English and Literacy: Primary
News and Opportunities
The LLC Team offers a wide range of professional learning opportunities. Please see the EAS Professional Learning Offer for English and literacy, including opportunities provided by Partner Schools.
Resources
The report identifies how effectively English-medium settings and schools in Wales support and teach English language and literacy to learners aged three to eleven.
This EEF guidance report offers early years professionals seven practical evidence-based recommendations to provide every child – but particularly those from disadvantaged homes – with a high quality and well-rounded grounding in early literacy, language and communication.
This report is part of a series of four guidance reports that the EEF has produced on the theme of language and literacy. It focuses on pupils between the ages of 5 and 7 in Key Stage 1.
This report offers seven practical, evidence-based recommendations that are relevant to all pupils, and particularly to those struggling with their literacy. To develop the recommendations, the EEF reviewed the best available international research and consulted experts to arrive at key principles for effective literacy teaching.
Speaking and Listening
This research-based review, undertaken by Professor Neil Mercer and Dr James Mannion, was commissioned by the EAS to serve three purposes:
To report on a comprehensive Review of the relevant research literature relating to the development of speaking and listening skills in young people;
To produce a set of Key principles derived from research evidence;
To outline a set of Practical recommendations for teachers based on the research evidence and key principles.
Reading
This thematic report is written in response to a request for advice from the Minster for Education and the Welsh Language in his remit letter to Estyn for 2022-23. The report describes how schools are developing pupils’ English reading skills across the curriculum in Year 6 in primary schools, and in Years 7, 8 and 9 in secondary schools or from the age of 10-14 years in all-age schools. It considers how well pupils’ reading skills are developing, their attitudes to reading, and the extent to which schools are developing a ‘reading culture’.
A collection of reading response activities, originally collected to support teachers in planning tasks to enable exemplification of characteristics of Level 5 reading.
A collection of reading response activities, originally collected to support teachers in planning tasks to enable exemplification of characteristics of Level 4 reading.
A collection of reading response activities, originally collected to support teachers in planning tasks to enable exemplification of characteristics of Level 3 reading.
Writing
EAS Getting it 'Write' planning and teaching resources
A selection of teacher planning resources, first shared with teachers as part of the EAS Getting it 'Write' PL programme. These resources are widely used across our region's primary school, supporting teachers in planning for learning with a writing outcome.
A tool to support teachers in planning for a sequence of learning with a writing outcome, ensuring a rich balance of listening, reading, speaking and writing.
This resource suggests progressive layout, organisation and language features for six non-fiction texts types, to support teachers in planning for writing in English and across the AoLEs.
These grids suggest teaching guidelines with suggested teaching and learning activities to support the development of writing skills. Developed with reference to our curriculum documents for Foundation Phase LLC and English programmes of study in 2017, these resources still provide supportive guidance for teachers considering provision and progression.
Exemplification and Sharing Good Practice
EAS Literacy Learning Pathway planning
The Literacy Learning Pathway is a collection of units of planning to develop the teaching of writing from Nursery to Year 6. It was created by teachers with pupils from schools across South East Wales, in collaboration with the EAS English and Literacy team.
Each unit was planned using the Planning Sequence for Writing planning tool from Getting it “Write” and Lively Literacy professional learning programmes and the Year on year writing planning grids.
Planning documents outline a sequence of teaching and learning activities through which oracy, reading and writing skills are interwoven. Writing skills are developed through shorter tasks that lead to opportunities for more extended pieces of writing.
For EAS schools, please contact catherine.mcmahon@sewaleseas.org.uk for more information or for access to this resource collection.
The Writing Revolution - Case Studies
In 2022-2023, a selection of primary and secondary schools were represented by English teachers and literacy leads on The Writing Revolution professional learning programme. Participants were trained on strategies to improve the proficiency of pupils’ writing using ‘The Hochman Method’, an explicit set of sequenced strategies for teaching expository writing that can be integrated into any content. Please see below a selection of case studies produced by participants.
Glasllwch Primary
Griffithstown Primary
Milton Primary
St David's RC Primary Cwmbran
