Tag: attainment

Our annual Writing Week – Writing for Pleasure at Bonnybridge Primary School

Writing Week has been an annual event at Bonnybridge for the last four years. It has grown from an idea to encourage children to enjoy writing to a highly anticipated time of year which many of our children look forward to.

Raising attainment in writing was a school improvement priority, so as well as focusing on how we teach writing throughout the year, we wanted to raise the status of writing as something, like reading, which could be done for pleasure. The guiding principles of Writing Week are that pupils have choice over their genre and content, and that they are equipped with the necessary skills to start to see themselves as a novice author who has responsibility for taking their piece of writing through the writer’s process, from an idea, through drafts, editing and revision, to a final published piece.

Writing Week looks different across the school as we have developed the initial idea to suit the age and stage of the children. In P1 and 2, the classes take a storybook approach which fits naturally into our play pedagogy. The children are given opportunities to take part in tasks related to a variety of books which encourage their oral, pictorial and written story-telling skills.

From P3 – P7, the children work to a greater or lesser extent on taking their piece of writing through the writer’s process. Each day of the week is allocated to Ideas and Planning, first draft, editing and revision, final drafts and publication. Idea generation, planning and the first draft are completed using a quick write strategy. We use this method in order to remove any potential transcriptional barriers. The pupils are encouraged to let their ideas flow and if they are unsure of a spelling or choice of vocabulary they ‘circle it out’, meaning that they draw a circle around the word or phrase knowing that they will have the opportunity later in the week to revise and edit their work.

As the week progresses, the writing becomes more deliberate and slows in pace with a focus on accuracy. We have found that reinforcing the concept of a first draft for all age groups has stimulated a shift in attitude towards writing and has helped to remove some of the writing anxiety or writer’s block that some children have experienced in the past.

As the years have progressed, the children have become more and more excited and engaged in writing week and this has had an increasingly positive impact on the attainment in writing throughout the year. The children respond well to having more ownership and choice over their writing and the teachers have enjoyed the opportunity to develop Writing Week within their classrooms using the guiding principles.

This year, many of the teachers identified a need to enhance our publication process and have been developing digital publication using sites such as Canva. Please click to see an example from one of our P2 classes or use the QR code below.

 

 

 

 

Supporting Attainment in Literacy at Stenhousemuir PS – Our use of Read Write Inc

Catharine Gillespie is the raising attainment teacher in Stenhousemuir PS and, with the support of her principal teacher Dawn Easton, she is leading the use of Read Write Inc Phonics (RWI) from primary 1- 4  as a key support for progressing pupils’ reading, writing and spelling. The Read Write Inc Phonics programme is produced by Oxford University Press and Catharine was trained as a reading leader via the Ruth Miskin training programme. All teachers using the programme in Stenhousemuir PS have also been trained and Catharine provides ongoing professional learning and support for them. This training comprises the first three steps of a seven-step RWI programme which also includes:

 

  1. Rigorous assessment, tracking and monitoring
  2. Grouping children for maximum progress based on the above assessment
  3. Making consistent use of teaching strategies and pedagogy which encourages children’s best learning behaviours
  4. Supporting parents and carers so that they can contribute to their child’s progress

What impact on literacy learning is the use of this programme having?

The current primary 5 children at Stenhousemuir have been developing their literacy skills through this programme since primary 1 and there has been significant improvement in their attainment as a result. Most children across the school are on track with their learning with only a small number needing additional interventions to support their learning differences. Catharine notes that more children are achieving more quickly and measures this impact by comparing the attainment of current primary 2 children with those of previous primary 2 classes prior to using the programme. She attributes this impact to:

  1. Close Assessment of children’s progress:

Catharine assesses all children at 6-8 week intervals to determine where they are in their learning. Using the assessment resources within the programme, she identifies the consolidation opportunities and new learning needed then adjusts the groups which the children learn within to provide the correct degree of challenge for them.

