EAL, Equality and Diversity

Intent

To create a welcoming and supportive environment which will enable EAL pupils and families to participate fully in all areas of school life. To value and respect the cultural and linguistic identities of EAL pupils and use these to enrich the learning of all pupils. To develop the oral and literacy skills of EAL pupils so they can understand and use English confidently and competently across the curriculum and maximise their potential in all areas of school life. To support New to English children in their transition into school in order to ensure that they can fully access the curriculum.

Context

• Inner City North East
• Over 700 pupils
• 22+ ethnic groups
• Around 45 languages with over 500 children who speak English as an additional language

The EAL Team

Across school children’s proficiency in English is at very different stages. We ensure that children with EAL, who are in the early stages of language acquisition, are assessed using the Bells Proficiency Scale to ensure that they are supported in developing speaking and listening skills.

Bands

1. New to English
2. Early Acquisition
3. Developing Competence

The program gives support strategies and provides practical ways to support EAL learners at each stage of their language development.

Induction

A place is offered within school; families are invited to visit school for a tour, to complete admission forms and an Induction booklet is given.

Getting to Know You

Mr Ali completes a visit to our new family, in their home, to gather background information; to ensure a smooth and happy start to school and to inform parents about:

• The first day (Wednesday) and first week (half days Wed/Thurs/Fri) if deemed appropriate
• Who’s who?
• To establish family context
• To give information about the local Community

On arrival for the first day, a new family meets the learning mentor who ensures a smooth transition into school and support in the coming months.

You can see a copy of the induction booklet by clicking the link below:

What does a day look like for a new child at HPS?

All children are taught core subjects - Reading, Writing, and Maths - within flexible groups which enables the curriculum to be adapted to meet need. For all other Foundation subjects, children are taught in mixed ability classes.

Learning is relevant and contextualised with:

• Use of visual representations
• Tasks that encourage speaking and listening
• Real emphasis on developing Vocabulary
• Rehearsal of key learning points
• Real-life experiences: visits, visitors, role-play, using local environment
• Using EYFS and KS1 expertise
• Bilingual adult support (where possible)

In addition, children who are new to English follow the 'Racing to English' programme delivered in small groups throughout the week. These sessions are based around early language acquisition through themes such as My family, My home, School, Hobbies, and Day to day life. 

Young Interpreter Scheme

“The Young Interpreter Scheme® provides peer support to pupils who are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL), to their families and to schools.”
Hampshire County Council

We are currently training our new interpreters to support with our main languages spoken; Slovak, Romanian, Czech, Panjabi, Urdu, Polish, Spanish, French and Arabic.

Equality and Diversity

At Harehills we are committed to equality and diversity and we are really proud of the work we do to ensure that everybody at our school is treated with equal dignity and worth, valuing their particular characteristics such as their age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation and socio-economic circumstances.