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EAL in primary schools

EAL in primary
Looking for guidance on how to best support the EAL learners in your primary school?

You’ve come to the right place! In this section we offer examples of EAL best practice, courses and resources which are specific to EAL in primary schools. We also share some frequently asked questions and insights relating to a range of EAL learners.

If you would like to discuss anything you read about here please get in touch.

Best practice examples

Our EAL Quality Mark award is popular among schools who want to:
– gain a clearer picture of the scope and success of their EAL provision
– identify gaps in their EAL provision and consider how to address them

Over 50 schools have achieved the EAL Quality Mark to date. Each term we invite some of our award winning schools to talk about their EAL provision on our free webinar.

Each webinar is recorded and, following the session, everyone who registers for the event is sent a link to the webinar recording and any resources presented. 

We also share the details of the excellent practices demonstrated by the award winners on our News page. Click on the links to the right to see all of our award winners for EAL in primary.

EAL in primary - short videos

Achieving consistency of EAL practice across classrooms (8m 57s)
Soofia Amin – Kensington Primary, Newham

Having high expectations for all EAL pupils while understanding the differences between them (5m 21s)
Sarah Jones – Lea Forest Primary Academy, Birmingham

Tried and tested strategies from an experienced EAL Coordinator (8m 32s)
Lynsey Irish – Eastover Primary School, Somerset

Turkish parents’ numeracy class
(1m 46s)

Bangladeshi parents’ numeracy class
(2m 4s)


Modelling speaking and listening (11m 39s)

Your expertise and passion is really appreciated and from all the different ports of calls out there, I definitely rate you as the go to … with that balance between EAL expertise and school leadership, a rare quality!
Rumana Asif, Kingsway Community Trust

EAL in primary - longer presentations

Pre-teaching and overlearning for EAL pupils (26m 28s)
Kasha Blake – Handford Hall School, Suffolk

Innovative ideas to support EAL pupils in the classroom (14m 59s)
Susan O’Hagan – Westgate Hill Primary School, Newcastle

Organising classroom talk to support EAL pupils (21m 19s)
Nikki Ajibade – Warwickshire County Council
and Rosina Knight – Sydenham Primary School, Warwickshire

Ensuring new staff know how to work successfully with your EAL pupils (11m 57s)
Michelle Siequien and Asta Tapera – Discovery Primary School, Peterborough

Encouraging EAL pupils to use and develop all of their languages (11m 40s)
Tracy Wilson – Goldington Green Academy, Bedford

Creating a successful welcome process for EAL pupils in a primary school (13m 29s)
Charlotte Chapman- St Michael’s RC Primary, Newcastle

Planning for EAL pupils
(13m 52s)

Rachel Vlachonikolis – New Marston Primary School, Oxford

How new arrivals can be successfully supported by other EAL pupils in your school (12m)
Cassie Williams – North Ormesby Primary Academy,  Middlesbrough

Developing oracy and high profile race equality (24m 32s)
Tracy Wilson – Goldington Green Academy, Bedford

EAL in primary - courses

Most of our courses are relevant across phases but we have some excellent courses specifically tailored for EAL in primary.
EAL in primary

Leading EAL in primary schools

Online course

This 12-hour course aims to develop the leadership of EAL in primary schools where there are increasing numbers of pupils learning English as an additional language. Focusing on a whole school approach, the course provides guidance on how to plan and prioritise provision for a range of EAL learners.

Early years

Early years and diversity

Online course

This 12-hour course examines how we can best develop the English of multilingual learners in early years settings and develop settings that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.

EAL online course

Extended online EAL course

New cohorts launched every term

Requiring approximately 90 hours to complete over a six month period, our extended EAL online course provides the opportunity to examine a range of EAL issues in detail, studying at times that suit your schedule. With 4 core units and 2 electives, you can tailor the cross-phase course to suit your interests and the needs of your school.

Looking for a comprehensive EAL course?

We offer a six month, part time course covering a range of EAL topics. 

EAL in primary - resources

We share a range of useful tools, articles and data in our free downloads library.
Our collection of EAL data, templates, articles and resources are largely relevant across all phases.

EAL Handbook
Our popular EAL Handbook (available in hard copy or in pdf format) is relevant across all phases and has a specific section on new arrivals at different phases of education:
– The early years
– Key stages 1 and 2
– Non-literate new arrivals
– Speaking and listening with Year Two pupils
– Key stages 3 and 4

Language for maths
Help children untangle the language of SATs reasoning questions through collaborative activities and guidance on vocabulary:
– Perfect for EAL pupils in years 3, 4, 5 and 6
– SATs-style reasoning questions and collaborative activities
– Vocab and guidance for EAL and any children who require extra language support

What our clients say

Frequently asked questions

What do I do with a new arrival in my classroom who doesn’t understand anything I say in English?

My EAL pupils speak English well and with a good local accent, but as soon as they start writing it’s obvious English is not their first language. What do I do?

How do I ensure my school has systems that help new arrivals fit in and make a flying start?

My pupils write reasonably in English, but it is obvious they don’t understand how academic English works. What do I do?

Do you have any questions?

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EAL in primary

Browse all of our primary content here.

EAL in secondary

Browse our secondary content HERE.

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