Literacy Policy
Governor Committee Responsible
TeachingandLearning
School Staff member Responsible
DeputyHeadteacher(Curriculum)
Policy Type
Non-Statutory
Review Period
3years
Date Reviewed
June2015(reviewed)
Next Review
June2018
Aims
Theaimsofthispolicyare:
•
todevelopconsistentapproachestoteachingandlearninginliteracyacrossdepartments,andtobuild
increasedawarenessoftheskills,knowledgeandunderstandingthatpupilscouldbeexpectedtobringto
lessons;
•
tousespeakingandlisteningtodevelopsubjectlearning;
•
todevelopactivereadingstrategiestoincreasepupils’abilitytoreadforapurposeandengagewithtext;
•
toprovideexamplesofframeworksforwritingandmodellingwriting;seeinghowitisdonehelpspupilsto
achieveitforthemselvesmorequickly;
•
tomakesuggestionsforthelearningofsubject-specificvocabulary;
•
todevelopstrategiesforliteracyintervention.
(inlinewiththeDFESLiteracyPolicy)
Everyone’sResponsibility
Studentswillgainmarksonexampapersfordemonstratingbasicliteracyskills(SPG).
‘Whenyoungpeoplecompeteforjobsandentertheworkplace,theywillbeexpectedtocommunicatepreciselyand
effectivelysowethinkthatchangesinthelastdecadetoremovetheseparateassessmentofspelling,punctuationand
grammarfromGCSEmarkschemeswereamistake.WehaveaskedOfqualtoadviseonhowmarkschemescouldtake
greateraccountoftheimportanceofspelling,punctuationandgrammarforexaminationsinallsubjects.’
(DepartmentforEducation,TheImportanceofTeaching,WhitePaper,2010)
Objectives
•
Theobjectivesare:
•
thatliteracyisseenasasharedandwholeschoolcrosscurricularresponsibility
•
thatconsistentstrategiesareputinplacetodevelopliteracyskillsacrossthewholeschoolcurriculum
•
thatdepartmentsandindividualteachersbecomeconfidentandcriticalusersofteachingandlearning
strategiestodevelopliteracyasappropriatetotheirsubjectarea
•
thatliteracystrategiesshouldberevieweddevelopedandrevisedasnecessary
•
thatteachersensurepupilsrecognisetheirownroleinandresponsibilityfordevelopingliteracyskills
•
thatpupil’sprogressbemeasuredintermsofbothinternaltestsandexternalexaminations
•
thatallsubjectstouseanddisplaysubjectspecificvocabulary
•
thattheuseofframeworksforkeystagethreesubjectsisencouragedasthiswillaidliteracythroughout
student’swholeschoolcareer.
Year7
KS2SATs
Level
W
Numberof
Pupils
1
Percentageof
Pupils
0.41%
Cumulative
Frequency
1
Cumulative
Percentage
0.41%
1
1
0.41%
2
0.83%
2
6
2.48%
8
3.31%
3
32
13.22%
40
16.53%
4
136
56.20%
176
72.73%
5
66
27.27%
242
100.00%
Literacy
Information
Year7SpellingandReadingInformation
Percentageofchildrenwithareadingorspellingagelessthan11years0months.
Spelling
Reading
49.34%
40.03%
Intervention
Literacystrategiesandintervention:
a. allstudentsareassessedinKeyStagethreeinordertotesttheirreadingandspellingage;
b. studentswhohaveareadingorspellingageunder9year0monthstakepartintheschool’sReadingGroup.The
Readersmeettheirmentorsonceaweekatanarrangedmeetingpointandworkonreadingskillsthrough‘read
aloud’sessions;
c. studentsrecognisedashavingalowliteracylevel,beingdyslexicordisplayingdyslexictendencieswillreceive
supportfrommembersoftheLearningSupportTeamandcanexpecttoreceiveappropriate/differentiatedwork
inlessons;
d. TheLiteracyBase*isavailableforsmallgroupextraliteracysessionsduringtheschoolday;thesesessionsoften
replacinglessonssuchasMFLforstudentswhoneedtoimprovereadingandspellingability;
e. teachersandmembersoftheLearningSupportTeamwillensurethathomeworkiscorrectlyrecordedin
studentsplannersandthatstudentsunderstandwhatisexpectedinextendedlearningtasks.
f. allstudentsinKeyStagethree,withareadingageabovesixyearssixmonths,willbeenrolledontothe
AcceleratedReadingProgramme.
g.
h.
i.
studentswithsingularliteracydifficultieswilltakepartinasixweekcourseintheLiteracyCornerinorderto
inspireprogressintherelevantareaofneed.
studentsandtheirparentswillbeinvitedtoattenda‘dropin’sessionthatexplainstheintervention
programmesthatstudentswithliteracy/numeracydifficultiesorconcernswillaccessatRyburnValleyHigh.
atransitiontextandaccompanyingliteracyprojectwillbeintroducedtoencourageapositivefirstimpressionof
literacyinYearSeven.
