Welcome to the EAL (English as an Additional Language) department at Abbeyfield School.

Nearly a quarter of the students at Abbeyfield school speak English as an Additional Language. There are approximately 45 different languages spoken by our students, so we have a bustling and exciting cohort of young people who are bilingual, or multilingual, and who are at different levels of fluency in English ranging from fluent to the early stages of acquisition.

Students who are identified as being EAL student come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. They could be:

• Bilingual, or multilingual, and fluent in both English and their home language/additional languages
• Bilingual with some years of learning English as a foreign language
• Fluent and literate in their home language with little previous experience of English as an additional language
• A student with no previous experience of English and/or basic literacy skills in their home language.

EAL support at Abbeyfield includes:

• Provide educational and pastoral support to ensure EAL students thrive and achieve
• Conduct language assessments of new EAL students to identify any personalised support they require and to support them with their acquisition of English where required
• Supporting mid-term admissions with their transition to life at Abbeyfield School
• Identifying EAL learners and supporting and monitoring their progress in regard to language acquisition (where required) and academic progress in their subjects, including in-class support and one to one or small group support in the EAL intervention space.
• Lead on provision for students to take GCSEs in their First Language where available and appropriate
• Liaise with families and support with parental engagement, including advising on suitable learning materials to support home learning, providing links to materials and resources, and supplying advice for parents new to the school (which is available in a variety of languages)

Please see our EAL policy and links to useful resources below.