Teachers generally agree that, in order to achieve a good standard of literacy for all children, schools require more resources and less government prescription.
They would like to be given the discretion to use a range of different strategies to meet children’s individual needs rather than have a single, one-size-fits-all strategy imposed on them.
That’s why the government’s one-club solution of using synthetic phonics to teach all children, no matter what their individual circumstances, is only half-heartedly supported by the profession. Why rely on a single strategy when you have a whole golf bag of strategies to select from?
The ten strategies outlined in this series provide a clear framework for improvement that, with the right funding and political will, could raise literacy standards in the UK to the level of the best education systems in the world.
Our strategies for achieving world-class literacy are firmly rooted in best practice, distilled from the views and suggestions of more than 500 literacy teachers and school leaders who took part in our recent ReadingWise survey.
One of these is Nikki Morgan, headteacher of Holy Trinity Primary School in the London borough of Merton, who listed the following necessary conditions for creating world-beating literacy standards in our schools:
- Slightly smaller class sizes
- Less top-down directives from the Department for Education
- More autonomy for schools
- Recognition that all children do not learn in the same way and so schools should be encouraged to be creative and try different methods and resources which have been tried and tested.
Anthony Kern, headteacher at Gosfield Primary School in Essex, expanded on this theme. “Education strategy needs to be taken out of the political arena and for highly effective leaders and managers to drive education practice,” he said.
“Children should start school later and parents should be encouraged to work with their children at home, giving them rich experiences based on a wide range of reading texts. Library strategies need to reflect the importance we place on reading and literature and more money is needed for schools to spend improving literacy provision.”
To back up his argument for greater investment he makes a simple comparison between spending in state and independent schools. “Private schools do better generally because of the money they have to spend on resources, not the background of the parents.
“We have a budget of £250,000 a year for 140 children - £1,700 per pupil. In the private school in the same road they have £10,000 per pupil. We get better results in both key stages. Imagine what you can do with even double the budget we have?”
But while more money is seen as essential if we are to produce a world-class literacy system, the thing teachers would most like to see is less government prescription.
One of the clearest messages to emerge from our literacy survey is that teachers should be trusted to deliver higher literacy standards, using their professional judgement and skills. A common view is that too many government interventions are not fully thought-through and do not lead to sustainable improvement.
This is what one secondary teacher had to say: “A world-class education system would come from consistency and not implementing new policies and strategies all the time. This makes teaching very difficult and impacts on pupils’ learning.
“A more consistent and rational approach to planning and subject coverage would guide those teachers who are struggling and ensure that all pupils are getting a consistent education across the board.”
A similar note of exasperation is evident from a Birmingham primary teacher, who pleaded: “For education to be taken out of the political arena so that there isn’t a major change every time there is a new government. As it stands nothing is kept in place long enough to actually have an effect on the children’s learning.”
With a general election now only months away, her plea is particularly timely. We hope the strategies outlined in this series will start a national debate that will ultimately lead to significant improvement in reading and writing levels - especially among the 20% of children who currently struggle for literacy and for whom we are not doing enough.
It’s time for politicians of all persuasions to listen to and work with practitioners, who ultimately have to make their policies work. Only by working together can the ultimate goal of world-class literacy standards in our schools be achieved.