*FormoreinformationaboutTheLiteracyBasepleaseseepage6
TheLiteracyBase
• TheLiteracyBaseisaunitsituatedinthemainbuildingoftheschool;
• thefacilityallowsstudentswithlowlevelliteracytodevelopskillsandimprovetheirabilityinareassuchas
reading,spellingandverbalreasoning;
• thestudentsfollowtheRuthMiskinProgrammewhichallowsstudentstolearnanddevelopreadingpractices
throughtherecognitionofphonics;
• studentsusingtheLiteracyBasehaveaccesstosixcomputersandtwolaptops;
• studentswithweakliteracyabilitiesarereferreddirectlyfromprimaryschoolandbegintheprogrammeinYear
7or,alternatively,byconcernedsubjectteachers;
• studentsareassessedonentryandworktowardsindividualgoals.Thereisn’ta‘onesizefitsall’approachas
thestudents’individualneedsandabilitiesmustbethepriority;
• thestudentsarealsoencouragedtotakepartinkinaestheticandgroupactivitiestofurtherlearningand
encouragesocialandemotionaldevelopment;
• thesocialandemotionalissuesofthestudentsarealsoaddressedandduringschoolfreetimetheunit
functionsasahubforitsmemberswhocanoftenlackconfidenceinsocialsituations;
• theinterventionatTheLiteracyBasemaybeshortorlongtermdependentuponastudent’sneedsand
progress.
TheLiteracyCorner
LearningCentre
NowthatallKeyStageThreestudentsaretakingpartintheAcceleratedReadingProgrammeweareexcitedto
announcetheintroductionofournewLiteracyCorner.
TheLiteracyCornerwillbeopentoallKeyStageThreestudentsatlunchtimes.Theplaceswillbereservedforstudents
whohavebeenidentifiedasneedingmoretimeandhelpontheAcceleratedReadingProgramme.
TheLiteracyCornerwillbeopenfourlunchtimesaweekandstudentswillbeabletodevelopaloveforreadingin
comfortable,cosysurroundingsastheyloungearoundinournewbeanbagareaandreadanAcceleratedReading
approvedbook,fromoneofourtenKobo’s!
StudentswillbeabletodevelopliteracyskillswhilegainingcreditstospendattheRewardShop.
StudentswillbeinvitedtocelebrateprogressionduringthesummertermattheLearningCentreLiteracyLunch.
TheLearningCentrewillalsohostanumberofliteracyeventsthroughouttheyearwiththefocuscentringon
differentgroupsofstudents.
Reading
a. Appropriatebackgroundinformation
• Studentsmusthavetheappropriatebackgroundunderstandingsandknowledgeofconceptsiftheyareto
assimilatenewinformation.
• Studentsshouldusereadingtasksasanextensionorfeedertaskthatfurtherdevelopstheirknowledge.
b. Awarenessofpurpose
Studentsneedto:
• haveaclearunderstandingofwhattheyshouldgainfromtheirreadingandhowtheyaretousethis
information;
• presentstudentswithquestions(oraskthemtocreatetheirown)beforetheyreadthetext.
c. Activeinvolvement
Studentsmustreadactively.Theymust:
• predict,question,hypothesiseandreflectoninformation,ideasandconceptsastheyread;
• betaughtthateffectivereadingcannotbepassivebutshouldbeareceptiveactivity.
d. Usingnewinformation
• Studentsmusthavestrategiestomanipulate,transformorusenewinformationandunderstandings,ina
meaningfulway,inorderforittobecomeapartoftheirlongtermmemory.
• Useextensiontaskstoexploretheirnewknowledge.
TheAcceleratedReadingProgramme
WhatisAcceleratedReader(AR)?
ARisacomputerprogramthathelpsteachersmanageandmonitorchildren’sindependentreadingpractice.Achild
picksabookathisownlevelandreadsitathisownpace.Whenfinished,thechildtakesashortquizonthecomputer.
(Passingthequizisanindicationthatthechildunderstoodwhatwasread.)
ARgivesbothchildrenandteachersfeedbackbasedonthequizresults,whichtheteacherthenusestohelpsetgoals
anddirectongoingreadingpractice.
ChildrenusingARchoosetheirownbookstoread,ratherthanhavingoneassignedtothem.Thismakesreadingamuch
moreenjoyableexperienceastheycanchoosebooksthatareinterestingtothem.
Teachersandlibrarianshelpthechildchoosebooksatanappropriatereadinglevelthatarechallengingwithoutbeing
frustrating,ensuringthatthechildcanpassthequizandexperiencesuccess.
Ifthechilddoesnotdowellonthequiz,theteachermayhelphim:
•Chooseanotherbookthatismoreappropriate;
•Askmoreprobingquestionsasthechildreadsandbeforehetakesaquiz;
•Pairthechildwithanotherstudent,orevenreadtothechild.
Inmostcases,childrenreallyenjoytakingthequizzes.Sincethey’rereadingbooksattheirreadingandinterestlevels,
theyarelikelytobesuccessful.Thisissatisfyingformostchildren.Bestofall,theylearnandgrowattheirownpace.
