Christopher Hatton  Primary School
IncludED Case Study - Effective use of Widigit Symbols across the curriculum and beyond

What is the approach to Literacy at Christopher Hatton Primary School?ExInculsion 6

'As part of a whole school approach, I've used Widgit to look at every book corner or learning environment and really pull out groups of books and texts that we want children to be enjoying and basically make the journey through the school so that a child can walk into any classroom and find a book that's really, really important. It's a way of making our emphasis on reading for pleasure really visible as we walk around the school and children know it's really important'

Rebecca Ryan

Year 5 Teacher,  English and Oracy Lead - Christoper Hatton Primary School

How have you used Widgit symbols?  

'In terms of a whole school of approach to reading, we wanted to make our reading environments consistent for the children and also for the teachers. I wanted teachers to think really carefully about what books to put in their reading environment. And a way to do that was to group books into quality texts and represent that with a symbol'

Claire McBride

Deputy Headteacher - Christoper Hatton Primary School

What has been the impact of using Widgit across the school?

'We want the children to be articulate and we use Widgit symbols to help teach vocabulary specifically and support group talk. And we want the children to be empowered, and that is through being able to participate in all the lessons without feeling marginalized or that they have needs that can't be met. And the use of this technology helps to support that aim'

Claire McBride

Deputy Headteacher - Christoper Hatton Primary School

Why is planning necessary to secure the right positive impact?

'Using symbols properly makes the teacher plan well and it will improve the quality of the lesson because you have to decide what symbol is the key point of learning. It also requires the teacher to communicate that key point of learning really clearly to children as well!'. 

Rebecca Ryan

Year 5 Teacher,  English and Oracy Lead - Christoper Hatton Primary School

How do the learners benefit from effective symbol use?

'For the children, use of symbols on interactive whiteboards and on resources makes it easier because they understand what they are learning,; they understand what success looks like; they understand the keywords that they need to use in this lesson. It also just makes it visually more engaging. I think we can overload children with lots and lots of words. If we're using symbols, we are really pinpointing the key learning that needs to stick in my brain as a child, and I think that's really powerful.'

Rebecca Ryan

Year 5 Teacher,  English and Oracy Lead - Christoper Hatton Primary School

How is 'Word of the week' part of the literacy strategy?

'We identify keywords that support our topic learning, and all of those words are supported by Widgit symbols. We integrate that across the school. So you'll have the symbol on the big picture, which shows the learning journey, and children know what words they're going to be learning about and what big concepts they're going to need to explore on the interactive whiteboards and around the classroom. We use symbols so that children know what they are learning and they understand the word better because it's been explicitly taught and because there's a picture that shows its meaning.'

Rebecca Ryan

Year 5 Teacher,  English and Oracy Lead - Christoper Hatton Primary School

How do symbols help with learning concepts?

'When I walk around the school as a senior leader and with inclusion on my mind, what I really want to see is that it's hard for me to spot who the children are, who might have additional needs. What I want to see is all the children learning together. A lone learner is not something I want to see. And I know that our teachers help make that happen through their careful planning and their inclusion of Widget symbols that support those children.'

Claire McBride

Deputy Headteacher - Christoper Hatton Primary School

Advice for other teachers

'So it's really important before you start embedding the use of widgit symbols, that you have a strategy for use across the school so that when you come together as a staff, you all know what you're working on and you're all working towards the same aims. And those aims need to support your curriculum aims as well.

Claire McBride

Deputy Headteacher - Christoper Hatton Primary School