If you have children who are learning English as an additional language (EAL) attending your provision, you will want to ensure that they and their families feel welcomed and comfortable, that the children are fully included and make good progress, and that all staff understand how to support children with EAL.

EAL learners will have differing early years experiences and may be:

• Newly arrived in the country
• Refugees, asylum seekers or economic migrants
• From established ethnic communities born in the UK

The Herefordshire early years and EAL teams can provide advice and resources to support early years providers to meet the needs of this vulnerable group. We can support providers to develop inclusive practice in order to welcome and celebrate the cultural diversity of their community.

We:

•       Provide opportunities to network and share good practice

•       Provide training opportunities

•       Offer Teddy Talk assessments

•       Offer support for parents and carers

•       Outreach work, including Bilingual Story Time and Child Observations

•       Offer support for early years staff sharing our knowledge, experience and expertise

Support for Ukrainian families arriving in Herefordshire can be found via the Talk Community Directory and in the Support for Ukraine section on this website.

There is also a Hereford Help for Ukraine Facebook group.

All of the written information on the Talk Community Directory can be translated into different languages by clicking on 'select language' at the top of the page. This includes all the information on free education places for 2-4 year olds, school admission applications, children's centre services, the speech and language toolkits, SEND local offer and much more.

For further information, advice and support please contact EALService@herefordshire.gov.uk or 01432 383858.