Heysham High School
Literacy policy 2016-2017
The Heysham High
“Literacy Line”
Date effective from:
1st September 2016
Date approved by Governors:
19th September 2016
Date of review:
September 2017
Prepared by:
Literacy Coordinator
What is Literacy?
Literacy includes the key skills of reading, writing and oral communication that enable pupils to
access different areas of the curriculum. (Ofsted, 2015)
Literacy is made up of three components, reading, writing and speaking and listening skills, we all
need literacy to fulfil our potential. These life skills are essential to the happiness, health and wealth
of individuals and society. In short, all classroom practitioners have the responsibility to empower
the masses through literacy.
To be literate is to gain a voice and to participate meaningfully and assertively to one’s life.
As teachers, we have a shared responsibility to ensure the pupils we teach have an opportunity to
read the world around them. Ultimately, our goal as educators is to provide the skill set in which
pupils can confidently write their own history.
Literacy provides access to written knowledge –Knowledge is power. (Improving literacy in
secondary schools- a shared responsibility 2013).
I don’t teach English! What’s in it for me?
English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching all subjects. (Ofsted, 2014)
English language is essential for success in all subject areas. Most importantly for pupils, the ability
to de-code and understand language provides access to the whole curriculum. The changes to the
GCSE syllabus to include more “rigour” coincided with the removal of controlled assessments,
highlights the necessity to prioritise literacy in all subject areas. A systematic and conscientious
approach to improving literacy, will over time improve whole school examination results.
The daily impact you will see in lessons
• Literacy supports learning. Pupils need vocabulary, expression and organisational control to cope
with the cognitive demands of subjects;
• Reading enables us to learn from sources beyond our immediate experience;
• Through language we make and revise meaning;
• Writing helps us to sustain and order thought;
• Responding to higher order questions encourages the development of thinking skills and enquiry;
• Better literacy leads to improved self-esteem, motivation and behaviour. It allows pupils to learn
independently. It is empowering.
The legacy of literacy
The impact upon life after post 16 without sufficient literacy skills makes for distressing reading. The
Department of Education stated in 2015 :
55% of adults with low levels of literacy are more likely to be unemployed.
Also highlighted in the report was:
[The matter of] Adults in England with low levels of literacy are three times more likely of
reporting poor health.
What does this look like in Britain today?

Only one in five parents easily find the opportunity to read to their children.

One adult in six still only has the expected reading skills of an eleven year old.

Seven million adults in England cannot use the page reference for plumbers in the Yellow
Pages.

1-in-16 adults cannot identify a concert venue on a poster that contains the name of band,
price, date, time and venue.
The Reality
Without a collaborative focus to develop and promote the value of literacy, a young person’s life
chances are severely diminished; their employability, health, confidence and happiness are all
compromised.
Literacy is the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child
can realise his or her full potential. (Beadle, 2015: 10)
What the experts say
Geoff Barton states that one of
the main problems with literacy
is just that, its name and
[All teachers must] demonstrate
an understanding of and take
responsibility for promoting high
standards of literacy, articulacy
and the correct use of standard
English, whatever the teacher’s
specialist subject.
DfE, 2012, p. 7
According to Barton (2013, p. 27), great teachers provide students with opportunities
to talk and listen in a range of contexts, formal and informal, and help pupils to
understand and practise the skills we do implicitly by making them explicit. Many of
us are dogged by the worry of too much teacher talk, as most of us at some point
have had this mentioned in a formal lesson observation. However, “Teacher talk is
the way that we as teachers, teaching assistants and mentors use language to help
pupils” (Barton, 2013, p. 29) in the process of using “language to think, express ideas,
deepen their knowledge and learn social skills”. Ofsted, 2012, p. 4
References
1. DfE (2012) Teachers’ Standards. Available at: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/
standard/SchoolsSO/Page1/DFE-00066-2011
2. Barton, G. (2013) Don’t Call it Literacy! What every teacher needs to know about speaking, listening, reading and
writing. Routledge: London
3. Ofsted (2012) Moving English Forward. Crown Copyright: London.
What Ofsted Say
International benchmarks demonstrate that standards in literacy in England
are behind many of our international competitors. As a result, the government
is prioritising the raising standards of literacy in schools. It has updated its
policies to keep literacy at the heart of school improvement.
“Inspectors will consider the impact of the
teaching of literacy and the outcomes across
the range of the school’s provision…Inspectors
will consider the extent to which the school
intervenes to provide support for improving
pupils’ literacy, especially those at risk of
underachieving” (p. 18)
“Teachers must demonstrate an
understanding of and take responsibility
for promoting high standards of literacy,
articulacy and the correct use of standard
English, whatever their specialist subject”.
(p.11)
“To be judged as Outstanding, there must be
“excellent practice that ensures all progress
have high levels of literacy…appropriate of
their age” (p.38) and that “Excellent policies
underpin practice that ensures pupils…are
making excellent progress in literacy” (p.49)
References
1. Ofsted (2015) School Inspection Handbook. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government /publications/ schoolinspection-handbook.
2. The Teacher’s Standards. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government /uploads/ attachment
data/file/301107/Teachers_Standards.pdf
Heysham High’s “Literacy Line”
Proposal for Literacy across the curriculum
Every classroom contains a SPAG map outlining all the factors that contribute to the term
literacy. At Heysham High, we are going on about to embark on the “Literacy Line”.