Writing
Studentsareencouragedtobecomeconfident,conscientiousandcapableproducersofextendedwritingby:
a. beingencouragedtoproduceconsideredwritingthroughdiscussionandplanning;
b. beingshownexamplesofexpectedworkwhereappropriate;
c. thetechniqueofclassdiscussionandsmallgroupwork.Modelledresponsesmeanstudentsareoftenable
tocommunicatethoughts,opinionsandfactsorallywheretheystruggletogettheirmessageunderstood
throughthewrittenword;
d. introducingwritingframesinKeyStage3andbeabletocarrytheknowledgethroughtocontrolled
assessmentinKeyStage4.
WritingFrames
WritingFramescanhelppupilsby:
a. providingexperienceofarangeofgenericstructures;
b. offeringastructurethatensuresstudentsrespondtothequestionandthatwillgiveopportunityforthe
studenttodemonstratehis/herknowledge;
c. enablingallpupilstoachievesomesuccessatwriting,avitalingredientinimprovingself-esteemand
motivation.
SpeakingandListening
Speakingandlisteningisoftenoverlookedintermsofliteracyfocus.
Speakingandlisteningiskeytoastudent’ssuccessintheclassroom.
Studentsshouldbeencouragedto:
a. listentoinstructionsbeforebeginninganytaskastheirunderstandingofthetaskwillbeimportant;
b. askquestionsanduseavailableopportunitiestoasforhelpiftheyhavenotunderstoodateachers
demonstration;
c. developavarietyoflisteningskills.Forexampletolistentorecordings,distinguishtoneofvoice,identify
keyfeaturesetc;
d. studentsshouldbeencouragedtousesubjectspecificvocabularythroughtheuseofwordwallsand
glossaries.
Studentsshouldbeencouragedto:
a. beabletoarticulateresponsesand/oraskquestions;
b. takepartinwholegrouporsmallgroupdiscussions;
c. explorearangeoftopicsandassessmentobjectsthroughdiscussion;
d. havetheopportunitytousediscussionasaplanningtool.
Teachersshouldconsiderthefollowingpoints:
a. doboys/girlsdominateinclassdiscussion?Youcouldusealternategenderquestioning;
b. are‘quietpupils’gettingtheirshareofairtime?Youcouldconsideraskingquietermembersaquestionat
thestartofthelessonsotheyhavetimetoprepareananswerbeforetheend;
c. areallstudentsbeingencouragedtousediscussiontimeeffectively;notjustthosewhoarefindingthe
topicveryenjoyable.
SpellingandAssessment
Teacherswillensurethat:
a. spellingisrecognisedasbeingtheresponsibilityofalldepartments;
b. wordwallsareusedtoassiststudents’spellingofsubjectspecificwords;
c. spellingsaretaughtinthecontextofthelesson;
d. thedefinitionandspellingofnonsubjectspecificwordsistaughtwhenitisclearthatstudentscannot
eitherspellorunderstandthem;
e. homophones1arediscussedwithstudentswhenappropriate;
f. studentsareencouragedtorecognizetheirrolein,andtheirresponsibilityfor,developingtheirspelling;
g. studentsareencouragedtousearangeofdictionaries,thesauruses,spellingandgrammarcheckers;
h. studentsaretaughtthe‘look,say,cover,write,check’2methodoflearningspellings;
i. studentsareencouragedtouse‘fun’spellingsystemse.g.mnemonics3andwordgamestopromotea
positiveattitudetospelling;
j. theycorrectthemainandmostconsistentspellingerrorsonlyinstudents’worktoavoiddemoralisation;
k. theywillusetheagreedmarkingsymbols4whencorrectingworkandstudentswillbeexplainedclearlyto
pupils;
l. studentswillhaveaccesstoWriteOnlineandtheuseofframeworksandwordbanks;5
m. studentsarepraisednotonlyforsuccessfulfinishedwrittenwork,butforsuccessfuldraftingandproofreadingofworktomakeimprovements.
WholeSchoolMarkingScheme
sp=Spellingmistake
p=punctuationerror
npor//=Newparagraph
gr=grammaticalerror
1
Homophones e.g. ‘wood’ and ‘would’, ‘to’, ‘two’ and ‘too’
LOOKatthewordcarefully;sayitslowly;coverit;writeitdown;checkit;ifit’swrongrepeattheprocess
3
Mnemonicsareshortphrasesorrhymestohelpyourmemorye.g.‘bigelephantscan’talwaysusesmallexits’
444
E.g.spwouldhighlightaspellingerrorandgrwouldhighlightagrammaticalerror;
5
studentswillbeissuedwiththeirindividualloginforWriteOnlineatthebeginningoftheschoolyear.
2
WW=wrongword
NAS=notasentence.
ROS=runonsentence.(Seriesofcommentswithoutpunctuation)
ExtraCurricularGroupsandClubs
Studentswillhaveaccesstoanumberofextracurricularactivitiesthatwillallowthemtostrengthenandgainnewskills
inthethreekeyareasofliteracy.
Theseinclude:
LiteracyCorner
BBCSchoolNewsDay
DebatingSociety
CreativeWritingClub
That’sSoRyburn–SchoolMagazine
FilmClub-Reviewfilmonline
PilotofFastForwardLiteracyProgrammeforsmallgroupofselectedstudents(RA-9.7-10.7)