English as an additional language (EAL) at Paddington
There is an intervention group for each year group at Key Stage Three for students who need support with English. LTAs (Learning & Teaching assistants) are also provided to support students in class if they need help. Students are also supported with curriculum subjects in intervention groups. Some students are given additional one to one time to support with reading, speaking and listening and homework. There is a homework club which all EAL students are welcome to attend. In intervention lessons students are taught English as a Second Language. Every lesson has a speaking, listening, reading and writing focus and we make sure that students are taught new vocabulary and key words to enhance their understanding.
In Year 7 there is an EAL tutor group which is led by two EAL specialists. This is set up so that students can receive extra support in tutor time with their EAL and literacy needs.
In Year 9 EAL students are pre-taught vocabulary and concepts for reading Of Mice and Men in Year 10.
There are lots of interactive activities and grammar games that can be accessed on these links:
Additional support outside school can also be found through the excellent resources that the Westminster Library service offer.
EAL is taught at Key Stage 4 in an option block with the opportunity to complete our EAL iGCSE. We are currently following the Cambridge exam board for this. Students are taught ESOL via this curriculum and lessons are carefully differentiated to meet the different levels of English acquisition in this class. This exam course is equivalent to a GCSE. As with Key Stage 3, each lesson is comprised of speaking, listening, reading and writing. The exam itself has a speaking exam, a listening exam and a reading and writing paper. Equally, students are supported in class, with homework clubs and extra options for support with EAL staff if they need it. Further information can be found at the link below regarding the exam course.
The EAL department also encourages all EAL students to sit Mother Tongue Language exams where possible at GCSE and A Level. Three members of the EAL team also teach students Arabic, Portuguese and Bengali.
We have bought all KS4 English curriculum texts in Arabic, Portuguese, Swedish, German, Dutch and French so that students can support their own understanding in English lessons.
There is an intervention group for Sixth Form students where students are given differentiated support to improve their English Language skills. A separate class is timetabled to offer support for coursework assignments. This is a Drop-in class which is run weekly which students can attend as and when they need guidance. Sixth Form students who require help in class are also assigned LTAs to attend lessons with them.
English Beginners:
Much more support is given to EAL Beginners in addition to the class run for each year group. They follow core subjects (English, Maths and Science) with support and PE and spend their time in small group sessions with other EAL students with the same level of need. There are also one to one sessions for reading where a student has no prior literacy in their home language.
New students:
Paddington Academy welcomes many new students every year from all over the world. Many of these students need help to learn English when they arrive and to settle into school life. This is provided by the EAL department. All testing (CATS, SEN, EAL) is carried out before students start; their timetables are created carefully with this information. Staff are informed of all information about a new student before they start as well. All new students are assigned buddies (many of whom speak the same language and/or were once new arrivals to the UK themselves) to help them settle in and make friends in their first few weeks. All new students are monitored to ensure they settle in well. A special Induction group runs once a week if students are new to the UK for their first six weeks of school. Equally, extra provision is made where we feel a student may want or need extra support: a new student group is run in tutor time once a week with one of our school counselling team and the Director of EAL – this is an informal group where students get an opportunity to discuss any concerns or worries they might have. The EAL classroom is open to all students every break time and lunchtime for students to use computers, play games or just chat if they want to. This is supervised by EAL staff.
Celebrations:
Every year the EAL department gets involved in new projects to celebrate cultural and linguistic diversity. This year we helped organise National Poetry Week as the theme was ‘Home’. We celebrated Refugee Week with teachers in assembly and tutor time and had a number of speakers from Amnesty International and the Refugee Council as our guests. Our display project for this year has been ‘Proverbs and Sayings from Our Culture’ which involved all students and staff. We make sure that cultural diversity and celebrations (Eid, Diwali, Chinese New Year and Christmas, for example) are reflected in our teaching and work with students.
Parents:
All EAL LTAs are bilingual and include Bengali, Arabic, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish and Albanian speakers and alongside a very multi-lingual staff support by making phone calls home, running an Interpreters’ Desk at Parents’ Mornings and Evenings. Equally, the EAL team have helped parents with advice, filling in forms, interpreting at meetings and translating documents and letters. If you would like to help your child at home please use the links above, encourage your child to watch English TV programmes, listening to radio programmes in English, reading magazines and newspapers in English. Please feel free to contact the EAL department if you feel you need more support with this.
If you would like to contact any of the EAL team, please call Rachel Weekes on 02074793934. Alternatively please follow the link below to email the team directly.
EAL Team and Resources:
The EAL team is led by Rachel Weekes and is made up of one EAL teacher and nine LTAs. The EAL department is located along the Student Support corridor and has its own classroom which is fully resourced to meet the needs of EAL students; including bilingual dictionaries for all languages spoken at the school, reading books for students and computers.
Excellent resources for bilingual students can be purchased here:
www.grantandcutler.com
Teaching and Learning:
The Director of EAL is also a Teaching and Learning Coach for staff and helps train teachers in how to best teach and support EAL students and differentiation techniques to ensure that all students can access the lesson and meet learning aims. This includes INSET, workshops and one to one support for staff to learn about how to best support students in their classrooms. EAL resources (for example, our bilingual dictionaries) are also made available to staff. Each year the English level of students is reassessed and this data is tracked and monitored to ensure that all students are making good progress. This information is shared with all staff.
We strive to ensure that all students are provided with personalised support tailored to their individual levels of English, ability, educational need and background. The EAL department operates across the school supporting both students and staff, across the curriculum and pastorally. Paddington Academy is a diverse and multi-cultural community and it is an exciting and vibrant school to work in. We believe that being bilingual is wonderful and do our best to celebrate and support this.
