family.

Within your safeguarding policy, outline how EAL parents can communicate safeguarding concerns.  This can include steps to support the family in a disclosure.  Such as an initial key word/phrase in English, for example, ‘speak in private’, that will prompt the DSL to arrange a professional interpreter for the disclosure.  This should be shared with parents at the ‘welcome meeting’.  We suggest for disclosures that you contact interpreting agencies or Language Line directly for urgent interpreter services.

If you have concerns about a child being withdrawn, quiet or making very little progress, please contact EMTAS for further support.  Some difficulties that children experience can sometimes be misinterpreted as issues related to EAL rather than possible signs of neglect or abuse.

It is also important to ensure that your safeguarding policy makes this process clear.

Accessibility

You should embed a translation app, such as Google translate or Translate press on your school website, so that EAL parents can translate and read policies and key updates.

All parental letters should be translated or accessible using an online translation app. This is particularly crucial for safeguarding and attendance letters. EMTAS don’t do translations, please contact external interpreting agencies for this.

The ‘silent’ period

The silent period is a phase that some EAL children that are new to English will experience in some shape or form.  It can last for a few days, even a good few months.  During this time an EAL child will spend much of their time in your classrooms acclimatising to their new environment, observing and receiving a lot of input in a number of ways.  During this period staff shouldn’t expect the child to be producing language, but the focus should be on the child receiving and absorbing language.

How do we support the silent period?

To support a child during this period there needs to a great deal of comprehensible input. This can come in many forms that may include; visuals, slower/modified speech, materials and resources in the child’s home language, opportunities for group/collaborative work and a stress-free environment where the pressure to use productive skills is at a minimum.

Strategies to support the ‘silent’ period:

• Copying – It may not sound like a great strategy but for a new EAL child, copying can help them to understand things such as English syntax, letter and word formulation as well as giving them something to do whilst others are working independently.
• Visuals – It’s important to have visuals for all EAL child, and for the ‘silent’ period they do help to make meaning more comprehensible. Using visuals, you could ask a child to recreate the visuals by drawing their own pictures etc. They could label the visuals with a list of keywords given to them.
• Circling keywords – When the teacher is talking, the child could be given a set of keywords to listen out for. This then can be extended as the child can look the words up in a dictionary or use a translation app.  This is a great way to scaffold a lesson and their learning.
• Answering class questions through non-verbal gestures. Non-verbal gestures can be used by the child to communicate understanding.  They are also great tools for teachers to use to help make meaning comprehensible.
• Buddying – pairing the child with a similar home language buddy is a great idea during the ‘silent’ period or even a buddy with similar interests. It might be that the child will feel more comfortable working with their buddy, especially over time and it might mean that this is the first person that productive skills such as speaking are first used.
• Use of home language – the is a vast list to the benefits of supporting an EAL child to use their home language, but for the ‘silent’ period it can support the child emotionally and cognitively. Using their home language can build their self-esteem and help to break their ‘silence’.

4. Supporting refugee and asylum-seeking children

We work closely with local community groups supporting refugee children to settle well in Devon and be supported in schools to achieve their potential.  We are working with interpreting agencies, Refugee Support Devon, the Olive Tree, Open Doors, and Exeter City of Sanctuary to improve the support provided to families and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.  A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.  Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking arrivals

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are children under the age of 18 who having left their country due to war, violence or persecution is seeking asylum in the UK.  These children have been separated from their families and relatives and are placed in care where they are allocated foster homes. An asylum seeker in the UK will be seeking refugee status.  Devon UASC are a diverse group of children, with different cultural backgrounds and a wide range of languages.  English might have been taught within the education system of their country of origin.

For some UASC there might have been a complete interruption of education for a longer period of time owing to conflict.  Where a UASC arrives to Devon, an initial needs assessment should be conducted as quickly as possible.

UASCs that arrive in Devon have complex educational needs.  However, basic needs like physical health and safety, as well as psychological needs such as self-esteem and belongingness, provide the fundament for successful learning.

