ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE (EAL) POLICY

Transcription

1 ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE (EAL) POLICY This policy is in keeping with the school s aims, its teaching and learning policy and its policy on educational inclusion. The governing body and staff of The Beacon School will ensure that all students enjoy a broad, balanced and relevant education which meets individual needs. This policy focuses on the language and learning needs of students who have English as an additional language. We believe that all bilingual students with English as an Additional Language are entitled to equal opportunities of educational success. The Special Needs Department will monitor all aspects of the English as an Additional Language Policy and ensure that its procedures are followed. 1. RESPONSIBILITIES Principal The Principal is responsible for reviewing how this policy is implemented. EAL Coordinator The EAL Coordinator will have specific responsibility for the following: Keeping an updated register of EAL students Liaising with the Student Managers, staff and students to ensure that the aims of the policy are maintained Liaising with Surrey Children s Service ELMA (Ethnic and Language Minority Achievement) on matters relating to EAL students Ensuring that all strategies of support are available to staff Ensuring that staff are aware of the support resources available Supporting the EAL student, wherever possible, with coursework and completion of forms e.g. college applications Providing the Examinations Officer with a list of EAL students so that the necessary considerations may be applied for Teaching Staff All teaching staff have a responsibility to build into their lesson plans provision for the needs of the EAL student. EAL Policy 1 of 5

2 2. AIMS To ensure that EAL students have access to an appropriate curriculum. 3. DEFINITION Students who are identified as EAL are: Recent arrivals into the UK from a non-english speaking background Students who have been in the UK for some time but whose level of English is still below that of a native English speaker (see Assessment of English Proficiency) Most of the EAL students at The Beacon School are linguistic minorities - that is they are part of a settled ethnic minority community including refugees. Their home language generally has low status in the wider community and the students are under great pressure to learn English both for academic and social reasons. Additionally there may also be pressure to retain the home language and culture. 4. PROCEDURES FOR ADMISSION AND INDUCTION Parents are encouraged to visit the school with their children prior to entry to discuss questions and talk through the routines and policies of the school. Prior to admission the school will gather the following information, which is then centralised on the school SIMS system so that it is available to all staff. The information gathered will reflect: Language spoken Languages in which the student can read and write Previous educational experience How long the student has been learning English Country of birth Religion Any dietary or religious constraints Number and location of siblings Details of family members who speak English Medical information Emergency contact numbers/addresses A signed consent form allowing the student to work with/be assessed by an EAL teacher The Head of Year, Student Manager and the EAL Coordinator will then be informed of the student s start date. 5. ROLE OF EAL COORDINATOR FOR NEW STUDENTS If the student has been at a feeder primary school ELMA will send any student strategies and information to SENCO/EAL Coordinator. EAL Policy 2 of 5

3 6. INDUCTION FOR NEW EAL STUDENT Prior to starting at the Beacon the Assistant Head teacher will interview parents and students Students will be set according to their ability and information circulated by the student manager On the student s first day the student manager will meet the student and family in the main reception area The student will be given a timetable and planner. If necessary the student might follow a reduced timetable initially, spending time in the SSC (Student Support Centre) when not in lessons The student will be shown to their form room and introduced to their form teacher (where possible languages spoken by fellow students and the tutor will be taken into consideration when choosing a tutor group for the student) The student will be paired with a responsible buddy who will take them to each lesson and help with the settling in process, including bistro and break/lunch time procedures The student will be given a map of the school and taken on a tour of the school by either a student manager or a fellow student The student manager will ensure that the student has a photograph and biometric print taken so that an account can be set up to pay for lunches The student manager/eal Coordinator will meet with the student to go through school policies and procedures The EAL Coordinator will make regular contact with the new student, especially if they only have a basic level of English An EAL assessment will take place 7. THE ROLE OF ELMA (ETHNIC AND LANGUAGE MINORITY ACHIEVEMENT) ELMA services within Surrey Children s Service are delivered through East and West Area teams and through a cross-county development team. The role of ELMA staff is to advise and support The Beacon School in raising the attainment of ethnic and language minority students, promote inclusive practices, recognise and value diversity and implement race equality. The support provided may be student- focused and/or school focused. 8. THE ROLE OF THE EAL COORDINATOR/EAL TEACHER/ELMA The Beacon School is allocated ELMA teacher time dependent on the number of EAL students. The ELMA teacher might assess/monitor students, work in the classroom with his/her allocated student or work with individuals or small groups. Liaison between the EAL teacher, class teacher and EAL Coordinator is vital to the achievement of EAL students. The progress of EAL students will be tracked and monitored. 9. ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY See National Curriculum Extended Scale for Bilingual Learners (ELMA Nov 06) for criteria for assessing beginners. Once students reach Level 2 they are assessed using English National Curriculum levels. EAL Policy 3 of 5

4 10. EVIDENCE OF STUDENT SUPPORT (ELMA) Strategies of Support These strategies are developed after assessing the student. The EAL Coordinator distributes them to all relevant staff together with details of the assessment. This is done after each assessment. In- Class Support When an EAL teacher supports a student at school he/she will sign the student s exercise book/planner. EAL Resources The EAL Coordinator will ensure that staff are aware of the resources available eg language programmes, translation sites, bilingual books etc. INSET through ELMA will be arranged for subject leaders, NQTs, TAs, ITTs and other staff as appropriate. Record of School Visit Form The work of the EAL teacher will be recorded on one of these forms and kept by the EAL Coordinator 11. CODE OF PRACTICE The Code of Practice states that EAL students should not, merely because they are EAL, be considered to have special educational needs. It is true that these students do have specific needs, but they are not SEN and should not be included on the school s Code of Practice registers simply because they do not speak English. Some EAL students, however, will have special educational needs and teachers will need to be aware of the EAL/SEN checklist to help identify such children and in turn provide more effective intervention and support. It is vital that any English language support by the specialist teacher should continue as long as possible and support service teachers should be consulted in the formulation of IEPs. A mother-tongue assessment would be required whenever there is concern, to clarify if there is a delay or difficulty in the first language. 12. CLASSROOM PROVISION Listed below are a few examples of good practice relating to EAL students. They would also be suitable for other students in a class Have high expectations of EAL students Ensure that the EAL student is placed where he/she will have clear access to visuals Use story maps, writing frames, sequencing sheets etc to support learning Provide a list of key words for lesson/topic Use closed questions initially, giving student a choice of responses until confident Use practical activities to support learning EAL Policy 4 of 5

5 13. HOME/SCHOOL LIAISON The Beacon School values parental contributions and aims to include involvement in the following ways: Inviting parents into school through regular parent consultation evenings Providing a translator at meetings, SEN reviews etc if required Being available to discuss issues that arise outside these times Making parents aware of language classes available locally 14. MONITORING AND EVALUATION The application of the Policy should result in the recognition of the rights of the EAL student to equal opportunities of educational success and ensure its development as an equal opportunity issue. EAL Policy 5 of 5