ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
EAL (English as an Additional Language) is a big part of our life at Burley St Matthias Church of England Primary. Our children - and indeed many of our staff - speak a rich diversity of languages. We have skilled staff throughout school who work with children from Reception - Year 6 to support them with their English Language acquisition. We are proud of the incredible cultural diversity at BSM and seek to celebrate our ethically diverse children in the everyday curriculum that we teach, as well as recognising many diverse festivals within school - bringing communities together; bringing families into school to share their celebrations and adding to all children's understanding of, and appreciation for, other cultures.
We are always keen to hear your feedback and ideas for our events and celebrations. Please get in touch via the school office.
INDUCTION
We have a special 6-week induction process for pupils with EAL, which begins with a meeting with our Headteacher and Learning Mentor. We follow the PAWS approach as recommended by the Bell Foundation:
We issue families with a pupil contact card with key details like the child's name, class and teacher, as well as QR codes for our school website and local English classes.
There are regular check-ins for new pupils, English proficiency assessments and preparation for the new class teacher to welcome new pupils properly. We also have a buddy system - children will have a class buddy and also a language buddy. The class buddy will help them with classroom routines, making friends and getting settled, whereas the language buddy is another pupil (possibly from a different year group) who speaks their home language. Download our Induction Checklist to find out more.
Helping your child learn - Guidance for parents of students who use English as an Additional Language (EAL)
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY
Across school children’s proficiency in English is at very different stages. We ensure all children with EAL are assessed using the Bells Proficiency Scale to ensure that they are supported with language acquisition
Bands
A. New to English
B. Early Acquisition
C. Developing Competence
D. Competent
E. Fluent
The program gives support strategies and provides practical ways to support EAL learners at each stage of their language development. Every new arrival at BSM is given a baseline Assessment and this assessment is used by class teachers to demonstrate progress until the child is able to meet National Curriculum age-related expectations.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLASSROOM?
What happens in the classroom?
- Mixed ability grouping
- Tasks that encourage speaking and listening
- Real emphasis on developing Vocabulary
- Rehearsal of key learning points
- Real-life experiences; visits, visitors, role-play, using local environment
- Using EYFS and KS1 expertise
- Bilingual adult support
LEARNING VILLAGE
We also use Learning Village in school - a blended vocabulary, language structure and reading programme for EAL and multilingual learners. For more information follow this link: https://www.learningvillage.net/
List of Supplementary Schools
|
Supplementary School
|
Subjects Taught |
Day |
Time |
|
Arabic Evening Classes
|
Arabic Language & Literature |
Sunday |
10:00 - 16.00 |
|
Bahar Women’s Association - After School Kids Club |
Homework Support, Arts and Craft, Arabic and Dari/Farsi |
Monday |
14.30 – 16.00 |
|
Baltica School
|
Russian language |
Sunday |
10:00 -15:00 |
|
Comenius School
|
Czech language |
Tuesday & Friday |
17:00 -19:15 |
|
Community Leeds After School Study Support (CLASSS) |
English and Maths |
Thursday
|
17.30 -19.30
|
|
German Saturday School Leeds |
German
|
Saturday |
14:00 -16.00 |
|
GNNSJ Punjabi School |
Punjabi
|
Wednesday |
19.00 -20.45 |
|
Hamara Supplementary School 23 |
Mathematics, English, Science & Personal Social Development |
Saturday |
10.00 -13.40 |
|
La Petite Ecole de Leeds |
French
|
Saturday |
10:00 – 12:30 |
|
Latvian School
|
Latvian |
Saturday |
10:00 - 12:30 |
|
Leeds Chinese Community School
|
Mandarin & Cantonese |
Sunday |
12.00 -16.00 |
|
Leeds Chinese School |
Mandarin
|
Saturday |
13.00 -15.30 |
|
Leeds Community Mandarin Chinese School |
Mandarin
|
Saturday |
13.00 – 15.00 |
|
Leeds Korean School |
Korean
|
Saturday |
10:00 -12:00 |
|
Leeds Refugee Homework Club
|
Homework Support |
Tuesday& Thursday |
16:30 -18:30 |
|
Nawroz School Leeds
|
Kurdish Language |
Saturday |
10.30 – 15.30 |
|
Nuestra Escuela Leeds
|
Spanish Language |
Sunday |
15.00 – 17.00 |
|
Persian Association |
Farsi Language
|
Saturday |
12.30 -15:00 |
|
Polish Saturday School
|
Polish |
Saturday |
9.15 -13.00 |
|
Ukrainian School in Leeds
|
English, Ukrainian, Maths & Music |
Saturday |
14.00 – 17.00 |
|
Vidia Sagar Cultural Group |
Punjabi
|
Thursday |
18:00 -19.30 |
|
Yorkshire Humberside Japanese School |
Japanese
|
Saturday |
10.30 -12.30 |
For further information, please contact Wesley Wu on 07891 270385 or email: Wesley.wu@leeds.gov.uk