Supporting resources:

• Welcome guide for refugees – in various languages
• Caring for Children Moving Alone: Protecting Unaccompanied and Separated Children course – fully funded
• On our website you will find:
• UASC inclusion checklist
• Additional advice and support
• UASC backgrounds – A brief summary of the general educational and cultural backgrounds of our Devon UASCs.
• Useful websites and resources
• Supporting the emotional and mental health of UASC in schools
• Supporting the social and cultural needs of UASC
• Student Action for Refugees – Access to university through scholarships
• ESOL and EAL classes

You can find further information, including video’s and resources, on our website.

Ukrainian refugees

Devon schools have welcomed over 900 Ukrainian children. 

Supporting resources:

• Ukrainian learning platform
• On our website you will find:
• One minute guide to supporting Ukrainian pupils in school
• One minute guide to understanding Ukrainian culture
• One minute guide to understanding the Ukrainian education system
• One minute guide for parents/guardians on understanding the UK education system
• Resources and reading books

Further resources, including stories, videos, and assemblies can be found on our website.

5. Bilingual support

Imagine how it feels to join a new education establishment but not understanding what your teacher is saying in class, or what the principal is talking about in an assembly, or what the other children are calling in the playground.  Imagine this is your child and you can’t explain to the teacher that they are scared, or is a gifted musician, or is struggling with Maths.

Bilingual support workers can bridge that gap for parents and children who are new to English.  They can support bilingual children in reaching their potential and showing what they can really do.  Bilingual support workers help our bilingual children access the curriculum, improve their use of English and provide pastoral support.

Bilingual support workers also run a bilingual support programmes.

Our bilingual support workers speak Polish, Romanian, Ukrainian, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Russian, Latvian, Arabic and Bulgarian.  They are all highly qualified and experienced.

We also provide interpreter support for establishment meetings and exams.

Bilingual support programme

Our bilingual support programme provides support for the teacher and child at the crucial “settling- in” stage.

Initially a 12hr package will be arranged to support a new arrival or a child who is underachieving. This can include:

• initial interview with parents, teacher, and child
• supporting the child, 1:1 or in class for four sessions x 3 hours*
• use induction checklist (and interview checklist) as guidelines for support
• provide support for parents, teacher and child
• write sessional visit notes
• communicate with parents

If after an initial 6hrs of bilingual support the Bilingual support worker feels the child’s EAL proficiency is ‘developing competence (C)’ and there are no concerns, then the bilingual support then the bilingual support will cease.

However, if towards the end of the 12hrs, the Bilingual support worker feels their EAL proficiency is still below ‘developing competence (C)’ and/or there are other language development concerns, not SEND related then the EMTAS team will offer an additional 6hrs of bilingual support at a later date.

* this may vary according to need, availability and travel distance. This also may include group work.

To request this support please complete the Bilingual and interpreter support booking form.  We will be unable to support you before this form has been completed as it forms part of our own safeguarding measures.

6. EAL Proficiency Assessments

EAL Proficiency describes how a child is acquiring their new language – English.  Having an understanding of a child’s proficiency in English when they start and through their time with you, will be key to implementing support and classroom strategies.  It also demonstrates the progress the child is making in key areas such as;

• speaking
• listening and understanding
• reading
• writing and grammar
• personal independence, social and emotional development (EYFS only)

Our EAL proficiency assessment tool is matched to the EAL proficiency markers set out by the DFE in 2016.  This is designed to help teachers identify EAL levels across the different key stages, with key skills in mind.

The assessment tool contains guidance on EAL teaching strategies, as well as sample resources and lesson plan ideas.  We recommend you familiarise yourself with the assessment for the child’s correct Key Stage. These can be done through daily activities and tasks.  They don’t need to be done as a ‘test’ and descriptors can be ticked off as when they are observed.  The assessment booklet should be shared with all staff that are supporting the child, this is so they are able to ‘tick’ any observed descriptors.  If the classroom is not providing the opportunity to observe a proficiency descriptor, then the teacher or EAL co-ordinator can arrange a task to cover that area.