2. Grouping of children:

Primary one children experience the programme within the adult-directed literacy element of their learning day. Fred the frog is introduced to children (the character used to engage children) and then used as a focus for structured teaching strategies across the programme. From January the children are grouped across both primary 1 classes and learn their initial sounds visually through the “Fred Talk and Fred Fingers” procedures, rhymes and visual clues. These procedures are taught in primary 1 and are then used consistently by all teachers working with groups across the school. From primary 2 upwards, Catharine groups the children using their assessment information within mixed class groups. She allocates each group to a teacher and a learning space within the school. The Read Write Inc sessions take place during an hour between play time and lunch time Monday to Thursday of each week. Catherine ensures that no child works in a classroom space which is below their actual primary stage.

3. Pedagogy and teaching strategies used:

The initial training guides teachers’ use of interactive, consistent routines for each part of the daily RWI sessions. Catharine and colleagues use these effectively to ensure that ways of working remain familiar and constant so that children can focus on the new learning. Each literacy session includes the Fred talk exploration of the new sound and teachers make this as multi-sensory and accessible as they can through their dialogue and interaction with their group of children. The Fred Fingers strategy involves children pinching their fingers in time with each of the sounds they hear in each word they see and learn. The teachers use flash cards with words which contain each new sound and a selection of review sounds, in a familiar routine with their whole group.

The RWI 1 hour sessions are focussed, with the actual activities  and ways of working changing every 15 minutes or so to support children’s focus and engagement. There is:

  • Always a review of the learning from the previous day’s work,
  • Introduction of the new sound and flash cards as above
  • Review of previously taught sounds
  • Writing of the letters, sounds and words learned
  • 3 readings of the text identified for the group (more detail below)
  • A quiz/differentiated comprehension questions
  • Linked writing opportunities at appropriate levels
  • Proofread and editing tasks
  • Grammar and vocabulary challenges
  • Longer writing tasks which enable children to apply their writing skills more creatively

The children are prepared for reading by learning the decodable and tricky words they will encounter in the story. They have a lively and engaging story introduction which builds enthusiasm for reading the text and puts the story into a context. Then they do paired reading – each child reading it again in turn. When listening to each other, the children use a lollipop stick as a pointer to guide their partner’s reading. After the first read, they have the text read by the teacher to model confident, fluent and expressive reading. Read two develops fluency and read three focusses on comprehension of the text and voice choice to match

The whole philosophy is that children are given every skill they need to be successful in their reading before they begin. As the children progress in their reading, the levels of challenge in vocabulary increase, as does the length of the text.

All of these activities support children’s ability to:

  • de-code the text
  • develop their reading fluency
  • link the phonemes with their corresponding graphemes
  • form the graphemes and
  • use the graphemes correctly when spelling.

The texts also have comprehension questions which increase in quantity and difficulty as children move through the levels of the programme.

The Ruth Miskin training programme includes the specification of pedagogical/classroom management techniques which support children’s learning behaviours and attitudes. These promote a calm, ordered, focused learning environment and familiar routines and ways of working. Teachers at Stenhousemuir PS use these actions rather than their voices to manage the different procedures involved in each literacy lesson. For example, children learn that when the teacher raises their hand this means it’s time to stop what they are doing and listen for instruction. When moving from one activity or group to another, teachers use a 1, 2, 3 finger signal to manage children’s standing, moving and sitting. These techniques have been so successful that they have become adopted throughout the teaching day for all classes.

What do the children think of this literacy learning?

When asked for their opinions of their teachers’ use of this programme children in two learning groups said:

“It’s not hard or easy” gave thumbs up sign with smile “it’s medium.”

“It’s helping me learn.”

“I like the books – they are nice and good. I feel like I am learning all of the words.”

“The lolly stick helps me see all of the words.”

“ I love Read Write Inc because it helps me to read fast.” – P2

“You have to work hard to learn all of the sounds” – P1

“I read my home reading book to my mum and she is proud of me!” – P3

The teachers feel that as the programme moves up through its levels, it supports specific literacy skills and understanding such as children’s knowledge of alternative spellings for similar sounds and their capacity to proof read and edit their writing. Catharine feels that their use of the programme offers their children small, measured steps to success leading to independent working and the ability to apply literacy skills purposefully across the curriculum.

