English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Educational Achievement in England: An Analysis of Publicly Available Data

A decade on from the University of Oxford’s first piece of research which analysed 2013 data, this is the latest and final report in a series commissioned by The Bell Foundation and Unbound Philanthropy to Dr Ariel Lindorff, Professor Steve Strand OBE and their team.  

The report consists of detailed analysis of EAL children data from the National Pupil Database, finding that the proportion of schools working with EAL pupils has grown significantly and reveals that joining school later has a significant negative impact on the educational attainment of EAL learners.  

Key findings: 

• Two thirds of schools in England now have at least 5% of EAL pupils on the school roll, meaning that more schools face the challenge of recognising need and understanding how to provide tailored support.    
• The later an EAL learner joins school, the harder it is for them to catch up in education. Unlike monolingual English-speakers, EAL learners who join school at any time after Year 5 have lower attainment on average by the end of Year 11.    
• At primary school, EAL pupils joining any time after Reception score substantially below the national average for Key Stage 2 Reading since they have had less time to develop their English language proficiency.   
• Similarly, EAL learners that start secondary school any time after Year 7 struggle to achieve the national average, even after several years in the country.  
• EAL learners with a SEN are being disproportionately left behind at secondary school – performing significantly worse in Reading and Maths than monolingual pupils with a SEN.