English as an Additional Language (EAL)

The term EAL is used when referring to pupils whose first language is a language other than English. A pupil’s first language is defined as any language that a child was exposed to during early development and continues to be exposed to in the home or community. This encompasses pupils who are fully bilingual and all those at different stages of learning English.

EAL pupils may be:

• Newly arrived from a foreign country
• Born abroad, but moved to the UK at some point before starting nursery or
• Born in the UK, but in a family where the main language is not English.

At Chestnut we aim to work together to meet the full range of needs of these children and their families, ensuring they all feel valued in our community.

At Chestnut we recognise the importance of children achieving their potential no matter where their starting point is.

To this end, we assess the skills and needs of pupils with EAL on admission and provide appropriate provision according to their needs. We use a range of different strategies to support children as they develop fluency for the English language, thus enhancing both their social and academic experiences within the nursery environment.

At Chestnut, we welcome and value the cultural, linguistic and educational experiences that pupils with EAL bring to our nursery. We celebrate cultural diversities and welcome parents into the setting to share knowledge and skills. We aim to give status to EAL children’s skills in their own language(s) and acknowledge the time it takes to become fluent in an additional language. We encourage pupils to use their first language to explore concepts supported through a home-school vocabulary book. We implement a range of strategies including pre-teaching, using bilingual resources and visual prompts and developing listening skills to ensure that EAL pupils are supported in accessing the curriculum.