EAL (English as an Additional Language)

The EAL Department is an important and valued department at The Albion Academy that takes care of students for whom English is an Additional Language (EAL).  

Within our school, we have a rich multicultural diversity, we currently have over 330 EAL enrolled students. Most of our EAL students speak Portuguese, Ukrainian, Tigrinya, Kurdish, or Arabic. Additionally, there are numerous students speaking Urdu, French, Spanish, Italian and Farsi. Together, we have over 50 different languages spoken at The Albion Academy! 

In the EAL Department, we promote and celebrate different cultures throughout the year marking all world event days such as Black History Month, European Day of Languages (EDL) and World Language Days with assemblies and related activities. The EAL Hub, located in the library, is open before school, after school and at social times, providing a friendly pastoral base where students can meet, socialise, or simply have a quiet space for reading time in our book corner. Our wonderful EAL specialist, Mrs Alsusa, also runs a weekly EAL support club after school, which is a great time for students to receive help with homework, studying, or any other aspect of school life. 

We also have a robust plan of support for any student who has EAL and may require additional support to access and fully harness their learning. 

On entry, students are tested for their level of proficiency in English. This is then used to determine a bespoke pathway moving forward, which may include: 

• Provision of a dictionary in the first language to support with translation to English 
• Additional English interventions with our EAL specialist 
• Additional Literacy interventions through our Lexia and Lexonik programmes 
• Interventions with Salford’s Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS)