This bulletin was originally published 14 June 2021.

Introduction

Each year, the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE) and Multicultural Education collect information on the number of students needing support to learn English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) within NSW Government schools. The EAL/D survey is an annual census administered to NSW Government schools at the beginning of June each year and collects teacher judgements of a student’s level of English language proficiency using the ACARA EAL/D Learning Progression1. Data collected is used at the system level to support resource allocation and for schools to monitor EAL/D student progress in English language proficiency. EAL/D phase information is also used by teachers to inform their classroom practice, with many specialist teachers also using ESL scales2 for diagnostic and teaching purposes.

This inaugural bulletin describes the diversity of EAL/D students who were enrolled in NSW Government schools, using the EAL/D census data from 2015 to 2019.