English as an additional language

At Queenswell Junior School, we are very proud to have pupils who speak many different languages.

There are currently over 50 languages represented in the school and there are numerous ways in which we celebrate this.

Language of the Month – We always have a ‘Language of the Month’, which begins with a whole school assembly, enabling children to teach others some basic foreign language skills and to educate them about other countries and cultures.  All displays across the school are regularly updated to include the current ‘Language of the Month’.

Summer Half Term 1 2021

Language of the Month: Bulgarian

Find out more about Bulgarian by following the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix/bulgarian.shtml

Summer Half Term 2 2021

Language of the Month: Romanian

Find out more about Romanian by following the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix/romanian.shtml

International Day – Each year we encourage all children to come to school wearing national dress and to bring in home cooked food from across the globe.  This is always a hugely popular event and allows children to celebrate the diversity of their surroundings.

International Evening – We also hold events where families from all communities can come and socialise in a relaxed setting, enjoying global cuisine and taking part in music and dancing from around the world.

Support for EAL (English as an Additional Language) children

In order to ensure that all children achieve their academic potential we have many additional support strategies in place throughout the school.

All new arrivals are assessed, using the Language in Common framework.  This enables us to quickly identify some of needs the child.

As well as all class teachers ensuring appropriately differentiated work for all children we are very proud to have our own dedicated, full-time EAL tutor.

As well as tailored one-to-one intervention support throughout the day, we also offer a daily speaking and listening group, enabling children to build their confidence before returning to class.

Supporting your child at home

There are many simple and practical ways in which you can support your child’s progress at home.  The British Council website outlines some of these strategies.