As debates around language learning come to the fore, it’s important to take stock of the evidence when it comes to creating opportunities for children and adults who speak English as an Additional Language (EAL).
We recently commissioned new evidence looking at the attainment of EAL pupils, the sixth and final analysis as part of The Bell Foundation’s 10-year longitudinal analysis of this group of learners. This series has helped schools to understand the direct impact that EAL learners’ proficiency in English has on their attainment.
This latest analysis, and the reports that preceded it, have important implications for education policy as we continue to urge Government to reinstate statutory assessment of proficiency in English in schools in England. EAL learners are a highly diverse group, and so the latest findings reinforce the importance of calling for English proficiency assessment, which is essential to ensuring better targeted support for EAL learners to thrive at school.
One of the key findings of the report is the growing need for language expertise in more areas across England, with an increasing number of EAL learners and their families now living outside of urban centres. This will have a direct impact on the growing number of schools welcoming multilingual pupils, and reinforces the relevance of all the training, influencing, and partnerships work that we undertake at the Foundation.
The report also revealed the extent to which those who join school later – such as refugees and asylum seekers – are left behind their peers. Providing appropriate support for these young people is an area of increasing importance for schools, which we addressed in our evidence-based schools guidance published earlier this year.
In the meantime, 2025 has seen two significant shifts in education policy. For the first time in years, Ofsted’s inspection toolkit for schools now features a dedicated section on EAL within the Curriculum and Teaching evaluation area. Similarly, our submission to the Curriculum and Assessment Review resulted in the benefits of a more culturally accessible curriculum and oracy being carried through into the final report, helping to ensure that all learners can access learning.
While both are steps in the right direction, there is much more to be done for lasting change to be achieved. Both schools and policymakers have a responsibility to ensure inclusive education and recognise that while low English proficiency can present an initial barrier to accessing the curriculum, achieving advanced bilingualism is an asset and results in higher educational attainment.
In a time of increasing uncertainty for adults and young people who speak English as a second language, the challenges that we face in adult language education are more closely linked with a lack of access and funding. In a context of decreasing adult education budgets and local devolution, demand for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) education is growing, yet current provision is not reaching many of those who need it. In addition to this funding mismatch, the latest evidence shows that if you are in work, this can be a major barrier to accessing classes.
Earlier this year, a group of ESOL students at Bradford College studied and gave a performance of The Tempest, Shakespeare’s tale of shipwrecked strangers meeting on an island which has obvious parallels with their experience as refugees.
The college – winner of this year’s Association of Colleges’ Beacon Award for Excellence in ESOL – is just one of many shining examples of how ESOL provision can be both creative and impactful for learners. As the sponsor of the award, we have been delighted to recognise and showcase those providers that offer broad, holistic programmes which unlock social integration and skills that allow progression to study and employment.
English language education is key to untapping the potential of those adults who speak English as a second or additional language. In response, we are working with more partners to improve access to ESOL classes and review existing frameworks. With the complexities of local devolution suggesting an uncertain future for English language education, creating partnerships that develop and sustain impactful initiatives will continue to be our focus for 2026.
None of the above would have been possible without the continued partnership and collaboration of all those who continue to work with us, including schools, colleges, charities, funders, universities, and many more. Thank you.
