Ashpark Primary School

Curricular Position Statement –EAL

Healthy         Hardworking       Caring          Kind

Why we support EAL Pupils?

To support our EAL Pupils, we aim to use the principles of:

• Being flexible and responsive to each pupil needs.
• Make our EAL provision as accessible as possible to all pupils with this barrier to learning.
• Being focused on creating an inclusive learning environment, where appropriate.
• Encouraging participation and engagement with children and young people, families and the wider community.
• Working in partnership with other services and agencies within our local community.
• Adopting a holistic approach to meeting the needs of our pupils.

What Learning and Teaching Approaches are used?

Many of our EAL pupils are at a stage in their learning journey where they are able to be fully engaged in the mainstream classroom and are, in fact, flourishing within the English language. Other pupils who are at the beginning of their learning journey in English are offered support in a variety of ways including:

• By the class teacher – Learning at the appropriate level with all other pupils. This may be planned for through differentiation of core learning or through a group support plan.
• In-class EAL support – Pupils may be supported in the classroom environment by our EAL teacher.
• Out of class support – For pupils needing a quieter learning environment, our EAL teacher may extract pupils at appropriate times throughout the day to work with other children across the school at a similar stage of learning.
• Out of class support – Our CLOL or SfLW may have identified pupils with EAL to support in groups such as Numeracy/Literacy Targeted Intervention Groups, GDSS support or Getting Started groups.

In all of the above areas of support, staff plan challenging and engaging learning experiences which motivate and sustain the interests of learners.  Effective learning and teaching includes:

• Active learning to allow children to observe, experiment, experience and play.
• Using relevant contexts for learning to motivate and engage children.
• Appropriate and effective use of technology
• Building on the principles of Assessment is for Learning
• Collaborative and independent learning
• Discussion and informed debate
• Interdisciplinary learning experiences
• Learning outdoors, field trips, visits, and input by external contributors.

How do children progress through EAL?

EAL pupils progress through experiencing the curriculum at the appropriate level and stage they have reached in their learning journey. In some cases, this is as part of the day-to-day classroom learning and teaching, and in others, through bespoke planning to meet their needs as an individual. EAL pupils progress through the Stages of English Acquisition starting at New to English and reaching Fluent as the final step.

How are skills developed in EAL?

At Ashpark, the development of skills is an essential aspect of learning in the EAL and the Experiences and Outcomes provide frequent opportunities for applying these skills in new and more complex contexts.  Through the EAL Programme at Ashpark Primary, children and young people will develop skills including:

• Using digital tools to enhance their learning such as translation tools, read aloud, and a wide range of learning resources/apps.
• Translanguaging – Children will be encouraged to use both English and their native language in the classroom setting to express their learning and understanding.
• Skills will also be based on the level of language acquisition as described above.

How do we assess EAL?

Children are carefully assessed through a process of targeted EAL assessments, school baseline assessments, as well as through formative and summative assessments by their class teacher. Through the triangulation of this data, we are able to identify where on the Glasgow EAL learning levels a pupil is. The levels are:

• New to English
• Early Acquisition
• Developing competence
• Competent
• Fluent

We are currently piloting the new Glasgow EAL Assessment tool with our pupils which creates a much more robust guide to where our EAL learners are on their journey.

At Ashpark, assessment in EAL focuses on learner’s knowledge, understanding and skills in their studies across the whole curriculum but with a particular focus on Literacy.

The purpose of assessment in Ashpark Primary is:

• To identify pupils’ strengths, attainments and development needs
• To decide on the next steps
• To provide effective feedback to pupils in order to move learning forward
• To allow effective reporting

In all classes, teaching staff use the Write, Say, Make or Do approach to allow learners to demonstrate their learning within EAL.

• What key resources are used to support learning and teaching?

 

• Glasgow EAL tile on Glow.
• Learning in 2 (+) Languages: https://education.gov.scot/resources/learning-in-2-plus-languages/
• Glasgow City Council Policies:
• Supporting Learners with English as an Additional Language in Glasgow
• English for speakers of Other Languages: Policy for Glasgow Schools