EAL: English as an additional language
EAL Policy
Our EAL Philosophy
Our school values its diverse community and we have introduced some new measures this year, to ensure we offer appropriate support for new families and for those children who are developing their English language skills.
It is worth noting, studies show that whilst children are acquiring a new language, it is important that they continue to use their home language, so that they can build solid foundations of grammar and vocabulary, which will help them as they develop in the second or subsequent language.
When children join Westcourt, after an initial settling in period where they will be supported with visual resources if needed, we will complete a low-key assessment to inform the teacher as to what ongoing support will be needed. This helps us to track the child's journey to learning English, matching the right resources with the right stage of development. We are building a comprehensive pool of resources, including digital tools like EMAS, which will help us to communicate effectively with your child, building their confidence and enabling them to show their strengths.
If you would like to discuss your child's needs, you may do this by using the contact form.
In the event that your child can't attend school, there is a link below to a comprehensive list of resources, websites and programmes that they can access. Teachers will also set work and we will lend EAL resources out for you to use at home, these will include games and toys designed to encourage the development of language.
https://mk0bellfoundatiw1chu.kinstacdn.com/app/uploads/2020/09/List-of-resources-for-home-learning.pdf
A guidance leaflet for parents is available in the following languages and we will be happy to send you either a printed or digital version of this:
Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese, Gujarati, Italian, Latvian, Lituanian, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu.
If the language you require is not listed above, we can summarise it in a number of additional languages
Please use the contact form below to make your request, or to seek any other support.