THE NEVILLE LOVETT COMMUNITY SCHOOL
LITERACY POLICY (NON STATUTORY) Context Literacy and Numeracy are essential elements in a school’s core business. All should be aware that ensuring that their pupils are literate and numerate is their most important curricular responsibility. Literacy is an important life skill, therefore, it is a right for all pupils not a privilege for some. Definition There are many definitions of literacy. In its widest context literacy is having the ability to read and write. This involves the ability to recognise different letter patterns and to be able to link words and phrases together in a structured way. It should also promote and build their confidence to express themselves orally with effect and purpose. Colleagues have identified six main areas in which, on leaving school, pupils should be able to operate as literate adults: • • • • •
To be able to express ideas and opinions with clarity and confidence. To be able to read, decode and comprehend what is written as well as develop effective information retrieval skills. To be able to write with a degree of accuracy and clarity. To use language effectively both in written and oral contexts. To begin developing thinking skills in preparation for life long learning.
Aims The aim of this policy is to: • encourage all staff to appreciate what is meant by literacy • develop high standards in literacy across the school • provide a context for the variety of approaches to the teaching of literacy skills • identify roles and responsibilities in the promotion of literacy
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assist in the transfer of pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding between subjects indicate areas for, and processes to facilitate, collaboration between subjects.
Promoting Literacy It is in their English classes that pupils will acquire the foundations of literacy based on National Curriculum programmes of study. Teachers of English, however, do not have sole responsibility for their pupils’ developing literacy; we recognise that teachers in other subject areas share some of this responsibility with them. Other subject areas have their own literacy requirements and their own particular knowledge and skills needed to meet them. In this way teachers in other subject areas have a responsibility to help their pupils attain the level of literacy that their area demands. Thus all teachers contribute to their pupils’ developing literacy. Teachers in other subject areas are, therefore, asked to be alert to opportunities that they can use to reinforce and augment their pupils’ literacy and to emphasise any opportunity for cross-curricular involvement. To help pupils to become more literate teachers are asked to consider the following points. •
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Pupils should be encouraged to develop their competence with literacy throughout their years at school. Thus teachers should be prepared to intervene when occasion demands – when their pupils need to acquire new skills or knowledge. All subjects should seek to provide opportunities to learn through the modelling of the writing and reading process in their subject and in doing so making the implicit explicit in what we are doing as we read and write. All pupils should be given opportunities to have experience of a wide range of writing, reading and speaking and listening activities. In order to facilitate their literacy pupils should be given access to intervention programmes to allow them to develop as literate individuals, such as: o Literacy Progress Units in Year 7 o The Homework Club o Spelling and reading workshops o Booster classes in Year 9
The Literacy Co-ordinator At Neville Lovett the Literacy Co-ordinator is the Head of English. The role of the coordinator is: •
to be responsible to the Assistant Headteacher (KS3) for the development of literacy within the context of the Key Stage 3 Strategy
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to help to identify training needs of staff in relation to literacy and, working with the Assistant Headteacher (Staff Development), to ensure that these needs are met. to liaise with other departments, through Academic Board, to ensure that approaches to literacy are consistent and that support and resources are available as required to advise colleagues over the subject specific literacy content in schemes of work
Literacy Priorities Literacy priorities have been identified and agreed through the procedures outlined above. These priorities have been summarised as: • • • • • • • • •
To be displayed in all curriculum areas key subject specific words. To promote the use of dictionaries to support learning. To use grammatical terminology within their subjects to promote wider accuracy within the pupils’ written work and to be given guidance on this as necessary. To be aware of, and in written assignments, to use the 9 part ‘A sequence for teaching writing’ from the NLS schemes of work and the implications this has in their subject area. To develop the use of writing frames as part of the writing process. To have, in the future, developed guided reading and writing in all subject areas to support pupils. To use modelling as a teaching strategy and in doing so showing pupils the reasons why things are done. To establish with staff how pupils read and write and what this could mean to them. To have established and agreed approaches to questioning and how this may establish more critical thinking.
The School literacy priorities are addressed on a timeline agreed by the Assistant Headteacher (KS3) and the Literacy Co-ordinator. They may convene working groups as appropriate. Monitoring This policy is monitored through the established channels of Professional Review, discussion at Academic Board and via reports to the Governors’ Curriculum Committee.
Signed: ……………………………………………………… /mnt/conversion/splitting/100913103207-aa965fd0a7c944a4b6bce229c14c9c6e.file
Elizabeth Webb, Chairman of Governors Date: ……………………..
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