English as an Additional Language, proficiency in English and pupils’ educational achievement: An analysis of Local Authority data

The research analysed the January 2017 School Census data of a large and representative sample of more than 140,000 pupils aged 5-16 years attending 1,569 schools in six Local Authorities across England. The focus was on the relationship between English as an Additional Language (EAL), proficiency in English (PIE) and educational achievement at age 5, 7, 11 and 16. EAL learners are a heterogeneous group encompassing a wide range of language skills, from pupils who have had little exposure to English through to those with a heritage language but also fully fluent in English. There are substantial variations in proficiency in English by age: at age 5, 70% of EAL pupils are acquiring English (Stage A-C), dropping to 49% at age 7, 23% at age 11 and just 15% at age 16. Proficiency in English is central to understanding achievement and levels of need among pupils with EAL. PIE can explain 22% of the variation in EAL pupils’ achievement compared to the typical 3-4% that can be statistically explained using gender, free school meal status and ethnicity. The report concludes the England Department for Education should release data on PIE in the National Pupil Database for research purposes and should reinstate the collection of PIE in the school census. Although the DFE no longer requires schools to assess a child’s proficiency in English, we strongly urge schools to continue to record PIE to identify needs and target support