Extra funding for EOL students?

[whoknows2019]

We are returning to the UK next summer after several years living in my husbands country. I have two children, they are fluent Arabic and English speakers. I know that when I apply for a school I will be asked what is their first language and I intend to put Arabic. This is because it is the dominant language for them, they have been schooled in it etc. They can read and write English, roughly at the level for their age group but perhaps slightly behind due to learning to read and writing two languages.
Do schools get extra funding when they enrol a pupil who does not have English as a first language?

Whoops! That should be EAL students not EOL.

No extra funding but schools are measured on how well EAL students do as a group. Don't expect much extra support.

No, no specific ring-fenced extra funding for EAL.

Bluntly, no they don't. I believe the funding formula has changed, and all pupils are funded to the same levels. The only extra would be PP grant and SEN top-up, neither of which your children would attract.
Why does it matter to you if a school gets extra funding for your children? Genuinely curious.

midimitch the children don't need support- they read/write English at appropriate age level.

No, they don't get extra funding. If your dc's first language is Arabic, then that's what you should put, but neither you nor the school will get any benefit from that. As another poster has mentioned, the school will need to report on the progress of EAL kids as a cohort, but this won't make any difference to your dc as individuals.

Are you implying their first Language was actually English but they've been using Arabic more? First Language means exactly that- the language they learnt at birth.
There isn't a need to lie .

My DH's first language wasn't English but he came here as a toddler and doesn't know his own language now. No-one would ever know unless he mentioned it.

Haskell - They've been bilingual since birth as I've always spoken to them in English and their Dad Arabic. He never speaks to them in English. My eldest moved abroad when he was 18 months old and then Arabic dominated. So not lying.
I was looking through the forms and noticed that they ask the first language and I was intrigued as to why and whether it meant the school got additional funding or something. My eldest constantly battles with English spellings but then I presume so do lots of children who have always been educated soley in English. No sinister motive. Honest.

Extra funding would be very helpful for those children who turn up without a word of English, but sadly, there is nothing. It's very challenging for teachers who have to balance the needs of these pupils alongside those of the other children in their classes. On the positive side, most children tend to learn very quickly!

AlexaShutup - I find it incredible that there is no funding for children with no English at all. That was one of the reasons I asked the question. It much be very frustrating for the teachers involved when they have to meet everyone's needs.

It is extremely challenging for the teachers and for the individual children. I'm a primary school governor, and have a particular interest in this area due to the fact that dd is trilingual (though first language is English).

The school where I am a governor works very hard to support these children, but due to funding cuts, we can no longer afford the additional 1:1 support that we used to provide, so the pressure on the class teacher is significant. That said, most of our EAL children come from families which are very keen on education, and on average, they actually out-perform the non EAL kids in the Year 6 SATS, so they clearly manage to catch up. The school is also very good at celebrating its diversity and I think most parents see the wealth of different languages and cultures as a real positive. (36 different mother tongues at the last school census!)

The biggest challenge is when children arrive without any English language in the later years of primary - it's so much harder for them to catch up than if they join in reception or KS1 because the language needed to access the curriculum is so much more complex.

Yes there is additional funding for up to the first 3 years that a pupil is recorded as having EAL on the census. Some LAs devolve to schools and other retain more centrally. It is not intended to be counted for at pupil level but used within the school.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/726783/Proforma_publication_18-19_FINAL_FOR_PUBLICATION.pdf

148 local authorities have chosen to use it, compared with 139 in 2017-18.

If you google EA funding and the LA you intend to live in. Here is would total about £1600 over 3 years for a primary pupil and more for a secondary pupil.

Where a pupil’s first language is other than English - that is: where the pupil has been exposed to a language other than English during early development and continues to be exposed to this language in the home or in the community - schools may record specific languages from the extended language codeset.

That's interesting isspace. I have been specifically told by the school that there is no additional funding for these pupils, so is that likely to mean that the LA has retained this funding centrally?

I have been specifically told by the school that there is no additional funding for these pupils, so is that likely to mean that the LA has retained this funding centrally?

Very few (if any) retain all of it, most delegate at least some.

If you google your LA name and EAL funding then you should find the information. Maybe add schools forum or DSG into the search if nothing initially comes up. There was a country wide speared sheet published but I cant find a copy online.

They ask the question so they know. It can impact on their learning so it’s useful to know. Also it can help us to communicate with parents if we know in advance that there may be a language barrier.

To get technical over the funding, there is no additional funding for EAL pupils over and above what is in the new national funding formula, which is slowly being introduced to all schools in England. The new national funding formula does have specific funding for the number of pupils in the school that are registered for EAL on an annual basis.
When and if the new national funding formula comes into force in 2021 financial year, then schools will receive all funding coming from the formula. However what currently happens is that all the funding for any LA is put together and passed to the LA, who at present can operate any funding formula that they want. Some LAs do have an EAL funding stream and some do not but if they do it will be around the annual census of how many EAL pupils they have in the school. If the LAs have been sensible then they will have been moving their local funding formula as far as possible towards the national funding formula, so that the change in 2021 will not be massive. However some LAs are a million miles away from that situation.
In terms of what you have been told that there is no funding, that is probably true that there is no direct funding that comes to you because you say arabic is first language but the school will probably get some funding. They do not however have to directly spend any received funding on your children only show that they are using the funding across the school to the benefit of EAL children in the school.

School will assess if they are EAL based on their language skills. It is no longer based on the parents data. There is no additional funding but they will receive additional help based on their needs as any child does.

My son has English as his second language. He was born here but was looked after at home until school age so when he started reception, English was new to him. His only exposure had been through youtube videos and the daily soft play/free play group he attended a couple of hours a day. He has not received additional support at school as far as I know, but I can say that by December he was speaking, reading and writing in English (age appropriate of course). I wouldn't worry too much, kids brains are amazing at that age and they will progress quickly when put in that environment.