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Leading Whole-School Multilingual Change: From Vision to Action
- Anna Leaman
- Aug 30
- 4 min read
When I open a CPD session, I like to start by busting a persistent myth:
Inclusive multilingual teaching isn’t something only a small group of linguistics experts can do, it's for everyone; it's in our teacher DNA
I know this because I once believed in a similar myth. Before working in a special needs setting, I thought only highly trained SEND specialists knew what they were doing there; that they spoke a secret code, used niche knowledge, and all had years of special school experience under their belts.
The truth was that yes, there were amazing practitioners there with extensive knowledge and experience. But it wasn't an "all or nothing" thing. And I quickly learnt that it wasn’t about knowing everything. It was about being curious and adaptive. It was about knowing my pupils: recognising their strengths, cultures, and aspirations, making them feel safe, and building the relationships and scaffolding they needed to exceed expectations.
Now, the audience and context may be different, but the principle is the same for whole-school multilingual change.
Whole-school multilingual change happens when every teacher feels confident, equipped, and valued as a specialist in multilingual inclusive teaching; and sees themselves as the expert in their own classroom, making language diversity a strength in every lesson. The whole-school change part is sustained by a core team of change leaders who provide the guidance, modelling, and momentum to carry the vision through the whole school.
From Technical Fix to Cultural Shift
Whole-school multilingual leadership therefore, is not a technical checklist. It’s a cultural shift.
The leader you choose to drive multilingual change must:
See the assets in every pupil and colleague.
Build capacity, avoiding dependency on themselves.
Sustain momentum long after initial training.
The Leadership Model – Distributed Influence
Research supports this. Kenneth Leithwood’s Review of Evidence about Equitable School Leadership shows that the most inclusive schools distribute leadership.
In practice, for multilingualism, this means:
Building a network of multilingual champions — colleagues in each year group, subject, or key stage.
Empowering them to model inclusive teaching strategies, support peers, and keep the vision alive.
Creating a culture where language diversity is celebrated daily, not just on special occasions.
This isn’t a side project. It’s a whole-school mission.
This aligns with the Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) School’s Guide to Implementation, which reminds us that before identifying who will lead an initiative, schools must first be crystal clear on why the change is needed and how it will be implemented in their specific context.
The EEF stresses that clarity of purpose is essential to secure buy-in. Once the vision is defined, leaders can identify the right people to bring it to life, using early wins to build momentum and ongoing coaching to embed change in everyday practice
Five Human Qualities of a Multilingual Change Leader
Radical Empathy – Seeing every multilingual pupil as an asset, and listening deeply to staff and families to build the trust that change requires.
Asset-Based Vision – Rejecting deficit narratives about “closing gaps” and instead leveraging pupils’ strengths – language, identity, and perspective – to enrich learning.
Inspiring, Not Just Instructing – Inspiring confidence, modelling inclusive strategies, and creating the conditions for teachers to lead change themselves.
Distributed Leadership in Action – Building teams of multilingual champions in each department, key stage, or year group so inclusive practice is embedded across the school.
Resilient, Relational Practice – Navigating the inevitable challenges of change with optimism, patience, and a commitment to strong relationships.
Choosing External Support for Multilingual CPD
Before deciding who will deliver multilingual CPD or consultancy, clarify your vision:
Why is this important in your school, right now?
How will it connect with your school improvement priorities?
What will success look like for staff and pupils?
As the EEF’s guidance makes clear, this clarity ensures CPD is not a one-off event but part of a coherent, sustainable change process.
When choosing a partner for inclusive education consultancy, look for someone who will:
Embody empathy, belonging, and an asset lens.
Leave staff feeling inspired and capable, not just informed.
Support you to sustain change long after the initial work is complete.
Why This Matters for Schools in 2025
National priorities are shaping school agendas:
The curriculum review is prompting reflection on content, sequencing, and representation.
The Talking Point is spotlighting spoken language as a foundation for learning and confidence.
The Year of Reading is promoting reading for pleasure and attainment.
The new writing framework is raising expectations for writing instruction, with a focus on language development, vocabulary, and sentence fluency.
Too often, these priorities are approached through a monolingual lens. Yet linguistic diversity is central to achieving them.
A leader with empathy, an asset-based vision, and a distributed approach can harness pupils’ home languages to:
Strengthen literacy.
Deepen curriculum engagement.
Enrich classroom dialogue.
With teacher recruitment and retention pressures high, schools need strategies that build capacity across the staff team – exactly as the EEF’s implementation guidance advises.
A well-led whole-school multilingualism strategy develops champions in every part of the school, raises outcomes, and supports belonging. It sits at the heart of effective school improvement, keeping learners at the centre and driving progress on the key educational priorities of 2025.
Final Word – People Before Programmes
Inclusive, whole-school change starts with leaders who see people – before programmes, before policies, before problems.
If you are ready to make multilingualism part of your school’s DNA, work with someone who will help you build a culture – not just run a course.
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