At Bare Trees Primary School, we are very proud to celebrate the diversity of our school community. Our learners come from a variety of backgrounds, with our families currently speaking 22 languages in addition to English.

We understand that our pupils are all learning English at different stages and this is reflected in the adaptations and inclusive practices that underpin our approach to teaching and learning. We use effective systems to assess and develop pupils' proficiency in English alongside classroom practices informed by high-quality research.

We want all of our pupils to achieve fluency in English – both at a social and an academic level and we value the extent that families contribute to this.

Our EAL team works to support pupils at every stage of their academic journey. This support structure includes, but is not limited to:

• Supporting pupils as they settle into our school.

• Focused teaching and interventions to ensure pupils have the opportunity to learn and develop their language skills with the support of expert staff.

• Inclusive classroom environments that provide good language role models, immersion in English and the opportunity to learn in a language-rich setting.

• Support from peers to ensure pupils feel included, valued and celebrated as a member of our school community.

• Training for staff to ensure they feel equipped and empowered to support pupils in their English learning experience.

There are lots of valuable online resources that can help support learning English as an additional language, but we also recognise and value the contributions families can make to developing pupils' skills in home languages. A strong knowledge of the home language is absolutely crucial in developing pupils' sense of their identity and accelerates their progress in learning English.