As of May 2025, about 49% of students at the Milton Keynes Academy (MKA) had English as an Additional Language (EAL), with 60 languages spoken in the school.

The EAL department is driven by our 3 Cs:

• Country - That newly arrived EAL students need to grasp English to be able to socialise and adapt to a new country and culture.
• Curriculum - That EAL students need to access the curriculum to be able to attain expected grades, skills and qualifications
• Chance - That EAL students need to seize the opportunity presented to them to enable them to improve their life chances in a 'new world'

Every effort is therefore made to engage with all stakeholders to ensure each student is given the opportunity to achieve their best, regardless of the circumstances of their arrival in the UK or their level of English language proficiency.

As a school we continue to consider ways to improve school communications and how to ensure important information and updates are reaching all our families. We strive to connect with all families and establish an effective school-to-home communication pathway.

Most web browsers have a translation functionality built into them, this means that when using the Arbor Parent Portal you are able to set a preferred language in your browser and Arbor will be automatically translated. Both Chrome and Safari have guidance on how to do set up this translation functionality:

• Change the language on Chrome:

You can choose the default language of your Chrome app’s menus and settings.

1. On your Android device, open Chrome .
2. To the right of the address bar, tap More   Settings  Languages.
3. Under ‘Chrome’s language’, tap the current language.
4. From the language list, select the language that you want.
5. After the language downloads, in the toolbar, tap Restart.
   • The download is complete when you find ‘Language ready’ under your new language.

• Translate a web page on Safari on a Mac:

1. In the Safari app  on your Mac, go to the web page you want to translate.

If the web page can be translated, the Smart Search field displays the Translate button .

1. Click the Translate button , then choose a language.

If you think the translation might need improvement, click the Translate button , then choose Report Translation Issue. The translation is sent to Apple for review.

Enabling message translation ensures you can access important information in your primary home language. This allows us to continue to improve our parent and family engagement and ensures communication is accessible.