Spotlight on Practice: Supporting Secondary Multilingual Learners from Day One

Insights from an interview with Jane Bryan, EAL teacher at Mangotsfield School, Bristol about her school’s EAL provision and how they get the most out of Learning Village.

The School at a Glance

• 15% of students in Years 7-11 are multilingual learners

• Around 40-45 home languages are spoken

• The school uses the Bell Foundation Framework, AssessEP and Learning Village to monitor and support progress

Starting Strong

For Jane Bryan, EAL teacher at Mangotsfield School, supporting multilingual learners begins before they enter the classroom. She attends admissions meetings to assess each learner's English proficiency, creates an individual learner profile, and shares it with staff before their first day.

Families who are less confident in English are supported through a telephone interpreting service, while new arrivals are paired with a buddy who shares their home language where possible or another supportive multilingual learner if not. 

Making Learning Accessible

Learners at the earliest stages of English receive targeted Learning Village intervention three times a week and continue learning independently at home.

One of Jane's favourite approaches is adapting subject knowledge organisers into Learning Village lessons using images, simplified English, and home-language translations. This helps learners access homework and curriculum vocabulary with greater confidence.

Learning Village is also used to celebrate multilingualism across the school through a ‘Language of the Term’, with learners creating multilingual greetings and audio lessons for tutor groups using the programme. More recently, the SEND department has begun using the phonics programme in Learning Village to support reading interventions.

“Being able to adapt our own knowledge organisers into Learning Village lessons has made a huge difference”, explains Jane. “Students arrive in lessons already understanding key vocabulary and feeling much more confident.”

A Success Story

One of Jane's most memorable successes involves twin sisters who joined the school from India in Year 9 with very limited English and no literacy in the English script.

“The twin sisters absolutely devoured Learning Village”, said Jane.

Starting at the earliest proficiency level, they embraced Learning Village, making rapid progress through independent learning both in school and at home. Today, they are preparing for GCSEs with good predicted passing grades which is a remarkable achievement in just a few years.

Progress is tracked through Learning Village diagnostic assessments, AssessEP and the Bell Foundation Framework, providing senior leaders with clear evidence of improving language skills, confidence, and curriculum access.

Five Ideas from Jane

• Start support before Day One by assessing learners early and sharing information with staff
• Adapt curriculum resources into accessible, image-based lessons using Learning Village Resource Creator
• Encourage independent learning at home
• Celebrate multilingualism through whole-school language activities like ‘Language of the Term’
• Use assessment data to demonstrate progress and shape future support

Looking Ahead

Jane is now working with the English department to explore Learning Village's AI-powered writing feedback feature. She is also hoping to use the Learning Village Resource Creator to adapt GCSE texts, such as An Inspector Calls, into accessible language-learning activities for learners to access and practise online on the programme and offline through the customisable printable resources.