Actively involving the parents of EAL pupils in specific schemes can develop meaningful engagement and social integration both at school and within the wider community. For example, offering induction courses for family members has been shown to be a successful initiative.
This report presents the interim findings of a three year study, commissioned from Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University and funded by The Bell Foundation. It develops the link between language development, social integration and educational achievement. As the project continues into its final two years, it will research the progress of EAL learners through secondary school, the role of the assessment of these learners and their academic progress, and the involvement of parents in EAL students’ schooling. The Bell Foundation commissioned this report in the context of rapidly changing financial support for EAL learners and teachers, at a time when the numbers of EAL learners are on a steady upward trend and when major changes are happening to education in the UK. It looks at an under researched group of EAL learners – the Eastern European child in the English school system.
Arnot, M., Schneider, C., Evans, M., Liu, Y., Welply, O. and Davies-Tutt, D. (2014). School approaches to the education of EAL students. Language development, social integration and achievement. Cambridge: The Bell Educational Trust Ltd.