EAL at Roman Road
With rapidly increasing numbers of our Roman Road children speaking English as an Additional Language, we are supported incredibly well by Mathilde from the EMTAS service.
Working with Mathilde and her colleagues, we aim to:
- raise the attainment of children who have EAL
- promote inclusion and access to the full curriculum
- celebrate linguistic, cultural and religious diversity
- build mainstream capacity to provide access and raise the attainment of our children with EAL
- enable children and families to enjoy a smooth induction and transition to life at Roman Road
- promote the active participation of children and families
Young Interpreters
Our Young Interpreters provide peer support to pupils who are Learning English as an Additional Language. We have trained up a group of KS2 children to develop their skills to allow them to help new arrivals with EAL feel welcome and settled here at Roman Road.
The training develops the confidence, communication and leadership skills of the Young Interpreters and allows us to value multilingualism whilst acknowledging and celebrating the skills of our children with EAL.
Our Young Interpreters are a mix of KS2 children, including both bilingual and monolingual learners – this project has been very powerful in developing empathy amongst our English speakers towards some of the challenges and difficulties that children new to English may be facing.
Working together, our Young Interpreters use a range of inventive ideas modelled during their training to communicate with our new recruits to Team Roman Road.
School of Sanctuary
As part of our work with School of Sanctuary, we are using some funding to transform an area of school into an area called The Sanctuary. Here you will find comfy sofas and alternative seating opportunities for children to complete work with external specialists. We also use this area for pre-teaching of vocabulary before lessons to ensure our children are well equipped to participate meaningfully in lessons.
Perfect Pashto with Horia
Horia is a true Roman Road kid – she works hard, is a fabulous friend and has a real desire to make the world a better place! Each Friday lunchtime, she works with a small group of children who want to learn Pashto.
