Better English and literacy A shared responsibility A shared responsibility Patricia Metham HMI National Lead for English & Literacy

Better English and literacy A shared responsibility  Excellence in English (100229), 2011  Removing barriers to literacy (090237), 2011  Unseen children, 2013, see online at  Moving English forward (110118), 2012  Improving literacy in secondary schools (120363), Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy A shared responsibility How do you balance the demands? Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy A shared responsibility English Literacy

Better English and literacy A shared responsibility Speaking Listening Reading Writing

Better English and literacy A shared responsibility Whose responsibility? Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening

Speaking and listening – why worry?  Most of us speak and listen more than we read and write.  Most of us learnt to speak and listen before we could read and write Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening The DfE expects every pupil to:  engage in specific activities that develop speaking and listening skills  integrate speaking and listening with reading and writing  develop speaking and listening skills through cross-curricular links. English: curriculum opportunities, Secondary NC until Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Pupils should learn to:  justify ideas with reasons  ask questions to check understanding  develop vocabulary and build understanding  negotiate  evaluate  select the appropriate register Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Do all your pupils:  experience a rich language environment  explore and find out about their world  share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities? How do you plan for and monitor this? Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening English at the crossroads (2009)  ‘Teachers rarely used oral work to help pupils improve their spoken language…  …or to understand the differences between speech and writing.’  ‘There was too little analysis of their speech and how they might extend their talk in different ways.’ Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening English at the crossroads (2009)  ‘The most effective teachers demonstrated spoken language as carefully as they demonstrated writing…  …using a range of registers and drawing attention to details.’ Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Moving English forward (2012)  ‘Speaking and listening were less likely to be priorities than reading or writing.  Speaking and listening happened in support of other learning…  …but were rarely the central focus of teaching.’ Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Activity 1: Analysis and development ‘There was too little analysis of their speech and how they might extend their talk in different ways.’ In pairs, consider: a) what features of speech can usefully be analysed b) how such analysis can be used in lessons Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Analysis and development  Ability to choose an appropriate register  Range and precision of vocabulary  Grammatical accuracy  Sentence structure  Organisation of ideas  Pitch, pace, inflection Better English P Metham HMI

If you can speak and listen well, you can: enquire explore Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Better English P Metham HMI

If you can speak and listen well, you can: enquire explain explore enhance Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Better English P Metham HMI

If you can speak and listen well, you can: enquire explain engage explore enhance entertain Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Locked in. Shut out. Who are these children most likely to be? Better English P Metham HMI

Pupils for whom English is a additional and possibly difficult language?  Are they part of a large group or a small minority?  How well are they integrated into the mainstream of your school?  Do features of their first language make English especially difficult? Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening DSEN children who find speaking and listening hard?  How do you ensure that teachers know who they are… ...and how best to develop their oracy?  How well integrated are they in class speaking and listening activities? Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Pupils whose experience of speaking and listening beyond school is minimal?  What proportion of these children in your school are eligible for the Pupil Premium?  How are they supported and challenged? Is this reflected in your planning?  How is their progress in speaking and listening monitored and assessed? Better English P Metham HMI

Moving English forward (2012) ‘Effective teachers saw, as a priority, the development of vocabulary through:  talking to pupils  asking questions  modelling new vocabulary  giving pupils confidence to express ideas.’ Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Drama and role play  How might you link drama/role play to the development of reading and writing?  How is this reflected in your planning?  How can the learning be assessed?  How do you ensure that drama activities are highly valued by students and staff? Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Key Stage 4  What difference are changes to GCSE assessment making to your approach to speaking and listening in Key Stage 4?  How do you plan for high-quality speaking and listening in KS4?  What is the impact and how do you know? Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening Activity 2  Share what you consider to be the most effective speaking and listening activity in Year 7 and in Year 10.  How do you plan the steps between these two so that there is progression, stretch and balance? Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening ‘Teachers use a range of resources confidently and create opportunities for pupils to contribute actively to their learning – through role play and debate, for example.’ Good teaching observed on an English inspection Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Speaking and listening The gold standard Pupils express their ideas fluently and imaginatively. Pupils work effectively in different groups, raising thoughtful questions and helping to drive forward group work. Features of outstanding and good achievement: English evaluation schedule Better English P Metham HMI

Get ahead with words Speaking and listening  ‘How do I know what I think

Get ahead with words Speaking and listening  ‘How do I know what I think  until I hear what I say?’

Better English and literacy Everyone a reader

Person Woman

Are any of your pupils in these groups:  14% of children and young people in lower income homes rarely or never read books for pleasure  10.2% of pupils aged between 8 and 16 say they do not enjoy reading at all? If so, how are you responding? Literacy: state of the nation, National Literacy Trust (2011) Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

Moving English forward  Too few schools give enough thought to ways of encouraging a love of reading.  A sizeable minority of pupils fails to reach national expectations in reading. Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

What’s the problem with boys?  Peer pressure – reading isn’t seen as ‘cool’  Lack of male reading models in their peer group and at home  Boys’ active learning styles – not easily compatible with reading Boys’ Reading Commission, National Literacy Trust (2012) Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

What to read? How to read it? When to read it?

Key Stage 3  Jot down as many as you can of the texts specified in your KS3 English curriculum.  You may find it useful to group them: - target pupils - genre - topic…  How do you plan progression and range? Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

The NC challenge is that all pupils will:  develop an appreciation and love of reading, including ‘high-quality’ works: – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, drama – pre-1914 and contemporary – Shakespeare – seminal world literature. Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

Reading choices In table groups, consider:  what determines your choice of texts in these categories  what determines the order in which they are introduced  whether you read complete texts or extracts, and why. Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

Autumn 1Autumn 2Spring 1Spring 2Summer 1Summer 2 Year 7 First person narrative Reading (literary heritage) Media PoetryShakespeare Non-fiction AssessmentWritingReadingSpeaking & ListeningReading Writing Year 8Poetry Gothic Horror Non-fiction Fiction Shared Fiction History of Lang / Lit AssessmentWritingReadingSpeaking & ListeningReadingWriting / S&LWriting Year 9Literary Heritage Media War Poetry Shared Fiction Varieties of writing Shakespeare AssessmentWritingReading Writing / S&L Reading Better English P Metham HMI

Complete texts  What factors influence your choices?  How do you maintain your pupils’ interest? Debates? Drama? Film? Projects?  What do you want your pupils to gain from reading whole books that they cannot from extracts? Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Patricia Metham HMI

Extracts  What factors influence your choices? Writers? Themes? Genres?  What do you want your pupils to learn from them? Attention to detail? Freedom to speculate? Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Patricia Metham HMI

‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.’ Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Patricia Metham HMI

Key issues:  accessibility  balance  progression  resources What CPD may your teachers need? Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

‘Schools should do everything to promote wider reading:  provide library facilities  set ambitious expectations for home reading.’ – The NC framework Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

The library As a table group, compare your schools’ library provision and use.  How integral is the library to your departmental planning?  How do you evaluate its impact? Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

Why bother with the library/LRC? Well-resourced and imaginatively run, it:  provides ‘excellent educational experiences’  supports pupils in reading ‘widely and often across all subjects’  helps pupils ‘develop and apply a wide range of skills, in reading, writing and communication’. Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Everyone a reader Excellence in English ‘Schools that take the business of reading for pleasure seriously are more likely to succeed with their pupils’ reading:  where teachers read, talk with enthusiasm and recommend books  and where provision for reading is planned carefully.’ Better English P Metham HMI

Better English and literacy Everyone a reader

 Reading Study