EAL proficiency should be on-going and properly reviewed at least termly to track the child’s development and set new targets.  We suggest that you highlight two or three areas for improvement and set achievable targets that inform the teacher’s planning and differentiation.

It is also important to understand that, although a child might be fluent by the end of KS1, a KS2 EAL proficiency assessment should still be undertaken, as there will be new English and subject expectations.

EAL proficiency levels

If the child has achieved different descriptors in different levels of a key skill, it would be best to use the lowest level as this is an area that could be preventing the child from fully accessing the curriculum. This would allow you to implement specific support for the child to move on.  This should also be followed when reviewing the overall descriptor.

 Additional key things to note

Child’s background – The first part of the assessment is to find out more about the child; the child’s home language literacy levels, ability in different subjects, previous school experience and how well developed the home language is will influence how teachers plan to support them.  Please book an interpreter for the initial meeting if needed and complete the Background Information Form on pg.2 of the KS1 & KS2 assessments.

Descriptor – the proficiency descriptors are used to assess language acquisition, to set appropriate language learning targets and measure how much the child is able to access the curriculum.  It is to be noted that while most bilingual children progress rapidly through the first two stages, many struggle to surpass the ‘developing competence’ stage and may not reach competence, or fluency, unless supported through specific interventions, which extend and explicitly teach language acquisition.

Resources – you should complete the assessment through observation and completion of school-based activities.

Setting targets – when you observe or have evidence of a child reaching a target, simply ‘tick’, date and set new targets by highlighting 2-3 areas which need improvement.  Set achievable targets regularly and use them to inform your planning and how you differentiate for that child’s needs.

Stages of language acquisition

Learning a new language is not a linear progress, however there are usually some clear stages, demonstrated below.

7. Strategies for classroom support

It is important to tailor any strategies for the individual.  Many strategies that you might use to support a non-EAL child with communication and interaction can also support EAL children.

The internet has a wealth of resources to support this, including Twinkl and our own website.

Professor Stephen Krashan clearly demonstrates the importance of modelling language.  You can watch a video of him demonstrating this and we suggest you start 2 minutes into the video.

Developing children’s language can be achieved through a range of strategies or activities.  It is important to remember that every child will develop language at their own pace. Adults play an important role in developing children’s vocabulary and communication skills.  The continued development of their home language should be encouraged in the classroom and at home.

Strategy ideas for Early Years

Young children’s language learning needs can be sometimes overlooked because it is assumed that they will ‘pick up’ all language skills naturally however, second language acquisition is a complex process which requires well planned strategies.

To extend language:

• label items
• narrate their play
• tell stories using puppets
• repeat
• use visual aids

To develop communication:

• self-talk – talk what you are doing, model the language.
• parallel talk – talk about what the child is doing “you are painting a lovely picture, is it your house?”
• modelling – this is teaching new structures or vocabulary in meaningful context. “I like these teddies, do you like the big teddy or the small teddy? I like the small teddy.”
• OWL – observe, wait, listen-observe them, try to understand their behaviour. Ensure they have additional time to think and prepare their answer.

During songs and stories:

• use repetitive language
• use pictures/photos and large books
• provide concrete visual support where possible
• encourage retelling of stories, using gestures, body language, and tone of voice
• use books and music from other cultures
• use dual-language books to value child’s home language

Using game and play time helps to:

• involves taking turns
• introduces new vocabulary and concepts
• encourages social skills
• provides motivation to list and speak.

