Here at Peterbrook Primary we are proud to welcome families from a wealth of different cultures and backgrounds and we greatly value the rich diversity of our school community. We have pupils from all around the world and over 10 languages spoken and as such support for EAL is a big part of our school.

Assessment, Monitoring and Provision

During their time at our school, our EAL (English as an Additional Language) pupils are closely monitored for their progress in the curriculum and their acquisition of English.

Vital information we take into account

It can take an EAL learner anywhere between 5-10 years before their competence in English enables them to perform academic tasks equivalent to their English speaking peers. For this reason it is essential that their progress is tracked and monitored on a separate scale from the National Curriculum as this looks at age-related expectations.

Initial Assessment

Pupils new to English will need to have a baseline assessment so that progress can be measured. Any initial assessment should take account of pupil’s prior experience and knowledge in their home language and should therefore not just assess what they are able to do in English. Many pupils will have developed high level skills in their home language and these will be an asset when learning English.

Initial assessments include looking at the four skills areas (speaking, listening/understanding, reading and writing) as well as knowledge and ability in Maths.

On-going assessment

The English as an additional language service uses the Solihull Profile of competence. This is a framework developed by professionals in the borough and now used extensively throughout the UK. The framework covers the four areas of language and is linked to the five point scale which was introduced by the Department for Education in 2016 . There are two documents, one for primary schools (key stages 1 and 2) and for children in Early Years they are assessed using the EYFS profile.  Class teachers collect and collate assessment data for the Profile of Competence.

Support within each class 

We provide support in each class for our EAL pupils at the level they can access, this includes using visuals, translated materials and intervention support to boost vocabulary and communication as required.

If you require any further information on EAL, please contact Mrs Heyes our EAL Subject Leader.