EAL

The EAL Team

EAL (ID 1117)

Mr Andy Etheridge

Line Manager (Senior Leadership Team)

Mr Andy Etheridge
Mrs Elka Wilkinson

EAL Co-ordinator

Mrs Elka Wilkinson

EAL Mission Statement

Phoenix Collegiate is committed to ensure that all EAL pupils receive the very best education possible. Through a dynamic, highly experienced and dedicated EAL team, we at Phoenix Collegiate endeavour to deliver a fully inclusive education to all EAL pupils within our care. Our EAL staff is committed to the care and education of all of our EAL pupils, regardless of their proficiency we try to ensure the very best overall care, academic access and opportunities to succeed:

Definition of EAL

According to the Department for Education (DfE), students who learn English as an Additional Language (EAL) are defined as pupils whose first language is other than English, who are exposed to another language other than English at home and those who are in the process of learning to use English as an additional language through immersion in the curriculum and the broader life of the school (DfE, 2020).

This is clearly a very wide definition, therefore our school has now adopted the DfE Proficiency in English scales to enable further categorising EAL students’ language proficiency and to monitor progress.

EAL Provision at Phoenix Collegiate

Induction Course

Our Induction Course features two tiers:
Main Induction – this course aims to provide EAL learners with a range of subject specific vocabulary and provides students with a foundational understanding of the language and key terminology used by our school’s curriculum subjects. This class is most appropriate for proficiency (A) pupils who are completely fluent at reading and writing in their Home Language and proficiency (B) pupils who are at the early stages of their English language acquisition.

Extended Induction course that allows EAL pupils with low English proficiency and in many cases illiterate in their first language. They need longer in Induction before transitioning into Mainstream. The course gives them opportunity to acquire as much survival language as possible as well as obtaining a wider range of academic language before transitioning into mainstream lessons.

The learning of English is a journey and can take many years to perfect, however, our EAL team is there to support EAL learners every step of the way.

Buddy system- we have a pool of established EAL students who support new arrivals.
Intervention Groups - this involves a small group of students who have been taken out of a mainstream lesson (PE) once a week for extra support. Their work will cover all areas of the curriculum facilitated by Flash Academy platform. In addition, we offer specific EAL support in English literature and key English as a second language (ESL) skills to include English grammar.

Flash Academy

Our school launched a subscription to the award-winning Flash Academy/ MFL platform in 2019 just before lockdown.

The platform is a tool which accelerates language acquisition. It is ideal for supporting language lessons in school and for revision purposes. Separating vocab into clear categories and topics, the lessons are concise and focus on the curriculum subjects’ key words. These are also reinforced in the games section of the platform. Pupils can also compete against one another through our Live Leaderboard.

As part of our ongoing effort to promote independent learning, students can access Flash Academy from home. Students can access Flash Academy through their smart phones, tablets or even a home laptop/pc. This allows them to consolidate the learning that has taken place in school, complete homework tasks, revise for any exams and improve grammar, spelling and pronunciation. So, we advise parents to encourage their children to log in regularly. Furthermore, parents may view their child’s progress via the dashboard.

EAL staff uses the platform for assessment and data generating and collating. It enables monitoring of the EAL pupils’ progress.

We encourage all students to access Flash Academy as often as they can from home or even on their journey to and from school. Language learning doesn’t have to feel like hard work and with Flash Academy, the aim is to have your young person actively engaged in developing their language skills!

Please watch this video for further information about Flash Academy at Phoenix.

Key Stage 4 English as a Second Language Course and ESOL – English Language courses offered as an option for newly arrived to the UK Key Stage 4 students.
In-class support - this is an adult supporting a small group of students in a mainstream classroom.
After School Extra English Club – for any students who would like to improve their basic skills in writing, reading, speaking and listening, but targeted to newly arrived students. This is a fun way to help students to improve their communication skills, boost confidence, support academic attainment and reduce stress level within the language barrier.
Mentoring - staff in the department offer individual support to our students, ensuring they are able to successfully manage their work with support.
Literacy Centre - for students who want to improve their literacy skills or simply want a quiet space in which to read and use computer programmes. Students can go to the centre every day between 8:00-8:45am and 15:00-15:30pm.