Strategy ideas for primary and secondary

Many strategies mentioned above will have their place in supporting primary and secondary EAL children

Additional strategies:

• a good induction – welcome meeting, buddy, key person etc
• child profile – creating a child profile or passport will support staff in knowing more about the child
• visuals and support materials – this can be images of the topic or graphic organisers to help support the organisation of information.
• technology – using translation apps and online learning platforms
• bilingual support and intervention
• stress free environment
• modelling
• engaging prior knowledge
• use of home language

8. Parental engagement

Parental engagement is paramount to children’s educational experience, attendance and academic performance.  All schools should encourage parental and community involvement by:

• providing a welcome induction meeting for all newly arrived children and their families
• providing interpreters, where appropriate and available, to ensure two-way communication
• identifying linguistic, cultural and religious background information on children’s arrival
• celebrating and acknowledging the achievements of EAL children in the wider community
• recognising and encouraging the use of home language
• helping parents understand how they can support their children at home
• working with EAL families and ensuring language is not a barrier to effective partnership

When parents’ culture, religion and background are recognised, they feel appreciated and valued. Ensure you engage parents in all school and community activities.

Parents can support your school with resources and with cultural celebration days. Remember, an ongoing communication is crucial. If you require an interpreter, please complete our booking form.

What advice you should give to parents about bilingualism

There are approximately 3.3 billion bilingual people worldwide, accounting for 43% of the population, with a further 17% being multilingual. This means that more than half of the population can speak more than one language fluently!

There are many good reasons for raising children bilingually. Most importantly, it’s family and personal reasons but research has shown that children who are fluent in two or more languages also have cognitive advantages in comparison to native speaking children.

Well developed first language supports development of additional language. Second language should never replace children’s first language. It should develop alongside it.

Children need continuous and enriched exposure to their home language if they are to acquire full competence. They need to be involved in using the language, not just hearing the language.

It is crucial to ensure they are motivated to use their home language. EAL children sometimes prefer to use the language that other children around them are using and they may be reluctant to continue to use their home language. By joining playgroups or visiting friends and family who speak the same home language may encourage children to maintain the connection.

• Encourage and praise your child’s attempts to speak in their home language
• Keep using your home language with your child as much as you can
• Use stories, songs and watch TV in your home language

9. Vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of the key building blocks in learning a new language and EAL children of all ages and at all stages of English language proficiency need additional support to increase their vocabulary.

Vocabulary grows very quickly especially over the first twelve years of life. Bilingual children usually know less words in each of their languages than do native speaking children but this difference disappears when we calculate their vocabulary across both/all of their languages.

Often parents and professional have concerns about the language development of bilingual children but it is important to remember that they are getting multiple language inputs and they have to learn the vocabulary, grammar, and differences between two separate language systems.

Every bilingual child learns language differently, depending on the exposure amount, use of their languages at home, and their community. But hearing more words gives children more opportunity to learn a language.

Oxford Language report (2018) shows that children with lower levels of vocabulary are more likely to suffer from low self-esteem, show negative behaviour, have worse attendance and less likely to stay in education therefore supporting vocabulary acquisition should be a whole school focus.

It is vital to understand the vocabulary EAL children need to acquire and address the challenges of their word gap.

Strategies to support vocabulary development:

• Identify vocabulary gaps and arrange 1:1 or small group vocabulary intervention sessions
• Invest in CPD and learn how to support EAL children with vocabulary development
• Teach vocabulary explicitly in all subjects
• Provide parents with advice about vocabulary teaching strategies
• Provide scaffolding support
• Display new vocabulary
• Use visual prompts
• Encourage regular reading
• Include discussion in all lessons

10. Toxic stress and trauma

Moving to a new school is traumatic enough for any child, but for an EAL child this can be even more daunting.  Often, they have also experienced additional trauma such as conflict.

Prolonged trauma can be cause Toxic stress.  Toxic stress impact the brain and can result in brain damage for growing minds, often presenting as delayed thinking, behaviour difficulties and other mental health concerns.

This video goes into greater depth of the changes of the brain following and during Toxic stress.

International Rescue Committee have a programme called Healing Classrooms, which really focuses on classrooms being trauma informed, whilst supporting children with trauma, as well as developing the whole class emotional literacy.

If you have any concerns over a child’s mental health you should follow the usual pathways to access support, the same as you would for a non-EAL child.

