Inclusion

Primary

Pupils learn language skills through real-life maths situations

Follow KS2 pupils with language difficulties at Christ Church Primary School in Birmingham as they use maths in real life situations to further their knowledge of numeracy. Making subjects relevant to pupils' lives is now an integral part of learning. As an EAL school, Christ Church uses maths as an opportunity to give pupils confidence when speaking English in public. Focusing on perimeter and area, see how the upper group of pupils have already progressed in their learning, as complex problem-solving calculations are now tackled with a greater confidence and ease. Learn how participation and relevance can enhance pupils' understanding of key subjects and life skills.

Calculating

A look at EAL learners in an English rural school

Unlike their city counterparts, many small rural schools have little previous experience of teaching EAL learners. This programme looks at how Minsterley Primary School in Shropshire copes when two girls arrive from the Philippines. It's the summer term and Beverly and Ruth have just arrived in England. Although they have previously learnt English, they find it difficult to use it all day at school. The headteacher enlists the help of an advisory and it soon becomes clear that the girls face different challenges. In their classroom environments we see Beverly participate in literacy hour and Ruth finds her feet in science group work. At lunchtime, however, they congregate to talk in their native language Tagalog. How will the school ensure they're not falling behind?

EAL - Lost in Translation Part 1

How have two EAL learners coped in a rural primary school?

Filipino girls Ruth and Beverly have been in England for 12 weeks and are thriving. In the second part of this series, we look at how their rural Shropshire school coped with teaching these EAL learners, despite very little previous experience. The staff and headteachers at Beverly and Ruth's primary school have been working hard to ensure they and their families fit in with the school community. The head negotiated an EAL support teacher for an hour a week and, though it was just for six weeks, it proved invaluable in progressing their learning. Beverly now chats confidently in English and her reading had leapt ahead. Ruth's optional SAT results showed she has made good progress and has made many friends in both Year 5 and Year 6 groups.

EAL - Lost in Translation Part 2

Using music as a device to teach English to EAL pupils in Bristol

Lisa Zimmermann uses music as a means of communication at an after-school project for primary pupils who have English as an additional language. Each week a specially written song demonstrates how the language is used, and the children learn the song and practice using the grammar it illustrates. At the end of the 10 week course, the result is a mini-opera about a princess who has a red nose, and Lisa's 35 pupils use the songs and language they've learned. The event also showcases the effect the after-school club, which is sponsored by one of Bristol's Extended Schools Partnerships and Sing Up, Music Manifesto's National Singing Programme, has had on the wider school community.

EAL in Drama and Music

A primary school shows how it supports EAL pupils and teachers

A primary school demonstrates how it has supported pupils and teachers during an influx of EAL pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. Over the past 10 years, Fairlop Primary School has created an effective and impressive approach to integrating its EAL students, who speak over 30 different languages. Primarily EMA coordinator, Rachel Brittle, conducts an induction process, welcoming each individual into the school community. The induction process involves parents and carers, and helps build a sense of trust as well as enabling teachers to gain knowledge on the pupils' previous education, and extent of their language skills in English and their mother tongue. Rachel also leads a team of teaching assistants who give specialised one-to-one tuition to new arrivals. By allowing the children some breathing space outside of the classroom, the pupils and teachers feel fully supported in the learning and revising of English vocabulary and grammar.

Engaging pupils learning EAL

A lecture for trainee teachers on EALs and promoting inclusion

Watch a practical lecture for trainee teachers on teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL), identifying the needs of EAL pupils and helping them overcome the barriers to learning which they face. Drawing on current research to deliver the PGCE lecture, Maggie Webster, senior lecturer in primary education at the Faculty of Education, Edge Hill University, then puts the research into a classroom context. Maggie also addresses promoting inclusion, explaining how to support EAL pupils, and she discusses the merits of immersion or bilingualism, before looking at how the use of language and visual keys can aid understanding. She gives practical examples using key ITE texts and examples from real school situations, linking theory to practice. This lecture may also be of interest to newly qualified teachers (NQTs).

English as an Additional Language

Helping a refugee to adjust to the classroom and outside

Muhammad's story highlights how schools and other agencies can help address the challenges faced by a newly arrived refugee. In this programme, Muhammad has arrived into Year 6 as a refugee and is having difficulty in adjusting to the classroom and outside. Outside of school, his relatives are facing their own problems of finding housing. With the help of a pastoral care manager, a variety of professionals from different agencies work together to ensure that Muhammad's problems are addressed before he makes the transition to secondary school at the end of the year.

Every Child Matters - Muhammad's Story

A look at recent DCSF research into pupil progression

In the wake of recent DCSF research, this programme explores the reasons why some pupils' progress can be slow at KS2. What's holding them back, and what can be done to help? At Barham Primary School in west London, one third of pupils are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language, with many children entering KS2 well below national expectations. Year 3 children at the school are encouraged to develop their mathematical vocabulary and are introduced to a variety of methods for adding numbers. Meanwhile, in a Year 6 English class, focused marking helps pupils to work out what their next steps in writing should be.

Keeping Up at KS2

A literacy scheme for EAL pupils benefits the whole school

A primary school shows how a positive approach to literacy and EAL work helped it escape special measures and boost SAT results. Inspired by Ros Wilson's Big Writing concept, new headteacher, Lisa Vyas, and her ethnic minority achievement coordinator, Rumana Asif, developed their own strategies for delivering literacy across Key Stages 1 and 2 for EAL pupils, which make up a large proportion of the schools' population. Although aimed primarily at their EAL pupils, they discovered the new methods of teaching benefited all the children, which has resulted in a marked increase in their SATs results.

KS1/2 EAL - Talking & EAL at Green End Primary

A look at Marner Primary School's approach at teaching phonics

Marner Primary School's systematic approach at teaching phonics, aims to help its pupils improve their literacy and writing skills. Over 90 per cent of the children at the London school are learning English as an additional language. The children are carefully grouped, based around on-going assessment of their phonological awareness, and are taught within these groups at stages one to five. The teachers and teaching assistants, all well-versed in the teaching of phonics, are very enthusiastic about this approach. They find it works well for both boys and girls and helps their pupils' motivation to read and write. Headteacher Mary Todd is encouraged by the school's results, and strongly endorses a systematic approach to the teaching of phonics.

Professional Development for Quality Teaching

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