Research and Development Opportunity
Research Title:
Summary of
Research Plan
To what extent can a mastery approach to English close the attainment gap in reading and writing in UK
primary schools?
Mastery English
Why is this needed?
 Too many disadvantaged pupils leave primary school with poor literacy skills.
 The curriculum has previously been too narrow and test focussed therefore many pupils leave
primary school without a love of reading.
 In the most disadvantaged areas, the pupils do not have reading role models in the home.
Principles and Outline
 The principle of a mastery curriculum is that all pupils keep up with the pace of the learning and
that gaps are addressed immediately so that no pupil falls behind.
 All pupils are taught together as a whole class through a highly tuned teaching approach.
 St Thomas of Canterbury School has developed a Mastery English teaching approach and is
currently using this structure within the school.
 This curriculum model is also being followed by a number of other primary schools.
 The project would take this approach to between 12 and 20 primary schools, who would support
its development and continue to evaluate its impact.
The Curriculum Approach
 For each year group, the English curriculum is built around three whole class texts. Typically a
classic, a novel linked to their topic and a contemporary children's author to appeal to the class
context.
 The reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation and technical writing skills are embedded into
the whole class teaching approach and taught in the context of the whole class text.
 Any pupils who are not keeping up with the pace of the learning are given 'same day intervention'
to ensure that gaps are addressed immediately.
 Every single pupil experiences reading and engaging with high quality literature by holding a copy
of the book and sharing the teacher's passion for reading.
Further Development
This project is in the 'pilot' stage for 2015-2016 and the ambition would be to take it to a 'control trial'
through the EEF to test its impact in a larger sample of schools then a larger 'scale up'. During the pilot
stage, the team will continue to develop the curriculum framework and resources in order to create an
online portal with the planning guidance, teaching resources and training materials for schools who join
the
programme during the control trial and in order to increase the potential for scalability in the near future.
Evidence and
Research
The mastery approach in mathematics has been a significant influecing factor to this approach for English
and the programme has shown a positive impact on pupils' attainment - see EEF February 2015 report on
Primary Mathematics Mastery
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects/mathematicsmastery/
The Mastery English programme will also incorporate transformational training for teachers and
school leaders on both a 'mindset' for mastery where every child can achieve and 'growth mindset' and
this is supported by Mindset’, Carol Dweck, 2006, ISBN 978-1-78033-200-0
St Thomas of Canterbury School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy, Chancet Wood Drive, Sheffield, S8 7TR
[email protected]
0114 274 5745
@PrimaryTSA
www.lutsa.co.uk
www.masteryenglish.co.uk
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The underlying principles of mastery also apply to this Mastery English programme:
- Every child keeps up with the pace of the learning.
- Any gaps in learning are addressed the same day so that the gap never happens.
- All teachers hold a 100% belief that every child can and will achieve.
Primary
Outcome
(measurable)
Other Outcome
Supporting
Evidence of
likely impact
To increase the proportion of pupils achieving the end of year expectations in the new curriculum across
key stage 2 and to reduce the proportion of lower-attainers. (School data and national data)
To improve pupils attitudes towards reading in general and specifically to increase their awareness of high
quality texts so that they develop a love of reading. (Entry and exit surveys about attitudes to reading)
The mastery approach is based upon success in high performing jurisdictions. Although the higher attainers
in the UK perform as well as in the high performing jurisdictions, the gap between the lowest and highest
attaining pupils is much greater in the UK. The Mastery English programme would aim to reduce that gap
by never allowing the gap to occur.
Ofsted: Moving English Forward
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181204/110118.pdf
This report suggests that "all schools should:
 develop policies to promote reading for enjoyment throughout the school
 ensure that preparation for national tests and examinations is appropriate, does not begin too
early, and does not limit the range of the curriculum or pupils’ opportunities for creativity in
English
 improve transition and continuity in curriculum and assessment in English between Key Stages 2
and 3
 simplify lesson plans in English to concentrate on the key learning objectives and encourage
teachers to be more flexible in responding to pupils’ progress as lessons develop.
The Mastery English approach is based upon these principles and ensures that teachers focus on fewer
objectives in greater depth as well as promoting a reading for enjoyment culture throughout the school.
