Coventry Language Policy Framework Section 3: Policy Aims
Multilingualism Mission Statement
Language development is an important educational goal for all learners in Coventry schools. The languages that learners bring, develop, and encounter through education are central to their learning, identity, and participation in society. This policy affirms that all languages have value within the school community and that schools have a role in recognising, developing, and building on this linguistic diversity, for the benefit of every learner in Coventry schools, whatever their linguistic starting point.
This policy is for school leaders, teachers, and governors, and is designed to sit alongside a school's existing policies and development planning.
Policy aims
Across Coventry, schools work towards the following aims:
- to recognise and value the full linguistic repertoires of all learners, and reflect this in school culture, practice, and ethos
- to ensure that all learners are able to access the curriculum, with language development supported so that it does not become a barrier to participation or attainment
- to support the development of English as the language of schooling alongside the maintenance and development of home and community languages
- to raise the profile of languages and broaden opportunities for all learners, whatever their linguistic starting point, to engage with languages both within the curriculum and through the linguistic diversity of the school and wider community
- to foster in all learners a curiosity about language and an openness to learning and using languages beyond English, as a skill for life and citizenship
- to strengthen partnerships with families and communities, ensuring that information about education provision and language development is shared, and that parents and carers are supported to engage with their children's learning, including through the use of home languages
- to build staff understanding and confidence of all staff, including teaching and non-teaching roles, recognising that everyone working in a school has a role in supporting language development, and to develop robust approaches to teaching, assessment, and communication that take account of language