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Designing for Language: Rethinking How We Build Access, Belonging and Achievement

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When multilingual learners find it hard to follow texts, express ideas in writing, or join classroom discussions, schools often reach for a familiar solution:

“Let’s put an intervention in place.”

Interventions have a role. They can make a measurable difference when targeted and time-limited. But when they become the default response (rather than a precision tool) they reveal something deeper about how learning is designed, and whether or not the classroom has been built with language in mind.


With ongoing staffing and retention pressures, it's important to reflect on whether repeated withdrawal is practical, or even effective, for the growing number of multilingual students who need access to a demanding curriculum.


Even when additional capacity exists, the deeper challenge lies in how learning is designed. In multilingual classrooms, language is not an add-on; it is the medium through which students think, make meaning, and demonstrate understanding. When we don't make language visible, barriers form and interventions end up compensating for what could have been built into lessons from the start.


When the language demands remain invisible, we build layers of support around the edges instead of shaping the core.

When intervention becomes the system

Relying on intervention as the main form of support can create predictable outcomes.


1. Students begin to feel separate

Even the most caring withdrawal can imply: “Learning happens somewhere else.” This sense of distance matters.


The November 2025 Inclusion Index (Edition 2) lists belonging among the top ten factors influencing inclusion and wellbeing. As one secondary student said: “I come here every day, but it doesn’t feel like my place.”


The Global Equality Collective notes that, although belonging features prominently in DfE strategy, implementation across trusts remains inconsistent. For multilingual learners, inclusion begins with being physically part of a space in addition to being able to understand and contribute meaningfully within the classroom.


2. Teachers face rising pressure without clear frameworks

Teachers are committed to inclusion, but too often they work in isolation; recreating resources, adapting texts, and guessing at the right level of support. Without shared systems for teaching language through the curriculum, effort multiplies but consistency doesn’t. The pressure grows, even as impact stays uneven.


3. Systems expand, but impact stays small

Extra sessions multiply, yet the classroom experience remains unchanged. Sustainable improvement depends on teacher capacity and consistent design, not additional provision.

Teaching through a language lens

A language-centred approach improves access for students and stability for staff; it strengthens what schools already do by making language intentional in planning and teaching.


This approach draws on decades of research into language awareness: first articulated by Eric Hawkins (1984) and developed by Jim Cummins, whose work on Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) shows that access to the curriculum relies on explicit teaching of academic language. The Council of Europe (2018) further highlights that language-aware teaching helps learners connect linguistic knowledge, cognition, and identity — the foundation of equitable learning.


So, how can we introduce more language-centred practices across the curriculum? School-wide foundations for this include:


1. Preparing students' understanding first, before reading or writing

Use visuals, models, and essential vocabulary in context. A short, structured and/or visual introduction helps students connect ideas before engaging with complex text or ideas.


2. Making reasoning visible

Model how to approach a task. Annotate, verbalise, and share examples so that processes are transparent. Clarity reduces misconceptions and supports all learners.


3. Encouraging purposeful interaction

Structured talk allows students to test ideas, build vocabulary, and deepen understanding — while giving teachers natural opportunities to assess comprehension without adding marking.


These approaches embed support within teaching rather than around it. They reduce duplication, strengthen equity, and make learning manageable.

What the research shows

The Bell Foundation offers a clear reminder:

“Any withdrawal of learners using EAL from a mainstream class should be for a specific purpose, time-limited and linked to the work of the mainstream class… learners using EAL need to feel safe and secure from day one.” — The Bell Foundation, Effective Teaching of EAL Learners


Support should help learners participate confidently in mainstream learning, not create dependency on separate provision. The goal is lasting access, inclusion and belonging.

Leadership priorities for sustainable systems

Embedding language awareness into everyday teaching promotes equity while protecting teacher wellbeing. Leaders can begin by:

  • Establishing a whole-school language vision that recognises multilingualism as a strength.

  • Embedding professional learning that equips all teachers to plan for language within their subjects.

  • Developing shared routines for reading, writing, and oracy.

  • Appointing Language Leads to coach colleagues and model practice.

  • Reviewing access and participation alongside attainment data. Ensure they are using data for inclusion (with qualitative and quantitative data) alongside traditional MIS data

  • Tracking belonging and learner confidence as indicators of inclusion, co-built with participants and focusing on underserved populations.


These actions can strengthen outcomes without increasing workload. They also align practice, reduce duplication, and enable teachers to focus on high quality teaching.

Policy direction: language at the centre of learning

Recent policy developments and Ofsted’s updated focus on inclusion mirror this shift towards design over intervention. The proposed 2028 national curriculum and Ofsted’s data priorities for inclusion both point to a system where access, equity and teacher capacity are built into everyday practice, not added later.


Key features include:

  • A national oracy framework alongside reading and writing, recognising the central role of spoken language in learning. This creates structured space for vocabulary, reasoning and expression across all subjects — something Ofsted’s reviews have identified as critical for learners who need language to be explicitly taught, not assumed.

  • Curriculum materials that reflect classroom diversity, ensuring that pupils can see themselves and their communities represented. Kaleidoscopic Data from the GEC shows that "Global Majority students are 3x more likely to feel absent from the curriculum". Language-led approaches make this tangible by giving every learner the linguistic access to participate fully.

  • Evidence-led guidance promoting mastery and depth rather than pace. Language-aware design naturally supports this focus, helping students build deep conceptual understanding and use academic language accurately.

  • Year 8 diagnostic assessments in English and maths, designed to identify barriers early and support targeted teaching. Alongside these, Ofsted’s data model now includes a sharper emphasis on how schools monitor access, participation and belonging — not only attainment. Schools already embedding language-led systems will find these expectations align with, rather than add to, their practice.


This direction confirms what many multilingual schools already know: inclusion is strongest when language is part of curriculum design, not a bolt-on. By making language explicit, schools can meet Ofsted’s expectations, strengthen belonging, and protect teacher capacity at the same time.

Building classrooms that work for everyone

Intervention will always have a role, but it can’t be the foundation of inclusion. When language is woven into everyday teaching, every learner can engage with challenge, teachers feel confident in their practice, and schools achieve consistency without adding to workload.


Designing for language builds lasting access, belonging and achievement — for students, for teachers, and for the wider system.

Continue the conversation

If your school is ready to strengthen literacy and inclusion across the curriculum, Language-Led Literacy could be your next step.


Language-Led Literacy supports schools to embed inclusive, research-informed reading and language practice across every classroom — helping multilingual learners thrive with confidence and belonging.


The programme aligns directly with the 2028 curriculum priorities and Ofsted’s renewed focus on access and equity. It’s built for sustainability, not workload:

  • Works with your existing systems.

  • Blends the Science of Reading with multilingual pedagogy to ensure teachers can know every child as a reader.

  • Builds teacher confidence through clear, practical routines.

The result is high challenge, high belonging, and real progress — for every learner, in every classroom.


And for more data insights, research and tools to support your inclusion journey, check out the GEC: https://www.thegec.education/the-research

 
 
 

enquires@ealinclusive.com   

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