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects/mathematics-mastery/
Contextualised teaching of grammar - Myhill et al, 2011
Impact so Far
The Mastery English approach has been trialed at St Thomas of Canterbury School during 2014-2015 and
has been built over a number of years. The impact on attainment so far has been:
 Significant increase in attainment by the end of Year 2 to significantly above average
 Increased proportions of pupils mastering the curriculum for their year group in every class
 Significant improvement in outcomes on the KS2 Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar national
tests
 Improved attitudes to learning throughout the school
 Increase in the number of pupils reading 'whole texts' for enjoyment and purpose
 Significant improvement in the quality of pupils' writing across school
Early indications would suggest that the approach is transferrable to other schools based on feedback from
headteachers.
The school is also developing an approach to 'same day intervention' which means that any child who is
not keeping up with the pace of the learning is taken out that afternoon for additional high quality
teaching to ensure that they are ready for the following day. Differentiation is achieved by emphasising a
depth of understanding rather than increased coverage. The school has found that more pupils are able to
'keep up' rather than catch up.
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Table of
2
What are we
looking for?
What is the
school’s
commitment?
How will the
development
school benefit?
Application
Process
Further
Questions
3. Expenses
Learning Unlimited is seeking a number of schools to join the development stage of Mastery English.
The Mastery English development group will be made up of two expert teachers from each year group
from Year 2 to Year 6.
The development schools will:
 be fully committed to a mastery approach to teaching English (and ideally mathematics);
 ideally have already attended a Mastery English day with Learning Unlimited;
 ensure that the expert teacher has sufficient time to develop this approach in school and to
attend an initial launch in summer 2016, attend the development group meetings for a minimum
of six afternoons throughout 2016-2017 and two full days;
 be prepared to share all planning, resources, flipcharts and any other materials with Learning
Unlimited through the development group online folder;
 produce planning, resources, materials and interactive whiteboard flipcharts in the format
specified by the Mastery English lead teacher;
 accept and fully understand that that the Mastery English programme is fully owned by Learning
Unlimited therefore all materials produced will be the intellectual property of Learning Unlimited;
 invest in the whole class sets of novels required to deliver the programme;
 be willing to share ongoing assessment data and carry out any additional assessments that are
required to provide evidence for the evaluation of Mastery English;
 be willing to share pupils’ written work;
 to be open to and engage fully with any evaluation activities required by Learning Unlimited or
any subsequent evaluation partner, such as a university;
 adopt an open door approach in the Mastery English classroom so that colleagues from the
development group can observe classroom practice.
This is an exciting time to join a highly innovative programme at such a crucial stage in its development. If
this is successful, the programme will ultimately be published and other schools will be able to apply to
join. The development schools will benefit in the following ways:
 a lifetime membership to the programme for as long as it runs as a founding member;
 full access to all online planning, flipcharts, resources and materials;
 recognition for the school and the teachers involved when this is published;
 assessment data shared across the development schools for comparison;
 excellent professional learning opportunities through the development group;
 the potential to be part of developing a programme that could be rolled out on a national level.
Schools who are interested in being part of the development group may complete the attached application
form and submit this by Friday, 29th April 2016. Learning Unlimited will notify schools regarding whether
or not they have been accepted as a development school via email by Friday, 20th May 2016.
Should you have any questions about being a development school, please email [email protected]
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Development School Application
Name of School
Name of Headteacher
Email Address of Headteacher
School Address
School Telephone Number
Name of proposed Expert Teacher
Email Address of proposed Expert
Teacher
Experience of proposed Expert
Teacher
Year Group that the expert
teacher will be teaching during
2016-2017
Date of Last Ofsted Inspection
If you have more than one possible expert teacher, please list them here. The year
group will be an important factor therefore please note if you are flexible about which
teacher it is in order for the school to be part of the development group.
e.g. how many years teaching, year groups taught, any other relevant experience,
current role within school
Ofsted Grades
Outcomes for Pupils
What is the school’s current
approach to teaching English?
What is the school’s approach to
teaching phonics across EYFS and
Year 1?
How would the school benefit
from being part of the
development group?
What can the school bring to the
development group?
Percentage
Good Level of
Development
Year 1 Phonics Screening
Check
Key Stage 1: 2b+ reading
Key Stage 1: 2b+ writing
Key Stage 2: 4b+ reading
Key Stage 2: 4b+ writing
2013
%
2014
%
2015
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
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How committed is the school to a
mastery approach?
How confident are teachers across
the school with the expectations
of the new curriculum?
How might the school have to
adapt in order to make this
programme successful?
Do you foresee any potential
barriers / challenges and how
would you overcome them?
Any further information that you
would like to share.