Taking a strategic approach to tackling low literacy levels
“As a school it is our responsibility to educate the whole student.”
National Literacy Trust member Isabel Eames explains how she uses her National Literacy Trust membership to improve whole-school literacy, and how National Literacy Trust programmes are helping engage reluctant readers and writers.
Robert Clack School is a large comprehensive school based in Dagenham. We have a strong commitment to developing our students’ reading, writing and speaking skills. Through our National Literacy Trust membership we have been able to access a range of creative and innovative projects to enrich our classroom practice.
Our National Literacy Trust membership has bought us many benefits over the past few years. We initially found out about the trust through Premier League Reading Stars, the precursor to Skills Academy. For many years we had struggled with encouraging boys to tackle challenging reading material. Both programmes allowed us to combine reading and sport which the students relished.
We now use Skills Academy with our Year 7 and selected Year 8 pupils to enhance their opportunities to read for pleasure. We have been incredibly impressed with the increased reading ages but also with the confidence and pleasure the boys have found in reading, which for us is the most important thing!
We have also taken up opportunities to develop enthusiasm for writing too. We have been fortunate enough to work on the Young City Poets scheme. The students use real life stimulus to create poetry and consider the creative process of writing. This has engaged even the most reluctant writers, many of whom have continued to enjoy and celebrate the writing process. It has been a wonderful experience for the pupils to visit London sites which is also enhancing their cultural capital.
Not only have we been able to utilise the programmes available, we have also used our membership to develop our approach to whole-school literacy. The tools available have enabled us to take a strategic approach to tackling low literacy levels.
We have participated in the Annual Literacy Pupil Survey which is fascinating and has really helped us to understand how our pupils view reading and writing. This information has been vital in sharing with staff, helping them to understand the important role we have in encouraging reading and writing habits. The Annual Literacy School Review has also been useful in determining targets and encouraging us to reflect on our developments to date. There are also a range of brilliant free resources for teachers to use which help you to interact with research and measure your own practice.
In the future we look forward to working on Words for Work. We see building vocabulary as essential to prepare students for the world of work and beyond. As a school it is our responsibility to educate the whole student. That is what we like about National Literacy Trust membership — the focus is on developing essential life skills and enhancing the outcomes for all pupils.
Isabel Eames is Assistant Headteacher and Literacy Lead at Robert Clack School in Dagenham.
