Welcome to our EAL page.

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 we are blessed to have 29% of EAL children in our school. 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 we have children who also speak;

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

On this web page we will share newsletters, useful websites and ideas to support parents and carers of EAL children. 

Miss Birks, our Year 1 teacher is responsible for EAL in school. If you have an questions, or would like support please contact her through the school office.