English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Our vision is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where every EAL pupil feels confident, valued and fully supported to achieve their potential. We believe that language development is everyone’s responsibility and that all staff play a vital role in helping children become successful communicators and learners.

How We Support Our Pupils

To ensure all children make rapid academic progress, we combine high-quality classroom teaching with targeted support tailored to individual needs.

Visual Scaffolding
Teachers use visual prompts, post-it notes, word banks and adapted resources presented in manageable chunks. These strategies help reduce cognitive load, develop understanding and support children in organising their ideas.

Developing Oracy
Speaking and listening are central to language development. We provide daily opportunities for oral rehearsal through talk partners, sentence stems, structured discussions and collaborative learning activities, helping children build confidence and fluency in spoken English.

Targeted Interventions
Children receive additional support through structured phonics teaching, vocabulary development, grammar instruction and reading comprehension activities matched to their stage of language acquisition.

EAL Mobile Library
Our pupils have access to a fantastic range of bilingual and dual-language books, encouraging a love of reading while valuing and maintaining their home languages.

Language Games Club and EAL Ambassadors
Held on Friday afternoons, these initiatives provide opportunities for children to develop spoken confidence, practise language skills and build friendships through fun, collaborative activities.

Assessment and Tracking

EAL pupils’ progress is carefully monitored through ongoing formative assessment, classroom observation and targeted tracking of language acquisition and curriculum access. Teachers assess how effectively pupils are developing their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills across all subjects. This information is used to inform planning, identify next steps and ensure that support is appropriately matched to individual needs. Where necessary, additional interventions are put in place and regularly reviewed to ensure pupils make strong and sustained progress.

Targeted interventions are carefully structured according to EAL proficiency bands:

Band A/B – Early Language Acquisition
Focused interventions support pupils at the early stages of English development, with an emphasis on phonics, basic vocabulary acquisition and developing core speaking and listening skills.

Band C/D – Developing Competence
Pupils receive targeted support in phonics consolidation, grammar development, vocabulary extension and reading comprehension to build accuracy and confidence in all areas of language use.

Band E – Classroom Scaffolding
Pupils are supported through scaffolded classroom provision, with adapted and differentiated materials embedded within whole-class teaching to ensure full curriculum access and continued progress.

Developing Oracy

The intervention focuses on extending vocabulary, developing sentence structure, improving pronunciation, and encouraging pupils to express their ideas clearly and confidently. Adults model high-quality language and provide sentence stems, key vocabulary and opportunities for oral rehearsal to help pupils practise and apply new language. The intervention is tailored to pupils’ stage of English language acquisition and aims to bridge the gap between understanding and spoken expression. By developing strong oracy skills, pupils are better equipped to access the curriculum, participate actively in lessons, and build positive relationships with their peers.

Celebrating Our Diversity

We recognise that every language is valuable and that multilingualism is a strength. We actively celebrate the rich cultural heritage of our school community throughout the year, with different annual themes that reflect and respond to our pupils’ backgrounds and interests.

During our annual Cultural Diversity Day, children participate in cultural poetry performances, storytelling and “Show and Tell” sessions featuring traditional artefacts and items of personal significance. Each year, the focus of the day changes to celebrate different aspects of culture and identity.

We also recognise pupils’ achievements through our Bilingual Brilliance Certificates, celebrating their success as multilingual learners.

At Saracens Broadfields, we are proud of the many languages, cultures and experiences that enrich our school community every day.