English as an Additional Language

Introduction

In England, 856,670 pupils are recorded as having a mother tongue other than English. This represents a total of 492,390 pupils or 15.2% at primary school nationally and 364,280 pupils or 11.1% at secondary school (Statistical First Release August 2009). Whilst in Inner London around 54.1% of pupils are recorded as learning English as an additional language. More than 200 languages are spoken in the homes of children attending schools in England.

The Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) launched a strategy for English as an additional language (EAL) in October 2003 as part of its Aiming High strategy for raising achievement for minority ethnic pupils.

The document "Aiming High: Raising the Achievement of Minority Ethnic Pupils" which was published in March 2003, outlines the Government's commitment to continuing to raise standards for all young people whatever their ethnic or cultural background and ensuring that all education policies truly address the needs of every pupil in every school. The Aiming High consultation set out a number of areas for development of work to support bilingual learners: training and support for mainstream staff, training and support for EAL specialist staff, assessment and meeting the needs of more advanced bilingual learners (those who have had considerable exposure to an educational environment within which English is the first language and thus are no longer in the early stages of English language acquisition).

Also, in April 2004 guidance on effective use of the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) was published. This sets out advice on what constitutes good practice in raising the achievement of minority ethnic pupils and contains a specific section on 'Supporting Bilingual Pupils'.

There have been a number of recent national developments in English as an Additional Language (EAL) in England as a result of the Aiming High strategy which includes an extensive EAL programme delivered through the National Strategies, and a specific programme to support newly arrived pupils.