How are teachers adapting and using this programme for their children?

When reviewing their use of RWI, teachers at Stenhousemuir agreed on adaptations to their use of the programme. This included:

  • Adapting the assessments provided to be more focussed
  • Adding in a Fred Star of the Day award to the child who’d engaged, progressed or contributed well to the daily RWI hour
  • Changing the classroom  literacy displays weekly to reflect the learning focus
  • Enabling children to take Fred home for the weekend (a child in each group does this and provides a simple diary insert for Fred’s adventure book).

On Fridays children’s literacy hour happens with their own class in their own room. Teachers use elements of PM Writing to teach varied and creative writing lessons  which enable children to apply the learning they’ve acquired over the previous week.

Ongoing Development and Next Steps

To complement their use of the RWI programme, teachers are also supporting primary 6 and 7 children to catch up on any gaps in their learning by using the RWI Fresh Start programme. Children work in small groups to develop and consolidate their literacy skills, using texts which have a more age appropriate interest level.

Upon seeing the impact of Read Write Inc Phonics in the lower school, the school invested in the Read Write Inc Literacy and Language programme for Primary 4-7 children. This forms part of a language rich curriculum which develops children’s reading and understanding in different genres and builds upon the work done in the phonics programme.

Engaging Parents

It was decided that maximum impact on learning could be gained through the purchase and use of  RWI text collections of home readers and speed sound booklets. In conjunction with information night opportunities for parents and carers, these booklets enable parents and carers to support their child’s reading homework tasks. The home readers are matched with the taught content of the RWI texts used in school to ensure that children will experience success while reading. Similarly, the speed sound books enable parents and carers to engage in fun consolidation of their child’s knowledge of their taught sounds at home.

Parents and carers have been very positive about these developments, but Catharine and colleagues at Stenhousemuir PS now want to build on this initial parental involvement in their children’s literacy. They would love to attract or recruit more parental helpers who can work with children in their learning groups.

In summary, staff use of the Read, Write Inc Phonics programme at Stenhousemuir PS is engaging learners, improving reading attainment and enabling children to progress their literacy skills at an appropriate pace. Catharine would be delighted to speak with colleagues wanting to know more, and an information/sharing opportunity will be scheduled via Falkirk CPD Manager before Easter 2024.

Supporting Pupils’ Literacy Progress at Hallglen PS

Over the past 2 school years, staff at Hallglen PS have developed how they support children with their literacy progress. They have identified a selection of programmes and processes which enable them to tailor interventions to children’s individual needs. Diane Ramage, principal teacher, and Samantha Nash, support for learning teacher have also worked with staff colleagues and children to establish new ways of working. This includes the creation of a new support for learning space and the adoption of a range of literacy materials and activities which their support for learning assistant can use with children.

Which Interventions are being used?

The programmes and interventions being used will be familiar to colleagues, and include:

  • Read, Write Inc Phonics (for p 2-5)
  • Read Write Inc Fresh Start (for P 6 & 7)
  • Reading Recovery Wave 3
  • Nessy
  • Story Club
  • Use of tracking and monitoring data to inform specific intervention plans for children
  • Regular dialogue between class teachers, support for learning teacher, support for learning assistant and school leaders
  • Timetabled blocks of literacy support – 6-8 weeks
  • Liaison with Jude Davies, Support Teacher Specific Learning differences
  • Use of the Falkirk Literacy Pathway

How are these being employed?

Sam began to use Read Write Inc Fresh Start last session to help identified groups of children in primary 5, 6 and 7 to raise their reading attainment and build their confidence in reading. Initially this involved 21 pupils but the group gradually dwindled as more and more children “caught up” with their peers and no longer needed specific support. This programme was so successful that less than a third of this original group of children now require support with their reading.