11. EAL or SEN?

Some children may have experienced a different way of teaching in their previous education establishment and therefore might not be fulfilling their potential.  We also know that bilingual children are no more likely to have special educational needs than any other child.

All teachers and practitioners should use the EAL proficiency assessment to track a child’s progress and set language learning targets regularly.

The process of identifying potential SEN for an EAL child can be quite complex.  There is no single assessment that considers all factors, including linguistic and cultural factors.  Therefore, it is recommended that very careful consideration should be given to the identification of SEN in EAL children. Some EAL children go through a ‘silent period’ and every child needs time to acquire their additional language.

If an EAL child is showing challenging or concerning behaviour, an inability to express themselves, not making friends, or making no progress in their language acquisition, then you should refer to our Devon guidance pathway to SEN identification in bilingual children.

Staff need to be aware and mindful that:

• the EAL child may know some things in one language, but not in the other
• there may be aspects of the curriculum that they have not experienced before
• many EAL families may limit using their home language when they arrive in the UK
• some EAL families may find it hard to maintain their first language
• young children’s expectations in speaking and listening exchanges varies from culture to culture.

You also need to take into consideration emotional and behavioural difficulties that may arise because of:

• the experiences the children have been through
• the anxiety caused by being in new surroundings away from home
• frustration at not being able to express ability/needs/personality due to EAL
• some cultural differences (for example: rough play seen as acceptable or respectful traits such as lack of eye contact)

Generally speaking, children learning an additional language can become conversationally fluent in the new language in 1-2 years (BICS-Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) but it may take 5-7 years or longer to catch up with monolingual peers in the development of CALP – the Cognitive Academic Language needed to succeed academically (Cummins 2002).

There may be cause for concern if the child exhibits ongoing difficulties such as:

• Lack of response
• Problem with listening
• Lack of oral expression
• Progress concerns
• Slow reading progress
• Writing difficulties
• Behavioural, emotional or social difficulties

Use our EAL or SEN checklist to help ‘unpack’ and identify any possible additional needs.

Reviewing support

It is important to begin your usual Graduated response if you have any concerns over progress or development of an EAL child, this will help collate evidence.  You can start answering some key questions about their rate of progress, review of current practice and identify limiting factors.

• Are the tasks and instructions appropriate for the child’s EAL Level?
• Is the content of the curriculum culturally familiar?
• Has the child received appropriate EAL specialist support?
• How long has the child been learning English?
• Has the child had the usual sensory and physical screening?
• Are you familiar with the child’s attendance?
• Has the child developed age-appropriate literacy skills in their home language?

It should also be established whether the child has attended an education establishment in their home country and the number of years schooling received in their home language.  Are there any other factors that may be causing the difficulties?  For example, cultural shock or trauma.

Home Language Assessment

An EMTAS home language assessment (HLA) can provide you with a fuller picture of bilingual children’s home language skills and enable you to make a comparison between the child’s levels of competence in their first language versus English.

Some children go through a ‘silent period’ and every child needs time to acquire their additional language, so it is important that a HLA is not requested straight away, but after at least 3 months.

If you have already identified that there are SEN for a child, including undiagnosed needs, then a HLA is not appropriate and you should follow the usual pathways for support and diagnosis.  This is also the case if you have started the process for an EHCP application. We often find that establishments struggle to understand the place of a HLA, so we do ask for further information, to decide whether it is appropriate.

A HLA consists of a in depth feedback form from the establishment, a trained EMTAS team member working with the child 1:1 (sometimes with an interpreter) and a written report with strategies.

If you have analysed all required information/evidence (including the EAL/SEN checklist) and reviewed your current provision and you still have concerns about the child, please complete a Home language assessment referral form.  It is vital that at this stage that as much information is given within the form and any incomplete forms, or areas marked as ‘unknown’ by the establishment will be returned for full completion.

