At Arundel Court Primary Academy, we have a large number of children who have English as an additional language, including some who arrive with no English at all. Our aim is to settle new arrivals as quickly as possible into school life; to encourage them to take part in the daily routines and structures, which will help them to develop not only an understanding of the academic aspects of English, but the use of our language for social interaction.

We work with parents/guardians to ensure a smooth transition into school, with bi-lingual assistants from EMAS being used where possible to assist us, finding out details about the children’s past school experiences, and their previous exposure to English, we believe that this is vital to enable us to help the children settle into their new environment as smoothly as possible.

We celebrate the fact that a number of our children speak more than one language, and acknowledge their ability to communicate using a variety of community languages. At Arundel Court, the teaching and learning, achievements, attitudes and wellbeing of all children are important. We encourage all children to achieve the highest possible standards. We do this through taking account of each child’s life experiences and needs.

We recognise some of our children have particular learning and assessment requirements, which are linked to their progress in learning English as an additional language. Again, the BLAs are vital in assessing children in their first language and identifying any possible special needs.

Children who are learning English as an additional language have skills and knowledge about language similar to monolingual English-speaking children. Their ability to participate in the full curriculum may be in advance of their communicative skills in English.

Children are assessed regularly through the year by their class teachers using the Portsmouth Pathway document.  The EMAS/EAL  co-ordinator in school is in regular contact with Portsmouth EMAS in regards to support and advice and the deployment of BLAs.

Because of our early, and ongoing intervention, children are supported in their learning, at appropriate levels across their primary career. Our EAL assessment and monitoring procedures facilitate the children’s learning in all the other areas of the curriculum.

Our EAL children make excellent progress at Arundel Court. They become valuable and valued members of our school community, taking an active part in both school and after-school activities, along with wider activities such as school council and prefect duties in Year 6. They add an extra dimension to all our lives, enriching us through their different cultures, religions, languages and their experiences of the world.