In response to their observation of this impact on the children involved, Diane and Sam planned how to continue to use the Fresh Start programme with children in primary 6 and 7. In order to intervene earlier, Sam also trialled the Read Write Inc Phonics programme to support children in primary 2 – 5.

Both Read Write Inc programmes are helping children to learn the sounds which they need to read successfully. The children benefit from the use of the programme’s flash cards. These support explicit teaching of the links between the visual form of the letter/sound, its memorable and explanatory rhyme and the repetition and consolidation of the sound itself. The pedagogy employed by Sam and colleagues scaffolds the children’s ability to recall their sounds swiftly as they read – gradually enabling them to both de-code and increase their fluency and confidence.

Children progress through the Fresh Start programme at an appropriate pace and the intense, structured approach is re-engaging children with learning to read and reading to learn. Impact on reading for enjoyment is becoming visible also. This is evidenced by children’s voluntary participation in the Story Club initiative which Sam has started to run at lunchtime once a week. This initiative is an intervention designed to support issues with reading skills at the primary 2 stage.

Children choose to opt into Story Club and each session involves her in reading a story to the children then offering an related activity (currently adult initiated). Twenty eight children came to the first session and numbers remain high at this early stage of this initiative. Sam noted the attendance of one child in particular who, following his use of the Phonics programme, is beginning to master reading. This child previously hated and avoided reading so his choosing to attend Story Club evidences a huge change in his attitude to this essential skill.

Diane, Sam and colleagues regularly analyse their tracking data and other intelligence relating to their learners’ reading and literacy progress. They have instigated a 6 week assessment cycle which informs timetable and menu of support changes every 6 – 8 weeks.  This regular review of where children are enables more accurate selection of interventions for children and more intense, structured support.  In addition school processes enable class teachers to liaise with Sam at any point to explore how best to support their pupils.

Staff at Hallglen PS are also using the Nessy online platform and resources in a number of ways. Primary 6 and 7 pupils at Hallglen access Nessy online learning routinely using their digital devices. Sam noted that this independent, on demand access was not possible for primary 4 and 5 children because they don’t yet have individual devices. She set up 4 iPad word spaces within the Support for Learning classroom and primary 4 and 5 pupils now come regularly to use these independently to support their reading and spelling skill development. Teachers are also making use of individual children’s Nessy spelling targets to support more accurate differentiation of spelling tasks. Staff plan to explore other parts of the Nessy platform to consider further applications which may be valuable for their children.

As part of her To Lead or Not to Lead professional learning, Sam is working with primary 2 teacher colleagues to gather data about the comparative impact of the Read Write Inc Phonics and North Lanarkshire Active Literacy programmes on children’s reading. The outcomes of these studies will inform how these literacy interventions are used to support children’s progress in future.

Review and Next Steps

Diane, Sam and colleagues feel that their support for learning processes and intervention “package” has been transformative for their school and children. They have a “menu” of support which is responsive, pacey and is raising children’s confidence and ability to read. By making use of data, intelligence, professional dialogue, assessment and timetabling in combination with effective pedagogy and programmes, they are raising their children’s attainment in, and enjoyment of reading. They plan to consolidate this focus on reading while integrating development of spelling and writing to extend and enrich their menu of literacy support for their children. Diane, Sam and colleagues are rightly proud of their “package” of support for literacy learning and look forward to continuing its development for the benefit of their children.

 

News from our National Literacy Network Meeting June 2022

This blog post shares key information and opportunities from the last National Literacy Network meeting which took place on 8th June 2022.

AGENDA: Welcome
• Love to Read Project – Dr Sarah McGeown
• Break Out Room Discussion -Focus on progression Early through First Level
• ES and Partner Updates
• Future NLN / LECN Dates

Love to Read Project – Dr Sarah McGeown, University of Edinburgh – This is a programme created by researchers, teachers and children to inspire and sustain a love of reading. It draws upon theory, research, children’s insights and teachers’ professional and pedagogical knowledge, expertise and experience. More information about this programme can be found here and it will be freely available from March 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah also shared reading for enjoyment links below:

For teachers/school leaders: McGeown, S., & Wilkinson, K. (2021). Inspiring and sustaining reading for pleasure in children and young people: A guide for teachers and school leaders. UKLA Minibook. Available here:

For children: Connecting with Fictional Characters: The Power of Books. Available here.

