Thameside Primary School is a diverse school where 55% of the pupils are identified as ‘EAL’. Deputy Headteacher, Jade Caton proudly told me of the 58 languages spoken by the pupils in the school and the 20 languages spoken by members of staff. She explained the importance of these staff in promoting inclusion, parental involvement as well as safeguarding pupils.

This four-form entry school experiences significant turbulence: 80 pupils have come on roll this year alone. A large proportion of the children live on a local housing estate where many families experience indicators of deprivation. Regardless of whether the pupils are new to the UK or come from another school (Thameside is building a local reputation for supporting multilingual pupils to achieve well) there are well-established systems for welcoming and then engaging with all learners.

Expectations and academic challenge are high. The staff have a concerted approach to teaching and learning that incorporates modelling and scaffolding and has language development at its heart. Pupils with EAL attain as well as pupils with English as their first language, but due to high rates of mobility, it is difficult to demonstrate at national level the extent to which EAL provision closes the gaps in attainment that some pupils arrive with. This is further compounded by the number of anglophone West Africans who arrive with few language needs, but with gaps in their learning having experienced a totally different curriculum. The school makes a point of recording progress of learners with EAL via individual assessment profiles, no matter how short their stay at Thameside. Indeed, their recent Ofsted inspection reports that “[pupils] make secure progress from their different starting points.”

Community governor and Trustee, Mike Fall, was very clear about the centrality of EAL learners to the success of the school. He explained how the ongoing increase of pupils from varied multilingual backgrounds joining the school prompted them to recruit a specialist EAL teacher to coordinate provision across the school. Luba Lockwood subsequently joined the staff in 2023. An experienced EAL leader, she is clear about the need to respond to the demands of the curriculum and not simply to seek “off the shelf” resources. The induction programme she has set up is wide-ranging and flexible in content and length, to respond to pupils’ language backgrounds and experience of schooling. For those who need it, there is space to develop handwriting skills and phonetic awareness. These lessons also teach formal grammar, to meet the demands of the KS2 SATs.

The focus on language is also visible in mainstream lessons. All pupils are learning to use English for learning and EAL is just another aspect of this. The school follows the EEF guidance on adaptive teaching, with pair and group work set up to provide good language models and rehearse patterns needed for writing. Prominent are word banks to extend vocabulary and scaffolds such as “colourful semantics” to support language production. Governors join in EAL learning walks and staff complete self-evaluation questionnaires to rate their success in making the curriculum accessible. The EAL team carefully monitors the progress of all pupils on the register, offering suggestions and advice and responding to mainstream colleagues’ requests.

Staff are aware of the differing expectations and experiences of families joining the school. They are explicit about what is expected at Thameside and encourage parents to play a full part in their children’s education. Parents seemed very happy with the way the school had supported their children, especially those arriving with no English, to become confident and well-rounded children. They were keen for younger siblings to get places in the school even if they had attended a different nursery provision.

Pupils enjoyed learning, saying that help was available when needed. They described how they helped their friends when needed and how the well-established buddy scheme is and part of the school’s reward system.

Congratulations Thameside on creating such a welcoming EAL environment!
Chiaka Amadi
17th February 2025