EAL

Our Commitment to EAL Learners

At Scotts Primary School, we celebrate the cultural and linguistic diversity of our pupils and families. We recognise the cognitive, social, and academic benefits of speaking more than one language and see bilingualism and multilingualism as valuable strengths. Our pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) come from a wide range of backgrounds, and we support each child as an individual, ensuring their unique experiences, strengths, and needs are understood and met.

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Supporting New EAL Pupils and Families

We want every new pupil and their family to feel welcome and confident from the moment they join us. Our induction process ensures a smooth, positive transition and focuses on building strong home–school partnerships. It includes:

• Pre-admission information gathering to understand the child’s background, prior schooling, languages spoken, interests, and any specific needs.

• Sharing key information with class teachers so appropriate pastoral and academic support can be prepared in advance.

• Preparing the class or year group for the arrival of a new pupil, helping create a welcoming environment.

• Assigning trained peer buddies to support the new child with routines, social interactions, and confidence.

• Observation and informal assessments during the first weeks to understand how the child learns and communicates.

• Assessment of language proficiency using the DfE Primary Language Codes.

• Additional induction or pastoral support where needed, including opportunities for bilingual communication where possible.

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Teaching and Learning for EAL Pupils

Our teachers use a range of evidence-based strategies to ensure that pupils with EAL can access the full curriculum and achieve highly. These include:

• Clear visual support, modelled language, and scaffolding.

• Opportunities for speaking and listening in meaningful contexts.

• Pre-teaching and reinforcement of key vocabulary.

• Collaborative learning opportunities to build both language and confidence.

• Purposefully planned resources.

A buddy system is used to help new pupils understand daily routines and to support positive social integration. 

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Targeted Support and Monitoring

Pupils who are new to English or in the early stages of language development are identified using the DfE Primary Code assessments. Those who require additional support receive tailored intervention focused on language development and access to learning.

The progress of pupils with EAL is tracked closely by class teachers, phase leaders and the Senior Leadership Team. This allows us to review provision regularly and ensure that every child makes strong progress, both socially and academically.

 

Languages in our School 

We are proud of the range of different languages spoken within our school community and respect the rich cultural heritage and language expertise these bring to our school.  At the time of writing our pupils can speak over 41 different languages!

Many staff within our school can also speak a range of languages, including Bulgarian, Russian, German, French, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Spanish and Persian/Farsi.