English: tips to raise attainment

Identify pupils' starting points

Pupils with English as an additional language  Talk to their parents about the pupil's prior experience with language and education.  This will help you support them with more targeted vocabulary development. For example, a pupil with little or no previous knowledge of English will not have the same needs as a pupil who is proficient in social communication but requires help with more specialist vocabulary.  You could, for example:  Encourage the use of bilingual books  Suggest conversation prompts for parents to use when discussing books with their child to stimulate vocabulary development  Encourage families to use their first language to