Best Practice

EAL and SEND: Seven principles for ensuring inclusive and integrated provision

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A number of EAL pupils will also have SEND. How can primary schools best support these learners and address both their linguistic and special needs? Glynis Lloyd offers guidance, some practical ideas, and seven key messages
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Learners who use English as an additional language (EAL) are a diverse group, who come from a range of social, economic, and geographical backgrounds.

As in all learner populations, a small proportion of children using EAL also have SEND. How can teachers support those learners and address both their linguistic and special needs so that they can reach their full potential?

 

Key message 1: Learning EAL is not a SEND

It bears repeating that learning EAL is not a SEND. With accurate and holistic assessment, target-setting, and adaptive teaching with language support, learners using EAL can learn English as they access the full curriculum and achieve academic success.

However, figures tell us that there are almost 230,000 children in schools in England who speak or are thought to speak a language other than English who also have SEND (DfE, 2023).

It is vital, therefore, that those children are identified as early as possible and receive targeted and integrated support that addresses both their linguistic challenges and their special learning needs.

This requires schools to have systems and provision in place and for EAL and SEND staff to work together to correctly identify, assess, refer, and design appropriate support.

 

Key message 2: Assess existing provision as a school

For a host of reasons, including a lack of funding for EAL and the fact that SEND is a protected characteristic, the attention to and investment in resources for learners who use EAL has been secondary to that for learners who have a SEND.

In some schools, responsibilities for addressing EAL needs rest with the SENCO, who may have little time, expertise, or resources to adequately address linguistic needs.

Building a whole-school approach that places an equal focus on EAL and SEND creates an opportunity for senior leaders to make sure their staff are sufficiently trained and resourced to address the linguistic needs of multilingual children using EAL, to correctly identify SEND, and to build appropriate support for both sets of needs.

The following questions can help senior leadership teams, including the EAL coordinator and SENCO, to assess their existing provision and identify where new or revised policies, plans, systems, and staff professional development might be needed:

  1. What policies covering EAL and SEND provision are in place in your school and how might these be revised and updated?
  2. What are the key roles and duties of the senior leadership team in providing for EAL learners who have SEND?
  3. How can those responsible for EAL and SEND best communicate and cooperate?
  4. How can your school ensure early and accurate identification of language and learning support needs?
  5. How can your school ensure early and accurate identification of SEND?
  6. How can existing plans and strategies be improved to ensure effective provision for children with both language and SEND needs?
  7. What information, professional development and resources do all staff need when they are working with learners who use EAL and have SEND?

 

Key message 3: Gather information to enable early identification

Because learners who use EAL are such a diverse group, with different backgrounds, educational experiences, and linguistic repertoires, drawing up a pupil profile is an important first step in identifying the support that a child needs to learn English and learn in English.

Gathering information about each new learner’s educational background, language profile, and proficiency in English at the outset will help so that any SEND concerns can be contextualised within the child’s current level of proficiency in English.

Research shows that learners new to English can take more than six years to become fluent in academic language in English and to access the curriculum fully (Strand & Lindorff, 2020). There are many reasons why progress in English can be hindered, for example a learner may have had very little or disrupted schooling previously, perhaps as a result of fleeing their country and becoming a refugee. The trauma from dislocation can have a negative impact on learning, while poverty affects how well families can provide for and support their children.

These and many other factors can hinder progress in achieving learning outcomes. If teachers have information about each learner’s circumstances, they can make more informed judgements about why a learner might be struggling, and what support, including mental health support and pastoral care, may be required.

These complexities and intersecting factors emphasise the need for clear and integrated systems of information-gathering and sharing at the admission stage and beyond.

 

Key message 4: Remove language barriers and tailor SEND identification processes to meet EAL needs

There is not one overarching test that can determine whether a learner using EAL has SEND. To reach a judgement, schools need to adopt a holistic approach, using different assessments, observations in and outside of the classroom, information-gathering from multiple sources, including the child’s family, and feedback from all those who work with the child.

Most tests that are available in England could disadvantage learners who are learning EAL. Commonly used tests have a cultural and language bias and contain vocabulary, content and contexts that are unfamiliar. Translating tests into a language the learner knows may alter intended meanings and will still not provide recognisable content.

But there are strategies that schools can adopt, to enable more reliable assessment and information-gathering:

  1. Where possible, use interpreters to conduct reading and writing assessments in the learner’s preferred language (assuming they have had literacy instruction in that language).
  2. Assess a piece of writing to check for indications that a learner is working at age-related expectations.
  3. Use comprehension questions in a reading activity to see if there could be an underlying challenge with learning and cognition.
  4. Recognise that if a learner has language and communication challenges in all the languages they use then this could indicate a speech, language, and communication need.
  5. Learn about how bilingualism works: learners using multiple languages transfer skills from one language to another and use strategies such as translanguaging to make meaning and construct knowledge. Being aware of these helpful strategies will help schools to see “bilingualism as an advantage …. (that) does not cause, or contribute to a speech, language, or communication disorder” (RCSLT, 2024).

 

Key message 5: Centre the learner’s voice in planning and provision

Create a pupil voice profile by collecting information from discussions with each child in which they talk about their goals, challenges, and experiences of learning. Ask them what would help them at school. This information is important for making sure that each child has a say in the provision arranged for them and that support plans are tailored to their individual needs. These questions could guide your discussions:

  • What is working and what is not working for you at school?
  • What helps you to learn?
  • What do you struggle with in the classroom?
  • What are you good at?
  • What are your interests and hobbies?
  • What are your hopes for the future?

 

Key message 6: Build systemic cooperation and communication

Collaboration between your EAL co-ordinator and the SENCO needs to be organised and systematised, so that the needs of EAL learners who also have SEND are firmly on your school’s agenda.

With information-sharing, regular meetings and scheduled classroom observations, concerns can be raised, SEND needs can be identified early, and support and progress can be monitored and measured.

You can structure regular meetings around these questions:

  • Are there any learners who staff have concerns about?
  • How well are EAL learners who have or may have SEND performing and is there a need to review their provision?
  • Are there children who require referrals to outside specialists? And for those who have been, have the results of referrals and assessments been shared with relevant staff?
  • How effectively are teaching assistants able to work with and support EAL learners who have SEND?
  • What CPD opportunities for all involved staff can be identified?

 

Key message 7: Build partnerships with families

In your meetings and consultations with families, be aware that in many countries SEND needs are thought of and treated differently to how they are in England. SEND could be seen as a punishment or something shameful and there can be stigma attached to people who have special needs.

Families may be reluctant to disclose information about their child’s needs. So, make it clear to families from the start that their child will have a place in your school, and that the information they have and share with you will help you design the best support.

These strategies will help your school to build good relationships with families:

  • Provide information about SEND provision in England in the language the family can access best (it may be English).
  • Provide interpreters in meetings with families, where necessary.
  • Involve the family in drawing up plans for support.
  • Provide on-going information to the family about their child’s progress.
  • Integrate the family into the life of the school.

 

Final thoughts

With the right information, processes, tools, and support strategies, schools can raise the profile of multilingual learners using EAL who have SEND and create a whole-school response that ensures that they receive the support that the SEND Code of Practice (DfE, 2015) requires.

If schools invest in staff, training, and resources, draw on reliable assessment and build collaborative working relationships across the school and with families, these learners can be given the best possible chance of reaching their potential.

 

Further information & resources