The final literacy development shared by Sarah was the Move to Read programme which is a collaborative research project between the University of Edinburgh and schools within Edinburgh City Council. It aims to co-create physically active early literacy activities (P1) which are embodied –  more information here.

Further information about the value of participatory research involving researchers, teachers and pupils can be found in The University of Edinburgh blog here. 

Focus on progression Early through First Level

Education Scotland colleagues shared national pupil attainment data from 2020-21, so that we could examine these as a group. The breakout discussions were used the questions below to explore our theories around why there was a dip at first level across literacy.

  • What are the theories around why the dip happens?
  • What are the challenges to effective learning (P1 – P4)?
  • How do we strengthen understanding of progression through this level?
  • In what ways do we support pedagogy at this level?

ES and Partner Updates

  1. Cabinet Secretary announcement December 2021: National Response to Improving Literacy group (NRIL)
    “Scotland already has the National Response to Improving Mathematics Partnership Board, and we will set up a National Response to Improving Literacy group. Both groups will examine the existing landscape in Scotland and internationally, seeking opportunities to enhance professional learning for teachers and the classroom experiences for young people”
  2. Themes are beginning to emerge from the consultation done so far by the NRIL. These will be developed and shared over the next months.

Future NLN / LECN Dates

LECN (Literacy and English Curriculum Network) meeting 16.6.22 – Gender and Literacy Motivation

The next National Literacy Network meeting takes place on Thursday 15th September 2022

 

Using Picture Books to Promote Primary 1 Progress in Reading at Bowhouse PS

Earlier this session, Yvonne McBlain, curriculum support teacher, Falkirk Children’s Services, met with Charlotte McManus, Acting Depute Head teacher at Bowhouse Primary School to discuss literacy. Charlotte shared literacy teaching and learning which was going well in Bowhouse, including their focus at early level on rhyme, repetition and being playful with words through songs and actions. Charlotte kindly shared some of the picture books which Bowhouse colleagues use with primary 1 learners to support their progression of reading skills. We hope this list (see below) is useful to you – but please note other texts which are helping your learners by commenting upon this post? Together we can build an engaging plethora (love that word) of suggestions! These skills are highlighted by the extract from our Falkirk Literacy & English Progression Pathway pictured above.

Early in Term 1 – Environmental sound book suggestions

1.        Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

2.        We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

3.        Farmyard Hullabaloo by Giles Andreae

4.        Peace At Last by Jill Murphy

5.       Quiet by Kate Alizadeh

6.       Rabbits Nap (Julia Donaldson)

7.       Lullaby Hullaballoo

Later in Term 1 – Authors who use rhyme

1.       Julia Donaldson

2.       Nick Sharrat ( Fairytales if focus is Fairyland)

3.       Kes Gray (oi Frog!)

4.       Jez Alborough

5.       Giles Andreae

6.       Quintin Blake

7.       Lynley Dodd

Term 2 – Books with repeated phrases

1.       Jack and the Flum Flum Tree

2.       Hairy McLary

3.       The very Hungry Caterpillar

4.       The Tiger who Came to Tea

5.       The Gruffalo

6.       Owl Babies

7.       Handa’s Surprise

8.       Mrs Mopple’s Washing Line

9.       The Day Louis Got Eaten

10.   Solomen Crocodile

11.   Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see?

12.   Farmer Duck

13.   Don’t Talk to the Bus Driver

The Scottish Book Trust website also has resources which develop  similar literacy skills using Scots language and rhymes here – these may be useful for parents reading to their children at home too. Education Scotland National Improvement Hub resources point to this Words for Life section of the National Literacy Trust website. It offers guidance for parents on literacy activities and milestones in talking and reading which may also be helpful for family learning.

