Whole-school EAL inclusion

Help multilingual learners feel welcome, take part and use their language resources across school life. Start with one priority, involve students and families, and review the effect before extending it.

Four dimensions to review

Review inclusion across four connected dimensions: academic access, social belonging, linguistic participation and attitudes. Use these as questions for a school review, rather than treating placement in a mainstream class as enough.

Dimension	Review question	Evidence to seek
Academic	Can learners access challenging content and show their understanding?	Tasks, scaffolds, classroom responses and assessment samples.
Social	Can learners build relationships and participate in lessons, breaks and clubs?	Student accounts, observations and participation patterns.
Linguistic	Are language resources valued and used purposefully alongside English development?	Classroom routines, multilingual resources and learner explanations.
Attitudinal	Do staff expectations and everyday interactions recognise learners’ capabilities?	Staff discussion, materials, feedback and students’ experiences.

Integration and inclusion: placing a learner in an existing class leaves the question of access unresolved. Inclusive practice adjusts communication, pedagogy, materials and assessment so the learner can participate. Review the quality and connection of any specialist provision alongside these adjustments.

Practical tools for staff teams

Use a small shared routine, check what learners experience and agree the next adjustment. Each tool is designed to work with a year team, subject department or student support group.