Literacy Guide for Primary Schools: 2012/2013

Literacy Guide for Primary Schools

2012-2013

National Literacy Trust, August 2012 1

Literacy Guide for Primary Schools: 2012/2013

Contents
Early reading and phonics Page 3

Reading for enjoyment Page 5

Reading for meaning Page 7

Writing engagement and enjoyment Page 9

Spelling, punctuation and grammar Page 11

Talk and reading into writing Page 13

Developing powerful communicators talk in the classroom Page 15

Literacy across the curriculum Page 18

Introduction
Literacy skills are essential to attainment in school and to fulfilling potential opportunities
throughout life. The standard of teaching of literacy in primary schools around the country is
better than ever. Schools are delivering lessons which are rigorous, creative and innovative and
as a result children are motivated and learning takes place in abundance.

However, the challenges persist, with one in five children failing to achieve the expected level at
Key Stage 2 in 2011. According to a National Literacy Trust survey, childrens reading
frequency is also in decline.

Alongside this, the policy landscape is changing significantly. The new draft curriculum for
English (2012) includes a strong emphasis on the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics, as
well as a renewed focus on spelling, grammar and punctuation (SPG). The current cohort of
Year 6 pupils will be the first to experience the new Key Stage 2 writing testing arrangements
and the SPG test in May 2013. During inspections, Ofsted will be looking for effective whole-
school literacy policies and their successful implementation in schools. Finally, the new
Teachers Standards (2012) require for all teachers to demonstrate an understanding of and
take responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use of
standard English.

The Literacy Guide for Primary Schools 2012-2013 has been written with the aim of supporting
you to interpret the current education drivers in the context of your own school. It offers you the
opportunity to consider your own literacy teaching, as well as your schools approach to
supporting literacy. For each of the eight sections that this guide covers, we suggest key advice
and ideas and illustrate how these relate to the research and also the policy requirements in this
specific area.

The National Literacy Trust provides a wealth of support for schools in each of the eight areas.
For further information about our offer to schools, download a copy of our Support for Schools
publication www.literacytrust.org.uk/schools.

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Literacy Guide for Primary Schools: 2012/2013

Early reading and phonics

For the teaching of early reading to be successful, it needs a balanced and creative
approach in a context of rich oral language development. This should include the
systematic teaching of phonics, as well as focus on application, exploring
comprehension and meaning and reading enjoyment.

1. What does the research say?

Headline statistics:
84% of Key Stage 2 pupils achieved level 4 in reading in 2011
85% of Key Stage 1 pupils achieved level 2 in reading in 2011
In the last nine years, England has fallen in PISAs international tables from 7th to 25th in
reading.

Rose (2006), Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading:

Although high quality systematic phonic work should be taught discretely it should be set
within a broad and rich language curriculum.
The simple view of reading takes full account of word recognition and language
comprehension as distinct processes related one to the other.

Ofsted (2010), Reading by six:

Excellence in reading is characterised by:
establishing phonic knowledge and skills and their application through reading, writing
and comprehension of what theyre reading
broadening and extending the range and quality of reading
enhancing the teaching of reading by its application across the wider curriculum.

UKLA (2010), Teaching Reading: What the evidence says:

Classrooms where children are taught to read most effectively show:
a balanced approach in which word recognition skills are matched by attention to
comprehension
attention to individual childrens literacy skills, experience and interests
high levels of engagement with reading.

2. What does Government policy say?

Department for Education (2012), Teachers Standards:
...if teaching early reading, [a teacher must] demonstrate a clear understanding of systematic
synthetic phonics.
Department for Education focus:
High-quality international evidence has proved that systematic teaching of synthetic phonics is
the best way to drive up standards in reading. Taught as part of a language rich curriculum,
systematic synthetic phonics allows problems to be identified early and rectified before it is too
late. (Nick Gibb, Minister for Schools, 2011)

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Literacy Guide for Primary Schools: 2012/2013

Ofsted (2012), Inspection Framework:

Inspections will consider:
the level of attainment and standards at the end of Key Stage 1 in reading
how well schools develop a range of reading skills and how well these are applied across
the curriculum
how well teaching enables pupils to develop skills in reading.
Inspectors should take account of:
listening to pupils read and checking on their rate of progress to assess their standard of,
and progress in, reading with a particular focus on weaker readers
standards in reading for six-year-olds as indicated by the most recent phonic screening
check and any follow up screening undertaken by the school.

3. What can you do to improve pupils skills in this area?

Ensure depth of subject knowledge in the principles, theory and progression of

phonics.
Implement and consistently use an effective systematic synthetic phonics
programme, structured from a recommended scheme or tailored using several
resources to develop a high quality programme. See revised Department For
Education criteria for high quality phonics work (April 2012).
www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/pedagogy/phonics/a0010240/c
riteria-for-assuring-high-quality-phonic-work
Ensure phonics teaching is characterised by planned structure, fast pace, praise
and reinforcement, perceptive responses, active participation by all children and
progress.
(Reading by six, Ofsted, 2010)
Immerse the children in a rich reading environment, exploring a wide range of
quality texts to support both word recognition, comprehension and vocabulary
development.
Encourage comprehension and engagement in books through drama, booktalk
and response activities including artwork, story mapping and puppet theatre.

Embed ongoing formative assessment, ensuring appropriate level of challenge,

well organised and matched pupil groupings, swift identification of barriers and
effective intervention. See useful resource from the Communications Trust
www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/schools/phonics.

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