PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT
The importance of parental engagement when welcoming multilingual learners
and thrive. S
aira Yousaf, Assistant Headteacher at Horton Grange Primary School, shares her thoughts on the crucial role of parental engagement when it comes to teaching EAL learners – and why a unique approach is needed.
Over one in five pupils speak English as an Additional Language (EAL) in today’s schools. This requires a unique approach to parental engagement: multilingual families are a very diverse group, whose geographical, linguistic, social, and economic backgrounds vary significantly. Understanding each family’s specific barriers and fostering a strong partnership between school and home are essential to ensuring that pupils settle in quickly
At Horton Grange Primary School, parental engagement is central to our induction process when multilingual children first join us. Located on the outskirts of Bradford city centre, we are placed in the heart of a highly diverse community. This is reflected in our school community, where 99.8% of pupils speak English as an Additional Language, creating a uniquely diverse environment with more than 31 languages represented. This diversity is also reflected in our staff, providing a significant advantage when engaging with parents and families. As part of Exceed Academies Trust, Horton Grange benefits from a strong Trust-wide commitment to inclusive, community-centred practice.
However, it is essential to acknowledge that the term ‘EAL’ represents a varied group of learners rather than a single profile. Not all pupils who use EAL are disadvantaged or new to the English language, and so educators cannot make any assumptions about these learners during the induction process. Getting to know the child and their family first is essential to informing any decisions that are made about what support they might need
Induction process: first point of contact At our school we have almost 20 pupils who are very new to the English language. For these
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children, it is likely that their parents are also unfamiliar with the education system here in the UK. In these cases, pastoral teams are vital to ensuring effective communication and integration into school life. This outreach can consist of home visits, supporting families to access uniform provision, signposting financial assistance where appropriate, and helping families to navigate key periods such as school admissions and secondary school transition. For any child joining a school, it is essential that systems are in place to understand their background and identify the support they may require. A clear understanding of each family’s background, and any challenges they may face as they adjust to life in a new country, enables schools to better engage parents in supporting their child’s learning. Useful questions include: What is their spoken language proficiency and which languages do they use? Which countries have they lived in? What prior school experiences does the child have? What are the parents’ own educational backgrounds? This broader context is significant, as some parents relocate to the UK for higher education, and their children may therefore arrive with an established educational background. These children will have a very different school experience to a refugee or an asylum seeker, for example, who may not have had any previous schooling or literacy in their own language.
February 2026
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