Raising standards for pupils who have English as an Additional Language (EAL) through monitoring and evaluation of provision in primary schools

Abstract

The aim of the research is to further knowledge and understand how monitoring and evaluation of pupils who have English as an additional language (EAL) is undertaken in primary schools. This is a comparative study across primary schools using qualitative approaches to help gain insight into current good practice and identify future needs in EAL. Through interviews with senior leadership teams and key coordinators, we explore how structures and systems help to monitor and evaluate provision for pupils who have EAL. The findings of the study indicate a more systematic approach to monitoring and evaluation of pedagogic practice, so that staff in primary schools have a clearer understanding of how to meet the needs of pupils who have EAL more effectively, rather than leaving it to specialist staff. Our conclusion is that staff require training on data analysis to better target learning and attainment for pupils who have EAL.

Keywords:

• EAL
• monitoring
• evaluating

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the staff and senior leaders from the varied research schools for their valuable time, comments and thoughts. They would also like to thank the University of Bedfordshire and BELMAS for their financial support.