How FlashAcademy® is equipping The Oaks Academy to support every EAL learner

The Oaks Academy is a thriving, oversubscribed secondary school in Crewe where EAL learners make up around 40% of pupils. In September 2020 the school joined The Learning Partnership (formerly The Learning Alliance) and in April 202, for the first time in its history, the school was graded ‘Good’ by Ofsted. To support its growing EAL intake, the school adopted FlashAcademy® to deliver structured, trackable English language support.

Establishing a clear baseline for EAL support

When Louise Ellmans took on the role of EAL Lead, she was tasked with building a stronger, more structured programme for learners with English as an additional language. “To ensure EAL students had access to the same ambitious learning experience as everyone else, I needed to make sure the data we had on their proficiency was accurate and up to date,” she explains. The school had already invested in FlashAcademy®, and Louise led its rollout by enrolling and assessing every EAL learner within the first half term. “We rolled out the digital assessment across the whole cohort – and for the first time, we could clearly see where each student was across listening, speaking, reading and writing.” This insight gave Louise the foundation to plan targeted support. “It was the missing piece,” she says. Since September 2023, 520 assessments have been completed, forming the basis of the school’s EAL strategy.

Structured intervention and subject-specific vocabulary

Setup and lesson management have been straightforward, thanks to FlashAcademy®’s integration with the school’s MIS, first SIMS and now Arbor. As well as being used as an assessment tool, FlashAcademy® is a key part of the intervention timetable at The Oaks Academy. Learners working at bands A to C complete regular lessons set by the teacher, tailored to their level of ability. “We aim for 90% success as standard,” explains Louise. “If students don’t reach that, they repeat the lesson. For more difficult tasks, we lower the target slightly to 75–80%, depending on the student.” Since October 2023, pupils have completed 7,217 lessons – 339 of those in the past three months. The majority of lessons (225) have focused on English language, but students also access subject-specific content to prepare for GCSE study, including biology (25 lessons), economics (20) and chemistry (9). Progress is monitored by the EAL teacher, with FlashAcademy® used to reinforce language development and improve access to curriculum content.

Confidence, consistency and Trust-wide visibility

FlashAcademy® has transformed how The Oaks Academy supports its EAL learners – giving staff reliable data and giving pupils the tools to thrive. Learners look forward to intervention sessions, enjoy tracking their results and often revisit lessons to improve their scores. “They are able to work at their own pace through the lessons, and the boys in particular enjoy making the 90% a competition between them,” says Louise. Printable class-based resources are used to consolidate learning, but students prefer the digital platform. “They enjoy seeing their results,” she adds. “Because they’re assessed across four areas, there’s usually some element of progress to recognise — even if they haven’t moved up a full band.” All assessment data is saved in FlashAcademy®.

“I have to regularly report to the Trust and governors, so for me FlashAcademy® is a great tool to show progress — and the fact that students really enjoy it is fantastic for them!”