The term EAL is used when referring to students for whom the mother language at home is not English. This policy sets out the School’s aims, objectives and strategies with regard to meeting the needs and celebrating the skills of EAL student, helping them to achieve the highest possible standards.
Loxford is a 3 - 19 all through school with a large number of student whose first language is not English and a number who arrive in the UK with very little if any previous experience of education. Our aim is that all students will become increasingly independent as they progress through Loxford each year and are able to fulfil their academic potential both here and beyond, in whatever culture they choose to study and work. The vast majority of students will progress to either a British college or university, and it is with this in mind that we wish to make their time at Loxford as productive and inclusive as possible.
Assessment
Students in year 11 will be entered for all public examinations including English, Mathematics and Science and any option subjects that they have studied during Years 10 & 11. The majority of examinations are linear and examination papers are taken at set dates. Some subjects may involve the production of a coursework folder which will be graded by the subject teacher and be included in the final grade awarded by the examining body.
Screening/Baseline Assessment of Students
All Y7 students that join the school in September are required to undertake the CAT’s Test. The tests are conducted at the beginning of Y7 and mean scores are populated onto marksheets. The results are an indicator of the students Loxford Grouping (1*, 1, 2 or 3) and a measure to compare with KS2 results.
- All new casual admissions are offered an Initial English Test to assess the level of writing, speaking, reading and listening English measured against the DFE codes: A, B, C, D and E.
- Students that have been assessed as code A or B will be offered intervention
- The purpose of the initial assessment is to assess the students’ level of English language so that EAL can offer any support and meet their needs.
All A, B and some C students are tested each term to monitor their English proficiency. This is measured against the DFE codes to ascertain the progress and what changes have taken effect during the term. Our termly tracking cycle will help in identifying and further support or change in students’ needs that may arise, for example as a change in subject choices in Y9 when they make option choices.
Foundation Stage
In the EYFS pupils learning of English as an additional language evolves:
- Building on children’s experiences of language at home, and in the wider community, so that their developing use of English and of other languages support each other
- Providing a range of opportunities for children to engage in speaking and listening activities in English with peers and adults
- Support them in acquiring vocabulary and extending it further
- Providing a variety of activities to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing in English, enabling them to communicate with peers and teachers inside and outside the classroom, in order to meet individual needs
EAL students are involved in a number of extra-curricular activities and events.
Every year the Modern Foreign Languages department celebrates the European Day of Languages. This is championed throughout the school with class activities which serve to highlight the cultural and linguistic diversity of Loxford. The key focus of these activities is to celebrate this diversity and recognise how multiculturalism enhances the school and wider community.
One of the advantages of Loxford being a 3 to 18 school is the opportunity this presents for EAL students of all ages to get together and speak in their home language. Secondary students welcome the chance to engage with their younger counterparts in the primary and help them become part of the Loxford community.
The department works with the Loxford Wider Schools Manager and the Redbridge EMA team to create and develop links with parents, the community and international partners.
- All students will follow the Loxford curriculum model. The school will provide texts and resources that suit the students’ ages and levels of learning
- Where appropriate, EAL students will be supported in lesson by a Sixth Form student volunteering in the role of Language Ambassador, who shares the same first language and whose support enables the EAL student to complete tasks with understanding.
- Where necessary, for older children or for those who are functioning at one or more levels behind that which could be expected for their age and time in school, withdrawal support will take place for a set period of time to address specific language or learning focus.
Students engage in practical, meaningful and purposeful activities that will promote English language learning both inside and outside the classroom.
Students revise and learn new vocabulary and develop an awareness of the grammatical and phonological aspects of English.
Teachers will meet with parents at the end of the 6 week programme to talk about students’ progress and to give advice on which areas to focus and work out strategies for supporting them at home. Students will be assessed regularly throughout the course. They will take a progress test after the first three weeks and at the end of the 6 weeks. Both tests will cover listening, speaking, reading and writing. The four auricular skills are assessed as follow:
Listening: a set of listening tasks of different challenge level to measure the student’s ability to understand short passages in clear standard English spoken at normal pace, picking the main points on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc., including short narratives.
Speaking: assessing the ability to answer simple questions, initiate and respond to simple statements in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics studied in class. Developing the ability to adapt models successfully to give own simple opinions
Reading: assessing the ability to recognise and understand familiar words (including own name if new to reading or to Roman script) on displays and notices in the classroom and school; developing the ability to identify sound-symbol correspondence at word level; understanding the use of commas, full stops and other frequently used punctuation marks when reading.
Writing: assessing the ability to write simple phrases about themselves, as well as the ability to
follow and reproduce examples of layout for subjects across the curriculum (e.g. title, subheadings, new page).
Constructing sentences independently and subsequently starting to combine sentences to produce paragraphs in relation to their past experience or immediate environment (e.g. people, places, schools)
EAL teachers will be happy to meet with parents, as other teachers do, by arrangement through the Form Tutor, YCT and ATL. Parents are encouraged to communicate via email or telephone contact with the Form Tutor and the EAL CTL as they wish. Soon after the pupil has been admitted at Loxford, parents are invited to an initial meeting during which they have the opportunity to discuss targets and strategies to support their child at home with the acquisition of the English language through a smooth and fast process. Parents are invited to an initial meeting during which they have the opportunity to discuss their child’s targets and strategies. A support summary document will be created containing specific information which subject teachers will use and incorporate into their planning to ensure greater success. The EAL CTL’s will monitor these students progress through the half termly impact documents.
Parents are encouraged to ensure that their child carry out daily reading activities for at least 20 – 30 minutes a day, as well as to support him/her in completing homework tasks regularly. Parents will be instructed on which strategies work best for the progress of their child. Ongoing contacts are kept with parents in order to make them aware of the pupil’s academic achievement, progress and need.
- Oversee initial assessment of pupils’ standard of English as necessary
- Give guidance and support to set targets and plan appropriate work. Provide an SSS where appropriate.
- Monitor standards of teaching and learning of pupils with EAL
- Monitor progress and identify learning difficulties that may be masked by EAL and liaise with the SENCO
