EAL: role of the link governor

Understand your role as a link governor for English as an additional language (EAL) in your school. Find out how to monitor provision for pupils with EAL, so you can confidently hold your school leaders to account.

Last reviewed on 16 January 2025
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 42877
Contents
  1. When to have an EAL link governor
  2. What you need to know about EAL in school
  3. Work closely with your EAL lead
  4. Be the board's specialist
  5. How to monitor EAL
  6. Questions to ask 

When to have an EAL link governor

This role isn't a statutory requirement. Like most link governor roles, it's up to your board to decide which ones to have based on your school's priorities.

It's a good idea to have an EAL (English as an additional language) link governor where:

  • Provision for EAL has been identified as an area needing improvement
  • Your school has higher than average numbers of pupils with EAL 

You might not need an EAL link governor where:

  • Your school's provision for EAL is already very strong
  • You're in a small school with very few pupils with EAL
  • You structure your monitoring in a different way, e.g. assigning governors to strategic objectives

Definitions On the school census Your school leaders will need to record which pupils have EAL on the yearly census, so they can attract funding. For the purposes of the school census, a pupil's first