EAL
We know how hard it can be to start a new school surrounded by a language you are not familiar with or one that is different from the one you speak at home. We take this into account with our learners and strive to support them as much as we can.
What does EAL mean?
EAL stands for English as an Additional Language, this is a term used for any bilingual or multilingual child.
Please click here for links in assisting your child to develop their English skills.
Pupils learning EAL will include:
- New arrivals with little or no previous educational experience
- Pupils who are acquiring English with limited exposure to formal education in their first language
- More advanced bilingual learners including pupils with a number of years’ exposure to English whose specific language learning needs have been overlooked
- Pupils who arrive from overseas with good educational backgrounds but who have varying levels of proficiency in English, and who need to catch-up quickly.
We are here to support you in this new experience of leaving and educating your children in the UK.
- Providing Guided Tours of the school, clarifying the English education system and how everything works in everyday school life.
- We have free workshops for parents in literacy and maths in order to introduce you to the schools learning policies and teaching methods.
We offer support for both you and your child with extra help in learning:
- Advice about any courses available in your local area
- Language interventions (for example Guided Reading, Talking Partners, Talk 4 Writing).
- Community coffee mornings for EAL and Pupil Premium parents, every Tuesday in the main hall 8.45-9.45am. We use these coffee mornings as a platform for the parents to meet other international parents, with similar experiences of moving into a foreign country, and also to establish any needs parents may have, for example housing advice, letter translation, support with filling application forms, organising interpreters for parents' evenings and supporting parents with their children's learning.
Naldic is a leading EAL website with up to date research and links to resources – click on the below link.
Multicultural Community
We are a strong multicultural community; we are celebrating this diversity continuously throughout the year and most specifically through an International Week & Food Sale both of which owe much to the efforts of our parents and carers. During this week we focus on teaching the children about the world around us and invite parents in to share with us their experiences of other countries and heritages.
We also have our language celebration week where we focus on different languages and invite parents in to share theirs. This is an exciting time for the children as they enjoy the visitors and the opportunity to learn some new words.