EAL Assistant

Support for the Student

• Support and direct activities with either individuals or groups of EAL students to ensure their safety and facilitate their linguistic, social and academic development within the academy
• Establish and maintain positive, professional and culturally sensitive working relationships with individual students and groups, recognising and respecting the diverse backgrounds, experiences and needs of EAL learners
• Provide structured vocabulary and language support to students within lessons and during targeted sessions, ensuring that language barriers do not prevent access to the curriculum
• Support newly arrived students in navigating the social and academic environment of the academy, helping them to feel safe, included and oriented within their new school community
• Promote and reinforce students' confidence and independence as language learners, celebrating progress at every stage of acquisition and maintaining high expectations of what every student can achieve
• Encourage acceptance and inclusion of all students, modelling culturally aware and inclusive values across the school community at all times
• Support EAL students as directed during formal public or internal academy examinations, including where access arrangements have been agreed
• Assist EAL students with self‑organisation and the completion of homework tasks during allocated periods of the school day, providing language support where required
• Drawing on knowledge of language acquisition stages and the individual circumstances of students, develop a growing understanding of the specific linguistic and cultural needs of EAL learners within the school community
• Liaise effectively with parents and carers of EAL students as appropriate, maintaining a professional, empathetic and culturally sensitive approach and supporting communication where language barriers exist
• Assist students on educational visits, enrichment activities and wider academy events, supporting their participation and engagement across all aspects of school life
• Help with the preparation and adaptation of classroom resources and materials to ensure they are accessible for EAL students at varying stages of language acquisition, including visual supports, glossaries and simplified texts
• Implement language development programmes and targeted support activities as directed by the EAL Coordinator or class teacher, working with individuals or small groups
• Monitor individual EAL students' language development and participation within lessons, providing regular, constructive feedback to the teacher regarding progress, barriers and emerging needs
• Contribute to the collation of EAL assessments and entry level language profiles for newly arrived students, supporting the EAL Coordinator in maintaining accurate and up‑to‑date records
• Support teachers in understanding the distinction between language acquisition needs and Special Educational Needs, contributing observations that help ensure EAL students are neither over‑ nor under‑identified for additional support
• Participate in the evaluation of EAL support programmes, contributing student‑level observations and insights to inform future planning and provision
• Support and reinforce the school curriculum across subject areas, providing in‑class language support and helping EAL students to access subject‑specific vocabulary, concepts and tasks
• Deliver targeted vocabulary, literacy and language development activities in both 1:1 and small group settings, as directed by the EAL Coordinator
• Support the use of ICT and digital tools within the classroom and in targeted sessions, including translation tools, language learning platforms and visual resources that support EAL learners
• Provide support for enrichment and wider learning activities during the normal school day, recognising the particular value of enrichment in building EAL students' confidence, cultural capital and sense of belonging
• Support the smooth running of the EAL provision by assisting with the preparation of resources, tracking documents and materials as directed by the EAL Coordinator
• Maintain effective and professional working relationships with colleagues, students and families across the school community
• Maintain and safeguard the confidential nature of student, family and home information at all times, with particular sensitivity to the circumstances of students who may have refugee, asylum‑seeker or newly arrived status
• Contribute to the maintenance of student safety and security, including break and lunchtime duties as required
• Attend EAL team, inclusion team and pastoral meetings as appropriate
• Contribute positively to BTA's wider inclusion and diversity culture, supporting the school's commitment to ensuring that every student — regardless of language, background or national origin — feels safe, known, valued and able to succeed