Estyn resources 

In March 2020, Tony Sparks HMI, delivered a workshop in Pembrokeshire on the leadership of English literacy across a school.   There is not yet an equivalent workshop that Estyn can offer for the leadership of Welsh literacy. The resources below could also be useful for clusters in their work on evaluating the existing strengths and areas to develop and learn from and with each other across 3-16.

Here is a playlist with resources also shared below: Estyn Literacy Coordinators Workshop March 2020

Among the range of resources, such as thematic reviews and case studies on Estyn website, the recent thematic review, English language and literacy in settings and primary schools (2021) shares the following suggestions:

Listening and speaking

- support learners’ early understanding of language by modelling and demonstrating a gesture or movement that conveys the meaning of words.

- beneficial extra-curricular opportunities, including within the local community, for learners to develop their language skills.

- use rich and varied contexts, such as participating in the Urdd, to teach learners specifically how to listen and talk.

- listening and speaking are skills to be developed in their own right, rather than as a support to reading and writing.

Reading

- strong focus on developing learners’ pre-reading skills, for example through songs, rhyme and music. 

- fostering a love of reading and literature is a priority.

- whole-school strategies for promoting reading for pleasure: reading to learners, providing opportunities for learners to read aloud, sharing complete novels with learners, and providing time for daily independent reading.

- teachers are advocates for reading.

- do not stick too rigidly to a reading scheme that stifles learners’ enjoyment.

- whole-school strategy to improve decoding skills, build vocabulary knowledge, or develop learners’ responses to what they read.

- take sufficient account of learners’ developmental stages and avoid introducing phonics teaching too early.

- encourage disadvantaged learners and their families to enjoy reading.

- opportunities for adults to role-model reading in key stage 2, including Welsh literature in Welsh-medium provision.

Writing

- improve the teaching of writing through consistent approaches to developing skills, for example in sentence construction, punctuation and spelling.

- teach learners to understand the conventions of form and genre, and of writing as a process.

- provide learners with a real reason to write and audience to write for.

- high expectation of learners, including the more able, to write well in different, challenging forms.

- opportunities for learners to write freely using the range of writing skills that they already have.

- extended writing opportunities and the expectation for learners to check, correct and re-draft their work.