Preparing teachers for multilingual classrooms

Although multilingual classrooms are now becoming the norm in England, there is very limited training or guidance on what good provision looks like for EAL learners in schools.

While the Department for Education’s Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) and the Ofsted Toolkit both recognise EAL pedagogy as a key area of focus, there is no specific EAL guidance in the updated teacher training frameworks.

In this briefing, The Bell Foundation provides its recommendations for government to ensure that teachers are fully equipped for the classroom, with the knowledge and skills required to effectively support EAL pupils who are acquiring English.

Recommendations for policy makers:

1. Align teacher development (overseen by Department for Education) and accountability frameworks (Ofsted) to outline consistent expectations and ensure all teachers are prepared for multilingual classrooms.
2. Strengthen the ITTECF with explicit content on supporting EAL learners.
3. Enhance EAL content in ITT programmes to build consistent teacher expertise.
4. Embed EAL content in mentor training to support teaching in multilingual classrooms.
5. Integrate high-quality EAL content throughout ECT programmes to develop expertise over time.