English as an Additional Language - helping pupils and their parents

According to the Department for Education, English is the second language for 1.1 million pupils in the UK

A research project conducted in the London borough of Ealing recently found that “there are 150 different languages spoken in Ealing schools. Currently Somali is the most frequently spoken language after English, after which the most common are Panjabi, Polish, Urdu, Arabic and Tamil.”
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There are several recommendations to help schools improve their parental engagement:

• more language support for parents
• commitment by schools to enhance communication with parents by operating a ‘language aware’ policy for all staff
• publications for parents in plain English, jargon free, with helpful illustrations of e.g. uniform items/games kit/school meals and so on
• homework clubs including parents, with guidance from teachers about how and in what ways they could support their children’s learning activities
• constant revision and development of EAL curriculum
• clear explanations of dominant methodological and child development theories including attitudes to reward and punishment, customised to the local demographic.