Children with EAL

At Norcot we provide a friendly and welcoming environment for all our families. Becoming more familiar with our families where English is not the first language at home is key to help us to better understand potential cultural/religious/home circumstances that may need to be taken into account in planning an inclusive learning environment.  

We gather information in advance about our children for example the pupil’s correct name and how is it spelt /pronounced and establish what language is spoken at home.  We know to look out for cultural differences and create a welcoming environment using welcome posters and other visuals around the walls to reflect different cultures and have some dual language books to share with families. We invest time getting to know families with little or no English as it is important that they feel valued and reassured about the wellbeing of their children.

During the early days in the classroom we make sure that keyworkers have essential language to communicate with EAL children and their families Such as:

Hello/ Yes /No/ Please may I have…/Thank you / Goodbye /I need to go to the toilet 

We aim to provide a positive and encouraging Language learning environment and support this through pictures, symbols and gestures wherever possible and we share rhymes and count in different languages as well.

We follow the guide below for working with children with EAL and as a Centre we find working with bilingual/emerging bilingual children is a most rewarding experience which will enhance and enrich our setting.