EAL

We celebrate that some of our children speak more than one language. We carefully monitor and track the progress of pupils with EAL and recognise that they may require additional support to acquire the same competence in English (speaking, listening, comprehension and writing) as in their home language(s). This support is provided in class through carefully differentiated work and, where appropriate, through the additional support and specific teaching with a teaching assistant. Children who are learning English as an additional language have skills and knowledge about language equal to monolingual English-speaking children. Their ability to participate in the full curriculum may be in advance of their communicative skills in English.

At Senacre Wood Primary School teachers take action to help children who are learning English as an additional language by various means such as;

• ensuring that vocabulary work covers the technical as well as the everyday meaning of key words, metaphors and idioms;
• displaying key vocabulary and using visual prompts
• Using resources such as Talking Tins, speaking texts and supportive IPad apps and computer programmes.
• Ensuring that there are effective opportunities for talking, scaffolding frames for helping to structure sentences and talk. Talking is used to support writing;
• encouraging children to transfer their knowledge, skills and understanding of one language to another;