1. Address the EAL policy vacuum as a priority

The Government needs to ensure that EAL learners are visible in education policy initiatives. The reference to inspect EAL in the Ofsted framework has been removed which, along with the removal of systems and support previously available, has left a gap in expertise in how to integrate these children at school.  

The attainment gap for some EAL children has been ignored because of an overreliance on aggregated EAL data by policy makers. Looking at aggregated data hides more than it tells us. EAL pupils can include both a bilingual child from an advantaged, multilingual household who is fluent in English, and a refugee who might have no prior education nor first language literacy. In data terms, this would include some of the ethnic groups who achieve the highest attainment and some who achieve the lowest. Our research, commissioned with the Education Endowment Foundation and undertaken by Oxford University shows not only the significant differences between different ethnic groups but also crucially that it is proficiency in English that is the strongest determinant of attainment for the EAL cohort.

As a result, all future EAL policy must be informed by robust analysis of EAL learners’ data. This will help to enable better policy, support, and strategies for teachers to ensure that these pupils can fully access the curriculum. 

2. Assess English proficiency

The new Government must act on the research that shows that it is proficiency in English that has the greatest impact on EAL learners’ attainment and support schools to assess this. Proficiency in English for EAL pupils explains 4 to 6 times as much variation in achievement as gender, free school meals and ethnicity combined. Proficiency scales (present in all the devolved nations and in other English-speaking countries) were only briefly introduced between 2016 and 2018 in England and should be reintroduced, as well as support for teachers to formatively assess EAL learners. We have freely available resources on this, including the award-winning EAL Assessment Framework.  

3.  Create a curriculum that reflects the diversity of today’s classroom 

The Government’s current Curriculum and Assessment Review aims to identify and improve the areas where the curriculum currently falls short. How can children with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds learn effectively from a prescriptive curriculum that does not reflect their own experiences and heritage? We must respond to the growing diversity of today’s classroom by including more diverse texts and materials that foster inclusivity.  

Due to the varied levels of English proficiency of EAL learners, these students require more flexible programmes of learning and assessment not only to match their skills and disparate needs, but to support their English language development. For example, introducing three-year GCSEs could be one way to help EAL learners feel more confident with both the subject content and their language skills. 

4. Train teachers for multilingual classrooms 

Training 6500 new teachers is one of the Government’s first steps towards breaking down barriers to opportunity and transforming schools. Multilingual classrooms are now the norm, with over one in five children in schools speaking English as an Additional Language (EAL). Yet teachers tell us they don’t feel prepared or supported to teach them.  Training new teachers to teach children who have English as an additional language must be part of these initiatives. 

5. Support children with high needs arriving later into the school system

Evidence shows that it takes over six years to reach the academic proficiency required to pass exams. Put simply, it’s the difference between being able to function at a basic level in another language, and knowing enough technical language to pass a chemistry exam. 

The data is clear: if you arrive in Reception as an EAL speaker and have the time required to gain full proficiency, you are likely to outperform your monolingual peers. But if you arrive later in the system and don’t have the language to access the curriculum, and you are too young for further education at a college, there may be little on offer. Some groups of learners are falling through the system. Provision is needed in schools and colleges that enables pupils who arrive later to access a broad curriculum. For those students developing their English competency, opportunities must be created to enhance their speaking and listening skills and to use more complex and academic language. Explore our new report examining the experience of young refugees arriving in the UK later into the education system, drawing on research with 400 individuals. 

6. Reform Ofsted to include EAL in inspections 

The Government has committed to reforming Ofsted. With the introduction of Ofsted report cards, this is the right time to focus on how schools integrate EAL children and ensure their access to the curriculum. This would hold all schools and colleges accountable for the needs, rights and outcomes of this group of learners going forwards.  

7. Provide a structured approach on oracy for EAL children  

The new Government has made a commitment to oracy as part of its mission to “break down barriers of opportunity for every child”. It is right to identify that spoken language skills are strongly associated with children’s literacy, numeracy, and educational attainment. This is especially true for children who speak EAL. Teaching them essential English vocabulary and phrases to help encourage active class participation and integration is central to placing them on a more equal footing with their peers and developing spoken language skills that will set them up for success in life. 

8. Maintain EAL resources in the school funding formula 

In 2011, the removal of ring-fenced funding for supporting the integration of learners with English as an Additional Language led to the rapid loss of statutory support for EAL learners and very few EMTAS (Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Services) now remain. Nominally, this “EAL factor”[1] was retained and mainstreamed into the schools’ funding formula, but there has been a decline in the EAL factor in real terms, it is only funded for three years, and it is integrated into the ever-decreasing schools funding pot, which has declined over this period[2]. The EAL factor in the schools funding formula should be maintained.  

Why listen to us and why act now?

Since 2011, the work that we have achieved alongside partner schools and local authorities is highly valued. We have trained more than 86,000 teachers, achieved key policy outcomes and become a leading voice on tackling language barriers faced by speakers of English as an Additional Language. During the past decade we have built our evidence base through world class research, which we apply into everything we do. This has helped us develop the award winning EAL assessment framework and to strike the right balance with our evidence-informed practice approach. We’ll continue to be here for schools and policymakers, but we need system levers, and a drive and vision from the new Government to promote full integration and attainment of EAL learners.