Our Elklan journey

Background It was identified that children starting our school in Nursery and Reception were not at ARE in talk when they began school. Children had low levels when assessed and this was impacting on the their writing ability later on. We felt we needed to bridge the gap between quality talk and quality writing and that all staff would benefit from the training Communication and Language (speaking, understanding and listening) is an area of the EY curriculum which was weak with many of the children not achieving the ELG at the end of Reception. This then had a knock on effect on all other areas which require language rich children to access. Our levels of GLD in Lewis Street were the lowest in our cluster 2 years on the run with only 48% of the children achieving this ELG last year and 52% the previous year. This picture was similar in Christ Church.

To try and address this issue we decided to use the SALT buy in service, the initial screener in reception showed that only 2\58 children were at BL4 at the start of Reception in Lewis Street and 0/28 in Christ Church. At the end of the year 36 children out of 54 had progressed to blank level 3 or 4 in Lewis street and 17 out of 28 in Christ Church.

Elklan Training Due to the brilliant progress of the buy in service we wanted to share the strategies and good practice that underpinned the work that the SALT Buy In had done. We knew these strategies should be being used in all classrooms and made the huge commitment to train all staff in ELKLAN. 34 members of staff were trained at Level 3 across the partnership. 4 members of staff were trained at Level 4 and led the Elklan initiative. Training was delivered via INSET days and twilight sessions by Fiona Taylor. Each member of staff submitted their homework by an e-profile. Teachers and LSAs formed support groups and worked together.

Reflecting upon current practice Highlighting strengths and areas for improvement Allowing time for staff to implement development points Re-evaluating staff practice to assess impact Our Elklan journey began with us…

Impact of communication and interaction training The quality of children’s responses are better- time to plan answer/ using more ambitious vocabulary. ALL staff committed to up-levelling answers/ extending knowledge Reluctant children are interacting more willingly. Where possible lessons are being led by children’s interests and questions- KWL. This has resulted in children being more enthusiastic about their learning.

Staff views By allowing time to think, children have been more likely to modify their message and speak fluently in their response. Children are taking more ownership over conversations and consequently becoming more confident. Children’s responses are better and therefore praise is far more genuine and common. ALL staff are more confident in interacting

Next Steps – Blank Level Questioning All staff were trained in Blank Level Questioning. Posters displayed in classrooms Lanyard cards used by all staff Lollysticks were colour coded to reflect children’s levels Blank level questioning added to planning Talk task added to homework.

Outcomes Staff were made more aware of their own questioning skills and children’s ability to understand Children’s understanding has developed Children’s verbal reasoning skills have improved due to level-appropriate questioning Positive impact on behaviour management

Memory and Independent Learning Visual timetables in all classes Task plans Auditory Memory activities used in class Word association games

Outcomes Children are more focussed and have a good understanding of the routines Positive impact on behaviour Promotes independent learning

Vocabulary Development Mind Maps used at the beginning of every new topic Word games used as starter activities/plenaries Spidergrammes used to extend vocabulary Multiple meaning trees used in phonics

Outcomes Children use a more extensive vocabulary Increased understanding of the meaning of words and confidence in using them Positive impact on writing Children enjoy the activities and are motivated to learn Collaborative learning – Accessible for all

In conclusion… Elklan has been embraced by everyone and is now part of our school culture across the partnership. The quality of questioning has significantly improved by all members of staff. Adult to child interaction has improved. Child to adult interaction has also improved- more thinking time has resulted in children giving more considered answers. Children are taking ownership more over their learning. Positive impact on collaborative learning The quality of questioning has significantly improved by all members of staff. Overall improvement of children’s listening and attention skills, memory and independent learning.

Impact of Training Whole School Collaborative learning journey Building staff relationships CPD for all staff Key priority addressed by all- team effort All staff trained together to a high level Staff shared good practice on a regular basis Consistent approach for children Shared language

Our Future Elklan remains a remains a priority Elklan strategies embedded ensuring good practice On-going evaluation of use and impact Commitment to train new staff

The next project The Reception classes across both schools are using the Elklan strategies and our knowledge of the SALT buy in to create a Communication and Language research project jointly with a school in Blackpool. The school in Blackpool has similar levels of deprivation and disadvantage children. We have screened 8 target children from each school prior to any teaching about our topic ‘Do cows drink milk?' The children then went on a trip to Smithills farm to provide the children with first hand experiences. Meanwhile in class we are teaching specific vocab and questions (using Elklan strategies) and will reassess the children at the end of the project. Staff thoughts so far are positive and the university linked to this project is very interested in the research element, linked with Dr Cathy Nutbrown’s work. If the project proves successful we will look at rolling this out to other year groups.