Spelling and reading were two of the areas of literacy targeted by the schools in the author’s study. Research into raising low literacy attainment were important for this study to help determine whether a provision management system was facilitating effectively the raising of the spelling and reading attainment of pupils with ALN within the school.
Raising low literacy attainment is being covered because it is a fundamental skill that pupils require in order to succeed in employment and life. Many pupils still under attain in their acquisition of basic literacy skills. The school in this research also targeted low literacy attainment as part of their provision management.
In order for improved literacy attainment to be sustained then it ...requires a sustained effort to change school and classroom
The heart of improvement lies in changing teaching and learning practices in thousands and thousands of classrooms and this requires focussed and sustained effort by all parts of the education system and its partners.
(Levin and Fullan, 2008, p.291).
Reading and writing are a fundamental skill (Levin, 2010) that pupils need to acquire to enable them to access the world of work when they leave school. Teachers, schools and their local authority partners need to ensure that attention is being given to
evidence about what works well for literacy in order to ensure that we are maximising pupil attainments.
Estyn (2001) reports that weak spelling is the most common weakness of pupils’ work in English. This is clearly an area that requires targeted intervention to improve
learning outcomes for pupils. Spelling is an important skill for pupils to master. Overall weak spelling can damage pupils’ self-confidence as writers and ‘turn them off’ writing. It can limit the complexity of their writing through fear of making mistakes. It can limit their life- chances later especially in education and employment, due to the importance that society attaches to correct spelling.
(Estyn, 2001, p.1).
It is essential that schools place the same importance on spelling that society does in order to maximise pupils’ life-chances.
It is important that pupils receive the same information about spelling as they move between classes as this enables them to make better progress in spelling (Estyn, 2001).
Good spellers are able to broaden their knowledge and understanding of spelling as they move through the school. They learn that the sound of a word is only one guide to do spelling and they use their knowledge of exceptions, simple and complex rules and their visual memory to help them master spelling.
The role of the teacher and LSA must be that of enabling the pupils to reach a level of mastery and fluency in the spelling so that they can generalise the skill to all areas of writing.
In order for pupils to succeed at spelling they also require their teachers to plan together and not in isolation (Estyn, 2001) in order that the teaching and learning of key concepts is carefully planned throughout the pupils’ primary schooling.
Like spelling, reading is a key skill that pupils need to acquire to maximise their life- chances.
where schools use exciting, interactive approaches and multi-sensory work to teach early reading skills, they ensure high levels of pupil interest and engagement.
(Estyn, 2007, p.6).
In order to ensure high levels of pupil interest and engagement then learning needs to be fun which is what Glasser’s (2001), Choice Theory states as one of our five basic needs. The teaching of phonics or any element of reading is no different,
Successful teaching of phonics recognises that learning needs to be motivating and enjoyable.
(Estyn, 2007, p.6)
If the pupils have need satisfying learning pictures (that is images that serve as a guide to their behaviour) within their heads of spelling and reading, then they will be
motivated to learn and therefore it is crucial that teachers and LSAs help pupils establish these need satisfying learning pictures in their heads. The development of reading is not just about the development of need satisfying learning pictures, but is also dependant on the pupil’s expressive language skills.
Early progress in reading depends on the learner’s oral language development.
(Estyn, 2007, p.12).
This is a key area of concern especially in areas of socio-economic deprivation as the pupils often start school with a delay in their oral language and are already delayed in their learning compared to their peers from more affluent areas. Pupils who have difficulty in speaking and listening will have limited progress in learning to read (Estyn, 2007).
., over the past 5 years, inspection evidence also shows that an increasing proportion of pupils start school with difficulty in speaking clearly and listening carefully to each other and to adults. (Estyn, 2007, p.12).
This will be impacting on the reading attainments of pupils and will be much more evident in areas of socio-economic deprivation. It is essential therefore that teachers’ develop pupils’ phonological and phonemic awareness in order for them to learn to read in either English or Welsh (Estyn, 2007).
It is argued later (2.2.7) that provision maps enable appropriate levels of assessment to be undertaken to determine the level of pupil needs and therefore schools using
provision management will already be ensuring that they are supporting the development of early reading through the provision management system.
Assessment systems need to be purposeful and used regularly, providing information to help staff to match new work to pupils’ learning needs as well as analyse pupils’ progress over time.
Importantly, assessment information should help staff to know when to intervene to help pupils make better and faster progress.
Good assessment systems are required for all areas of literacy development and also across all areas of the national curriculum. Provision management aims to ensure that assessment informs learning as to when interventions should be employed and which type of interventions are required to increase progress.
In addition to good teaching and learning practices and assessment systems, schools require good leadership and management to develop and enhance literacy attainments for pupils.
A key feature of high performing schools is the way that leaders and managers work well together, tackle low and inconsistent
performance as well as drive forward improvements to raise standards.
(Estyn, 2007, p.24).
A whole school approach to literacy development is a key and this is attained through good quality leadership and management
...effective leaders and managers secure consistency in learning and teaching practices and build a whole-school commitment to
achieving good standards. (Estyn, 2007, p.8).