NALDIC argues for 7 year EAL funding

NALDIC has recently responded to the government's funding consultation which threatens to revolutionise funding for EAL and ethnic minority learners. As the consultation notes, it is essential that the language learning needs of EAL children and young people are met as early and as fully as possible'. In our response we have argued that for this to happen ' it is essential that any national formula includes an EAL factor.'

We have argued that whilst our preference is not for a funding system which is tied to the length of time a pupil has been in the English school system but for a national system related to EAL fluency levels we recognise that this is unlikely to be achieved in the short term. We have therefore argued that funding must be put in place for 5-7 years for bilingual pupils, rather than the 'first few years' proposed by the government. We have also made clear that this 5-7 years qualification needs to begin when the child or young person enters the school system. For the majority of EAL learners who are British born, this will be from their entry into Reception to the end of Year 6. We believe the inclusion of this factor will additionally support the recommendations of the Tickell report and the subsequent Early Years Foundation Stage consultation that ‘in reception class, children with English as an additional language should receive the necessary support’.

Our full response is available here