Whole School departmental literacy audit.

Create Literacy Teaching and Learning focus group to discuss findings from audits.

Teaching and Learning workshops CPD session about literacy.
Marking stamper to reflect new incentive. All literacy errors to be highlighted
depending on the half term literacy line colour. I.E: Please correct the features
highlighted in pink.


NLF to go into all assemblies to explain literacy journey and hand out passes.

Literacy Leadership awards for pupils in 6th form and KS4.

Literacy Champion roles to be advertised for KS4 AND KS3.

Literacy MOT’s for pupils in all subject areas (first week back)

Spelling test of the 50 most commonly misspelt words test to be taken during life
skills.

Literacy placemats to be used in all subject areas.

Each week on a Wednesday (AKA Wonderful Words Wednesday) during form time
pupils will take part in a meaningful literacy activity. In the same way Londoner have
the Oyster Card, we are going to have the Heysham Literacy pass. The idea is that
every sub-section of the card must be completed for pupils to receive a colourcoded sticker. During Mini-Mock week, tests will be taken to see whether or not the
pupil has made progress.

Teaching and Learning literacy group to meet first week back to discuss findings and
to bring examples of 5 books per class/ per department. Also subject specialists will
be encouraged to bring a list of names to the meeting of pupils making progress.

First week back after half term NLF to go into assemblies and hand out awards for
progress and achievement.

Budget to be confirmed regarding subscription fee for Literacy trust (£100.00) and
whole school printing and awards.

Identifying progress through book scrutiny sessions focused on literacy.

Lesson Observations to have specific literacy objectives.
Literacy Champions to
be allocated to specific
subject areas to assist
with literacy.
Capacity given to NLF to monitor form time activities through lesson drop ins and
learning walks to monitor progress and record data.
The Start of the Journey
Week 1:
DESTINATION GRAMMAR
Week Beginning Half Term 1
05/09/16
12/09/16
19/09/16
26/09/16
03/10/16
10/10/16
17/10/16
Literacy Focus
Nouns
Pronoun
Verbs, Subject, Object
Adjectives
Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases
Determiners and Prepositions
**** Mini Mock Week TEST**** First Stamp to
be collected. Prizes to be handed out.
Literacy MOT PART 2 (To be completed during English lessons)
Second spelling test 50 Most Commonly misspelled words to be completed during first life skills
lesson.
DESTINATION VERB FORMS AND TENSES
Week Beginning Half Term 2
07/11/16
14/11/16
21/11/16
28/11/16
05/12/16
12/12/16
Literacy Focus
Modal Verbs
Active and Passive Verbs
Present and Past Perfect
Simple Past and Simple Present
Subjective Forms
**** Mini Mock Week TEST**** Second
Stamp to be collected. Prizes to be handed
out.
Literacy MOT PART 3 (To be completed in ALL SUBJECT AREAS)
Third spelling test 50 Most Commonly misspelled words to be completed during first life skills
lesson.
Week Beginning Half Term 3
Literacy Focus
04/01/17
09/01/17
16/01/17
23/01/17
30/01/17
Sentence Structures
Simple Sentences
Compound Sentences
Complex Sentences
Questions ,Exclamation, Statement and
Command
**** Mini Mock Week TEST**** Third Stamp to
be collected. Prizes to be handed out.
06/02/17
Destination Sentences
Literacy MOT PART 4 (To be completed during English lessons)
Forth spelling test 50 Most Commonly misspelled words to be completed during first life skills
lesson.
Destination Punctuation
Week Beginning Half Term 4
20/02/17
27/02/17
06/03/17
13/03/17
20/03/17
27/03/17
Literacy Focus
Capital letters
Sentence Endings.!? Brackets, Ellipses and Dashes
Apostrophes
Semi Colons and Colons
Connectives, Conjunctions and Phrases
**** Mini Mock Week TEST**** Fourth Stamp to
be collected. Prizes to be handed out.
Literacy MOT PART 5 (To be completed IN ALL Subject Areas)
Fifth spelling test 50 Most Commonly misspelled words to be completed during first life skills
lesson.
DESTINATION SPELLING AND VOCABULARY
Week Beginning Half Term 5
18/04/17
24/04/17
01/05/17
08/05/17
15/05/17
22/05/17
Literacy Focus
Singular, Plural Nouns and Noun Phrases
Word families, Standard and Non- Standard
English
Adjective Phrases and Prepositional Phrases
Vowels ,Homophones and Antonym
Prefix, Suffix and Clauses
**** Mini Mock Week TEST**** Fifth Stamp to
be collected. Prizes to be handed out.
DESTINATION RE-CAP
Week Beginning Half Term 4
05/06/17
12/06/17
19/06/17
26/06/17
03/07/17
10/07/17
Literacy Focus: Re-cap Week
Grammar
Verb Forms and Tenses
Sentences
Punctuation
Vocabulary and Spellings
Enrichment Week Prizes and awards to be
handed out for achievement and progress.
Useful Websites
teachit.co.uk
lendmeyourliteracy.com
lovereading4kids.co.uk
literacytrust.org.uk
theguardian.com/education/literacy ictgames.com/literacy.html
Who to follow on Twitter
@Grammarly@literacylender
@IveReadThat
@literacychat