12. Bullying, prejudice and racism incidents (BPRI)

EAL children report to us that they experience bullying, prejudice and racism in their establishment.  The impact these negative experiences have on a child is vast, impacting on their mental health, engagement, self-esteem and studies.

Your establishment has a duty to manage and deal with all BPRIs appropriately.  Once these have been dealt with you should have regular check-ins with the child to ensure that they feel safe, and no further occurrences have taken place.

You should also report any incidents of bullying, racism and prejudice to the local authority.  You can view the BPRI resource, that contains a wealth of information, resources, support and the link to the reporting platform.

13. Training and CPD opportunities

We will deliver various training opportunities throughout the year.  Training opportunities for 23/24 academic year can be booked via the Devon Education Services shop. We can also offer bespoke training sessions to primary and secondary schools, and early years settings.

We are also delivering webinars on Key inset days and twilights dates to support schools in allocating time to improve their awareness and skills regarding EAL, Traveller support and equality.

These webinars are fully funded for Devon maintained schools and Early Years settings (attached to maintained schools), excluding Plymouth.  They are also heavily discounted for all other schools and settings.

All schools can purchase training on these topics, including bespoke training on different dates, for in-person/online training.

The training will be delivered online via Microsoft Teams and we will cover the following topics:

 Bullying, prejudice, and racism training
This whole school interactive training session initiates the discussion of staff’s understanding of bullying, prejudice and racism, whilst supporting the use of our BPRI guidance.

Closing the EAL word gap
Vocabulary is one of the key building blocks in learning a new language and EAL learners of all ages and at all stages of English language proficiency need additional support to increase their vocabulary. Bilinguals will have different strategies and needs to English as a first language children so join us to find out more. This is suitable KS2 and KS3.

Supporting EAL writers
This is a workshop for primary teachers working with EAL learners who struggle to write despite being able to communicate. It considers latest research (2015,Victoria Murphy) which illustrates that children with EAL, even when matched on language skills to native-speaking children, still show key differences on their written compositions in relation to native-speaking children.

Improving EAL support
An introduction to understanding an EAL learner and how best to support them in the classroom.

Equality, diversity and inclusion awareness
An introduction to raising awareness of equality, diversity and supporting your setting to be fully inclusive.

Supporting EAL children in the Early Years 
An increasing number of children in Early Years settings are learning English as an additional language. There is no doubt about the importance that language plays in the lives of children.  Language develops rapidly in the early years and all young children, including children learning EAL, benefit from good quality provision which focuses on interaction and the development of communication skills. This training session is aimed at Early Years practitioners working with children who are learning EAL.

Gypsy, Roma, Traveller and Showman (GRTS) Awareness training
Have a better understanding of the barriers which effect Traveller families in accessing education and have an improved awareness of how to engage effectively with these communities.

14. Accessing Support from EMTAS

In order to provide consistency of support across Devon, we have implemented a new way of providing advice, support and training.

For maintained schools and early-year settings attached to maintained schools, you can still book clinic appointments, to access dedicated support.  We have simplified this process so that you no longer have to complete any forms prior to booking a clinic appointment.

Quick links:

• EAL Bilingual support and Interpreter booking form
• EAL advisory consultancy
• EAL clinic booking – for maintained and EYFS attached to maintained only

Schools no longer need to register new arrivals with us, however, if you would like support please use the links above.

Funding

It is useful to understand how EAL support is funded in your school.  Every year the government allocates EAL funding to your school in your yearly budget.   This is a set formula for primary and secondary and is calculated based on the total number on roll, including non EAL children.  This funding should be allocated to supporting your EAL children and future arrivals.

Maintained schools have already allocated our support within the wider DCC budget and therefore this support is fully funded.

Early Years settings which are attached to maintained schools can access our clinics. We also offer resources and dedicated EAL in Early Years website with further guidance.

All other establishments, such as academies, independent early years settings, special and independent schools you need to invest in our support and to give you a general guide to costings we have outlined some key areas of support below.

Please visit the Devon education services shop to purchase support.