EAL means "English as an Additional Language"

An increasing number of children in early year's settings and schools are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) and 29% of our pupils in school, speak English as an Additional language.  They fit into a number of categories and are an extremely diverse group.

• Some children will be bilingual from birth, because their parents use two languages
• Some children will speak some English at times, but are not fluent
• Some children will speak conversational English, but are not able to express more complex thoughts
• Some children will be at a much earlier stage of learning English

The National Picture

The rich diversity of English culture society and language, which has evolved over centuries, is reflected in its schools. Over 25% of pupils are from an ethnic minority background and almost one in six pupils speak English as an additional language.

The number of children who speak a language other than English at home has risen by 20% in 5 years. The rise in the East of England is 40%.

At Southtown Primary School we have children who also speak;

• Portuguese
• Polish
• Lithuanian
• Russian
• Latvian
• Malayalam