Within education, there can sometimes be a perception that pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) outperform their monolingual peers.

Equally, there can be a perception that EAL children - newly arrived refugees, for example - are a drain on school resources and hold other pupils back.

In fact, neither is correct. EAL learners are highly diverse, and can include an advanced bilingual child from an advantaged household and a refugee new to English without prior education.

This means that looking at aggregated data and the “EAL” flag in the National Pupil Database tells us very little and is unable to provide insight into the varied attainment of this cohort.

That’s why we recently commissioned new evidence from the University of Oxford, building on a decade’s worth of research looking at EAL learner achievement, to create a more nuanced picture of these pupils, their needs and how schools can help.

Multilingual classrooms are the norm

Firstly, the evidence reveals that the proportion of schools welcoming EAL learners has grown significantly. Two in three schools in England now have at least 5 per cent of EAL pupils on their roll, compared with fewer than half of schools in 2013.

With more schools - especially those beyond urban centres - having EAL pupils to support, it is vital to note the clear evidence that the later an EAL learner joins school, the harder it is for them to achieve at the expected standard, and to catch up with their peers.

At primary school, EAL pupils joining any time after Reception score substantially below the national average for key stage 2 Reading.

Visual representations of the data show a clear drop in attainment among pupils who enter the system in Year 6, with late-arriving EAL learners being only half as likely as other late-arriving pupils to achieve the national average.

The benefit of multiple languages

However, the data also reinforces the fact that speaking two or more languages is beneficial for pupils’ academic progress.

EAL learners who arrive before Year 3 generally catch up, and indeed achieve slightly better than their monolingual peers by the age of 16.

It is clear, then, that the point at which a pupil enters the school system - and consequently the time they have to acquire proficiency in academic English - makes all the difference to their achievement, because it is this proficiency in the language of the curriculum that has the greatest impact on EAL learners’ attainment.

It is important to be mindful of this, as well as of previous evidence showing that it can take up to six years, on average, to achieve academic proficiency in English - a level at which learners have progressed from understanding basic classroom instructions to the language required for complex subject-specific work.

Teacher-led assessment provides a clear picture of a learner’s starting point in English and across the curriculum, guiding the next steps in their learning.

This ongoing formative approach identifies strengths and areas for support, enabling teachers to tailor instruction and promote successful integration of EAL learners into mainstream classrooms.

Schools should seek out evidence-based tools, resources and guidance to equip teachers with the skills needed to support EAL learners to succeed, such as those developed by The Bell Foundation.

EAL and SEND

The research also showed that EAL learners with a special educational need or disability (SEND) are a particularly high-needs group, performing significantly worse in reading and maths than monolingual peers with SEND at secondary school.

Even within the EAL learner cohort, those who receive SEN support substantially underperform compared with those who don’t.

While EAL and SEND are distinct, many learners may require support for both. Without the appropriate resources and knowledge, schools run the risk of confusing language with learning needs and misdiagnosing EAL schoolchildren with SEND.

Addressing both language and SEND equally can help to ensure that these learners thrive.

This is where a school-wide approach - including collaboration between EAL and SEND staff - is key to helping to correctly identify, assess, refer and support multilingual children and their families.

What this means for schools

This new evidence is timely, given the recent reintroduction of an EAL focus in Ofsted’s inspection toolkit, which highlights the need for schools to review their EAL provision.

Though there are examples of good practice, lasting impact requires a whole-school approach to EAL assessment, driven by leadership and ensuring that learners have access to the curriculum with scaffolded in-class support.

This research reinforces the importance of schools assessing proficiency in English, which is the greatest predictor of EAL pupil achievement.

However, unlike in other countries, schools in England are not required to assess this to help teachers understand the level of language learning support that each EAL learner needs to unlock their potential.

Conducting an EAL assessment can establish a baseline to help schools inform meaningful targeted support for every learner.

Wider education policy, though, should consider reintroducing statutory assessment, since looking at the “EAL” flag alone tells us very little about this diverse cohort of learners.

Diana Sutton is director of The Bell Foundation

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