Closing the Gap

Closing the gap 1

Falkirk Council: Closing the Gap

A number of Falkirk Council schools are in the first phase of a Partnership Project that is funded by Education Scotland’s School Improvement Partnership Programmes (SIPP).

The SIPP is a collaborative school improvement strategy that promotes new ways of working across classroom, school and local authorities. Data and collaborative enquiry are used to innovate, test and refine new approaches to tackle the attainment gap.

Falkirk Council is currently one of 7 local authorities funded to work with the Robert Owen Centre, University of Glasgow. Projects across authorities are wide ranging and are very different but the main focus of each is to use collaboration and enquiry to tackle educational inequity and ‘Close the Gap’ for pupils.

Falkirk Council’s identified task is to pilot a staged intervention approach to low attainment in literacy in the upper primary, involving the building of family capacity in areas of relative deprivation.

This is an exciting joint initiative between Schools and Community Learning and Development. Seven primary schools within Falkirk and Grangemouth clusters have signed up for the project. These schools are using a systematic literacy intervention programme called High Five (Family Fischer trust) with small groups of pupils in P7 who have attained lower literacy scores. Alongside this, the Community Learning and Development team are providing additional opportunities for the pupils and their families to encourage motivation and ambition. Opportunities for enhanced transition to High School are also being explored.

The literacy intervention programme will run for a minimum of 20 weeks. Some parents have engaged with the process and have signed up for additional CLD activities.

Robust quantitative and qualitative data is being gathered and will be presented to SIPP, and pupil progress will be tracked from P7-S2.

So far, pupils are enjoying their experiences using age appropriate strategies and structured reading materials.

Closing the gap 3

Active Literacy Update Session 2013 – 2014

 

Each year, as part of Workstream 6 of the Literacy Strategy, a report is prepared relating to Workstream 1 – ‘Embed active literacy in every establishment’.  These reports can be viewed here:

Please click this link to access Active Literacy Strategy July 2013 for Session 2012 – 2013.

Please click this link Active Literacy Strategy July 2014 to access ‘Active Literacy Update’ for Session 2013 – 2014.

For further information, please contact literacy@falkirk.gov.uk

Engaging with Families

Falkirk Council is proud to be featured on the Scottish Government’s website – ‘Engaging with Families’. It demonstrates one of the ways Falkirk are working with families (Work stream 4) in pursuit of  ‘zero tolerance to illiteracy’. We are delighted to be featured here with a good practice story from Kinneil Primary School and Nursery Class in Bo’ness.

The ‘engaging with families’ website contains lots of ideas and advice in relation to raising attainment and closing the inequity gap. It explores a range of ways in which families can support children to achieve their potential.  The ‘Learning at Home’ section demonstrates how Falkirk Council have developed our ‘Learning to Achieve’ policy to support learners in the community. Part of this strategy includes interactive literacy and numeracy workshops where parents are given practical suggestions for how they can support their child’s learning at home.

For further information, please contact your child’s school to see if they are hosting an active literacy and/ or active numeracy workshop.

Practical Solutions for Early Intervention

This document ‘Practical Solutions for Early Intervention’ can be found in all Falkirk Council early level establishments.

It contains practical examples of learning experiences aimed at talking and listening, reading and writing.

This is a valuable document and embraces the aims of Falkirk Council’s Literacy Strategy.

The scanned document can be accessed from here: Practical Solutions for Early Intervention.

For more information, please contact the Curriculum Support Team at Camelon Education Centre.

Blogging About Active Literacy

Mary Jalland, Class Teacher at Westquarter Primary School, Falkirk, has created two Active Literacy blogs. Mary’s blogs are a great way of sharing effective teaching and learning in literacy, as well as sharing resources relating to the P1 and P2 Active Literacy programme. Mary has included links through to pupils demonstrating the Active Literacy strategies and methodologies, as well as a great explanation of Active Learning in their class.

Please visit: http://mrsjallandphonics.primaryblogger.co.uk/atspin/

http://mrsjallandphonics2.primaryblogger.co.uk/atspin/