Do you or your children speak English as an Additional Language (EAL)? Please take the time to read the information on this page which might help you understand what support is available in school for you and your child.
English as an Additional Language (EAL)
Any pupil that speaks a language in addition to English at home falls into the EAL category. This means it includes children who were born in the UK and speak English fluently but they also speak another language at home. In addition, it includes recently arrived immigrants who speak little or no English at all.
The current definition of EAL includes bilingual children who are fluent English speakers and new migrants who may not speak English at all. Crucially, it gives no indication of a pupil’s proficiency in the English language.
- Our school has well over 80% of EAL students.
- Our largest ethnic groups are – Indian, Somali, Sri Lankan Tamil and Pakistani.
- Our key language groups are Gujarati, Somali and Tamil.
Inclusion and Equality of opportunities
At Alperton Community School we uphold the principles of Inclusion and Equality of Opportunities where all students, no matter what their ethnic and cultural backgrounds, have the right to access the curriculum to achieve their full potential, feel valued and participate in the life of our school.
Teaching staff and Teaching Assistants support the learning and teaching of students who are new to English. The school believes in inclusive Quality First Teaching and teachers are expected to meet the needs of all students in the classroom irrespective of which group they belong to. An extensive PD programme & rigorous monitoring of T&L is in place to ensure quality first teaching so that the needs of all groups of students are met within the classroom and all groups of students achieve and make progress.
Staff ensure that all EAL students:-
- have equality of opportunity accessing the curriculum
- are included in all aspects of the school life
- progress in line with our high expectations, both in English and other curriculum areas
- feel welcome, supported and valued
- reach their full potential
The following support may be offered to students who have English as an additional language:-
- Two weeks induction programme for any student new to the country who has no or very little English on entry.
- Extra English Withdrawal Support.
- In-Class Support by Bi-lingual Teaching Assistants.
- After School EAL Homework Club.
- Accelerated Reader Intervention.
- Form Time Reading Intervention.
- Home School communication in the First Language.
- Interpreter Support during Parent Evenings & School meetings.
- London Fire Brigade Intervention Programme.
- EAL students also have easy reading books in the library to improve their reading.
- EAL resources like Bilingual Dictionaries, language software and reading materials can be accessed by students.
We use the B1 to B9 scales as starting points before students move up to the new GCSE 1 to 9 scales.
office@alperton.brent.sch.uk
s.panchal@alperton.brent.sch.uk
Volunteering
We value involvement from parents in order to raise attainment of EAL students. We welcome volunteers to support our work with students during and after school, for example, helping with homework or listening to students read. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer in our school, please contact Mrs. Panchal whose contact details are above.
Useful Links
Language learning and useful grammar activities to use:
