Gap widens for bilingual five years olds for the first time in five years

The publication of the 2012 results of the Early Years Foundation Stage assessments shows that the gap between children learning EAL in England and those with English as a first language has widened for the first time in 5 years. NALDIC notes that this increasing disparity coincides with massive cuts to EAL services nationwide, many of which previously put considerable resources into the EYFS in the name of early intervention.

In 2012, 56 per cent of EAL and bilingual children achieved a good level of development in the EYFS compared to 65 per cent of children whose first language is English. The difference between bilingual children meeting this benchmark and mother tongue English children has been narrowing since 2007 but has shown an increase this year and now stands at 9 percentage points. The highest percentage of bilingual pupils achieving the benchmark were to be found in Greenwich, Bracknell Forest, Dorset and Reading.

The new Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage requires EYFS settings to 'ensure that children have sufficient opportunities to learn and reach a good standard in English language during the EYFS, ensuring children are ready to benefit from the opportunities available to them when they begin Year 1' Practitioners must also review children's progress between two and three and provide a short written summary to parents of their progress in prime areas. This must include a description of activities and strategies the provider intends to adopt to address any issues or concerns. For children who do not have a strong grasp of English, this therefore should include the strategies and activities the settings will undertake to promote English language development. Similarly providers with bilingual children aged 3-5 must take reasonable steps to support home language development and English language learning.