Welcoming people from all over the world into our school, we are committed to providing all students the opportunities they need to fulfil their potential in order that they can go on to contribute to and serve the wider community, living their lives in all its fullness. Our EAL provision plays a key role whereby we support students inside and outside of the curriculum, as well as play a key role in ensuring that students and their families are part of our St. Augustine community.
St Augustine’s Context
The population at the Federation is 80% EAL with over 30 home languages, the most common being, Arabic, Bengali, Somali, Kurdish and Portuguese, the students come from a broad spectrum of backgrounds.
Every new arrival is assessed by our EAL co-ordinator.
Their stages of English as specified by the DfE are then recorded. Information is also collected on the student’s:
- family
- linguistic background and competence in another language/s
- previous educational experience.
This informs the EAL Co-ordinator on how best to support the student. A holistic approach is utilised as identified by The Prism Model of Thomas and Collier.
Integration of EAL Students and their Families into our Schools
Parents are provided with information and strategies to support their children at home with their studies, and encouraged to continue the development of their first language which in many cases can be taken at GCSE and ‘A’ level. We celebrate linguistic, cultural and religious background of all students and educate the whole Federation about the diverse languages and cultures represented within our community through the curriculum, assemblies, student leadership and extra – curricular activities such as trips and speakers.
