Supporting pupils with EAL
The Key for School Leaders
Five strategic priorities for EAL leadership
Diane Leedham, an education consultant and former local authority lead for EAL, offers guidance on EAL leadership.
1. Profile individual EAL learners and
understand their context 3. Manage EAL provision including proficiency
targets, in-class support, interventions
The Guiding Principles of EAL Assessment (see further reading) gives
a succinct, research-informed overview of the confidential contextual
information which supports planning and provision for each EAL learner,
such as their prior education and first language proficiency and literacy.
Parents may also have information about special education needs or
disability concerns or previous support, which should then be discussed
with the special educational needs co-ordinator. The best context to acquire both curriculum knowledge and subject-
specific language is in a mainstream lesson, and EAL learners should
always be placed in the highest ability set possible. However, new
arrivals may need a curriculum-focused induction period and intensive
language support in the early stages, while any proficiency group may
benefit from additional in-class interventions and/or booster classes
with a specific language focus to support their curriculum learning.
The EAL lead should have the overview of all profile information,
some of which may be highly sensitive, and manage what is shared
with teachers and other professionals. 4. Work with teachers to develop their EAL
pedagogy and language-aware teaching
You should make a clear distinction between the confidential
profile information you collect to support best provision for an
individual learner in your setting and the data returned to DfE via
the school census. Parents should always be told the purposes and
destinations of the personal details collected from them and their
right to withhold or disclose information.
2. Set up and sustain EAL proficiency
assessment and tracking
The DfE requires an annual return of proficiency codes for EAL
learners on an A-E scale via the school census January collection.
However, the descriptors provided by the DfE are very broad and
you will need to select a more detailed model for proficiency tracking
and target setting in school.
It is wise to consider a language performance portfolio in different
contexts, including first language proficiency and literacy, and avoid
a single test approach in order to:
• Establish a baseline assessment for a new arrival
• Revisit a proficiency code given by another setting
• Update a learner’s proficiency code for the January data
When EAL learners fail to make necessary progress, this is often
linked to a complex intersection of factors such as first language,
ethnicity and social context, but lack of proficiency in English is the
most significant risk factor for EAL outcomes. Children with EAL will
need to make accelerated progress in both English p roficiency and
curriculum learning in order to catch up with their peers.
Classroom and subject teachers have the most significant impact
on pupil outcomes via their subject-specific use of EAL teaching and
learning strategies. Although translation and first language use may
be supportive in some contexts, it’s vital to prioritise new curriculum
learning and the development of appropriate subject-specific
language in English. EAL pedagogy should provide access to
curriculum knowledge, cognitive challenge (whatever the proficiency)
and language development.
5. Support multilingualism, inclusion and
parental/community engagement
Simultaneous bilingualism is the best cognitive outcome for any
EAL learner. It’s important for schools to encourage EAL learners
to sustain and develop their L1 proficiency, for example through
bilingual book clubs, multilingual creativity or involvement in a
first language supplementary school. You should also monitor the
participation of EAL learners in school clubs and activities, and
encourage integration and enrichment through shared interests.
Further reading
The Guiding Principles of EAL Assessment
https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/centres/networks/cricle/documents/
Guiding%20Principles%20of%20EAL%20Assessment.pdf
EAL Nexus
https://eal.britishcouncil.org
Collaborative Learning
http://www.collaborativelearning.org
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