We currently welcome 22 International New Arrivals (INA) to our school, including pupils who have recently joined us from countries such as Nigeria and Iran. We provide targeted support to ensure that these pupils settle quickly, feel safe and valued, and develop confidence in both everyday and academic English.

A wide range of languages are spoken across our school, and this multilingualism is a strength that we actively celebrate and nurture. Our pupils come from a broad range of ethnic backgrounds, with the largest groups including Pakistani (46%), White British (12%), Black African (5.6%) and Other Asian backgrounds (5.3%), alongside many other heritages represented across the school community.

This diversity enriches our curriculum, strengthens our inclusive ethos and reflects the vibrant community we serve. We are committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of language or background, feels valued, included and supported to achieve their full potential.

Through engaging, interactive activities, pupils develop everyday language in a relaxed and supportive environment. Sessions focus on high-frequency vocabulary, practical classroom language and conversational phrases that help pupils navigate school life confidently.

We use games such as vocabulary bingo, matching activities, role-play, barrier games and structured speaking challenges to make learning enjoyable and meaningful. These activities provide repeated opportunities for talk, helping pupils rehearse new words, practise sentence structures and develop fluency.

The emphasis is on building confidence in everyday communication — asking for help, joining in play, participating in class discussions and expressing ideas clearly. By strengthening oracy and vocabulary in a small-group setting, pupils are better prepared to engage fully in classroom learning and wider school life.

The framework ensures that speaking and listening skills are taught explicitly, not left to chance. Pupils are supported to:

• Develop everyday and academic vocabulary

• Rehearse sentence structures before writing

• Articulate ideas clearly and confidently

• Listen actively and respond appropriately

• Build fluency through repeated, scaffolded talk

Teachers model high-quality language, use sentence stems and talk frames, and carefully structure pair and group discussions. This reduces language anxiety and increases participation, particularly for pupils in the early stages of English acquisition.

By embedding oracy across the curriculum, we enable EAL learners to strengthen both language proficiency and subject understanding simultaneously. Structured talk builds confidence, deepens comprehension and empowers pupils to take an active role in their learning.

This framework tracks progress in listening, speaking, reading and writing, identifying each pupil’s stage of English proficiency. Assessment is ongoing and helps us set appropriate targets, plan classroom support and provide targeted interventions where needed.

Regular review ensures that every child receives the right level of challenge and support to access the full curriculum and achieve their potential.

These booklets help parents understand key school routines, expectations and important information about their child’s learning. By offering communication in families’ own languages, we reduce barriers, strengthen partnerships and ensure that parents can engage fully in their child’s education.

Through structured, engaging sessions, pupils build skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The programme focuses on high-frequency vocabulary, sentence development and practical language needed for school life. Activities are interactive and supportive, giving pupils repeated opportunities to rehearse and apply new language in meaningful contexts.

Racing to English accelerates language development, builds confidence and supports pupils to participate fully in lessons and wider school life.

This helps ensure that important information about school events, learning updates and key announcements is accessible to all parents and carers. By removing language barriers, we promote clear communication, build strong partnerships with families and ensure that everyone can stay informed and involved in their child’s education.

Through daily phonics lessons, children are taught to recognise sounds, blend them to read words and segment them to spell. The programme is carefully sequenced, with regular practice and repetition to secure understanding. Pupils are grouped according to their phonics stage so that teaching is closely matched to their needs.

Systematic phonics is particularly important for pupils who use English as an Additional Language, as it builds strong foundations in decoding, pronunciation and vocabulary. By securing early reading skills, pupils gain confidence, access a wider range of texts and develop the language needed to succeed across the curriculum.

For children who use English as an Additional Language, maintaining and developing their home language alongside English supports both wellbeing and academic achievement. Bilingualism does not confuse children; instead, it builds stronger language foundations and contributes positively to brain development.

Blank Levels provide a structured framework that moves from simple naming and identifying (Level 1) to explaining, predicting and reasoning (Level 4). This helps teachers:

• Adjust questions so they are accessible but still challenging

• Scaffold understanding step-by-step

• Develop vocabulary and sentence structure

• Support pupils to move from concrete language to abstract thinking

For EAL learners, this approach reduces language barriers while maintaining high expectations. It allows pupils to build confidence in speaking and understanding English, gradually developing the academic language needed to succeed across the curriculum.

By visually organising sentence components, pupils can see how English sentences are built. This makes grammar patterns explicit and supports pupils to:

• Build complete, grammatically accurate sentences

• Expand simple sentences into more detailed responses

• Understand word order in English

• Develop both spoken and written language

Colourful Semantics is particularly effective for EAL learners because it combines visual support with structured language practice. It reduces cognitive load, strengthens understanding of sentence structure and builds confidence in communication across the curriculum.

For EAL learners, understanding these words is not just about language — it is about accessing knowledge. Without explicit teaching of subject-specific vocabulary, pupils may understand the concept in their home language but be unable to demonstrate their knowledge in English.

Teaching subject vocabulary explicitly:

• Ensures pupils can fully participate in lessons and discussions

• Enables accurate explanation of scientific, mathematical and historical concepts

• Builds academic language needed for assessment and progression

• Reduces cognitive overload by clarifying key terms before complex learning begins

• Supports both reading comprehension and written expression

By carefully sequencing and revisiting subject-specific vocabulary across year groups, we ensure that EAL learners develop the academic language required to succeed in every subject, while maintaining high expectations and ambitious curriculum access.

Pupils explore new words in multiple ways — identifying sounds and syllables, discussing meaning, using the word in a sentence, linking to actions, songs or visuals, and displaying words on a word wall. This multi-sensory approach strengthens understanding and retention.

For EAL learners, this is crucial because:

• Academic vocabulary is often not heard in everyday conversation.

• Pupils may understand concepts but lack the English words to express them.

• Repetition and structured rehearsal build confidence in speaking.

• Breaking words down (sounds, syllables, meaning) supports pronunciation and reading.

• Explicit teaching reduces cognitive load and increases independence.