At Chilwell Croft Academy, we are committed to ensuring that every child succeeds and reaches their full potential.
EAL is used in reference to pupils whose first language is not English. These pupils may have recently arrived in the country or are being brought up in homes and communities where languages other than English are used. In the educational environment, they now have to learn English in addition to languages they already know and use, and they have to use English to access subject content in different curriculum areas.
Our EAL students come from a wide range of ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Some of our EAL students arrive in school having had little or no formal education while some have prior experience of formal education and with literacy skills in one or more languages. On arrival, a proportion of these pupils have no or very little understanding of English.
At Chilwell Croft Academy, we believe that
- Our learners of EAL are entitled to the same educational opportunities as any other pupil.
- All learners of EAL are different: they will have a huge variety of first languages, home backgrounds, previous experience of education and life in general.
- Their needs are linguistic: EAL is not synonymous with SEN.
- The bi/multilingualism of our learners enriches our school community and that, where appropriate, it should be used to promote achievement.
Language development in pupils is the responsibility of all.