Literacy support in England: comparing policy and practice for children from marginalised communities

In this paper, we explore how literacy support for children from marginalised communities is expressed at policy level, and how this translates to the classroom. Focusing specifically on children who have been labelled as either “EAL” (English as an Additional Language) or “SEND” (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), we explore the impact of these labels as part of children’s positioning and identities within schools. In critically juxtapositioning policy and the extant research literature, supported by our own body of work, we identify commonalities and discrepancies in the ways in which children’s literacy support needs might be expressed and enacted within the realm of inclusive pedagogy that benefits all. As researchers, we adopt co-produced methods in our research, and in drawing together conceptual and methodological threads, we suggest that the power of the label itself will need to be considered alongside literacy support, to disrupt inequalities and produce asset-based approaches to literacy support across contexts in England and beyond.