Schools Week: How can the curriculum better support the needs of EAL learners?
In this opinion piece for Schools Week*, following the release of the Independent curriculum and assessment review interim report, our Head of Training and Resources Katherine Solomon explains how a reflective curriculum, new approaches to assessment, and strengthening accountability as part of the review could play a key role in supporting children who use English as an Additional Language (EAL) to thrive in school.
Current reliance on aggregated data often masks the immense variation in attainment within the diverse cohort of EAL pupils, leading to policies that fail to adequately address their needs. EAL learners, who represent over 20 per cent of the school population, remain largely invisible within current education policy despite clear evidence that proficiency in English is the single most important predictor of their attainment.
In fact, research shows that a pupil’s level of proficiency in English explains four to six times more variation in attainment than gender, ethnicity, and free school meal status combined.
Given that English is the primary language of instruction in schools in England, it’s unsurprising that pupils with limited proficiency often struggle to access the curriculum without targeted support. This is especially true for certain groups identified as being at heightened risk of low attainment, including learners new to English, learners who arrive late into the school system, and learners from specific first-language backgrounds. Addressing these gaps requires a curriculum that reflects the complexity of EAL learners’ experiences and supports them to thrive.
We welcome the curriculum and assessment review interim report which acknowledges that persistent gaps in attainment remain, further highlighting the need to improve outcomes for disadvantaged young people. The review offers a rare and important opportunity to reform a system that all-too-often fails to support EAL learners effectively.
Insights from over one hundred of The Bell Foundation’s partner schools highlights simple and practical changes needed across the curriculum, assessment, and accountability.
A reflective curriculum
A highly prescriptive curriculum falls short in today’s multilingual classrooms. Greater flexibility is needed to tailor learning for EAL pupils ensuring they leave school fully equipped with the skills they need.
In recent years, the narrowing of academic pathways and rigidity of educational stages has been to the detriment of EAL learners. A more flexible approach, including options like extended GCSE programmes and broader vocational pathways, could better equip EAL learners to overcome educational barriers, achieve fluency, and thrive academically and professionally.
Our partner schools report that the huge cultural capital that EAL pupils bring often goes unrecognised due to pressures to “cover” a narrow curriculum representing only a limited section of society.
The curriculum review’s interim report reinforces this sentiment, recognising the need to ensure that children and young people see themselves represented in the curriculum. Updating it to include diverse texts and materials reflecting the rich diversity of the classroom, with guidance on connecting learning to students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds, would enrich their educational experience and foster inclusivity.
New approaches to assessment
Learners using EAL face a dual challenge when thinking about assessments: being tested on both subject knowledge and their ability to understand and express it in English. This double burden can prevent some learners from showcasing their true potential. Assessments relying heavily on English proficiency to demonstrate learning can significantly disadvantage EAL learners, particularly teenagers entering later into the school system who are new to the language.
Our partner schools have consistently reinforced the need to streamline GCSEs, advocating for shorter and fewer exams to reduce the burden on learners. This chimes with OCR’s recommendations on phased and proportionate assessments with less reliance on “high-stakes” exams at 16.
A more holistic approach to assessment is needed – one that reflects the linguistic and cultural diversity of EAL learners. By incorporating models and methods such as observations and performance-based assessments conducted throughout the year, schools can better support the needs of EAL learners. Formative assessment is crucial for supporting EAL learners’ language development alongside curriculum learning.
Strengthen accountability
A broader curriculum and reformed assessments alone are not enough. Consistent and ongoing assessment of English language proficiency is also crucial to ensure EAL students receive the tailored support they need to fully access the curriculum and achieve their academic potential. After all, there’s a significant difference between conversational fluency – being able to say something or understand it – and the more advanced academic language skills required to pass exams and succeed in formal assessments.
Many schools and local authorities continue to recognise the value of using language proficiency scales to assess the English proficiency of EAL learners, and their wider reintroduction would be a welcome step forward. Although statutory scales were introduced in England in 2016, their removal in 2018 created a gap in accountability. Reintroducing these scales would help ensure that EAL learners’ progress is accurately tracked and supported – as is already the case in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Accurate, ongoing language proficiency data is essential for creating accountability mechanisms that truly reflect and support the progress of EAL pupils.
The curriculum and assessment review’s interim report signals hope for addressing the needs of this often-overlooked group of learners by redressing this imbalance, ensuring that all pupils, regardless of language, receive the targeted support needed to thrive in education, succeed in future employment and actively contribute to their communities.
*This article was originally published in Schools Week on 10 December 2024. This version has been updated following the release of the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report.