National Literacy Strategy

1. National Literacy Strategy Early Literacy Support (ELS) HEADTEACHER BRIEFING

2. ELS in Year 1 The programme aims to put a second wave of support in place during Y1 • Y1 term 1 - Quality First Teaching • Y1 term 2 – 1st Group intervention • Y1 term 3 – Individual support for identified children 2nd Group intervention (when necessary)

3. ELS: key principles • Early intervention is the key to ensuring long-term literacy success and the prevention of failure • Intervention must operate in a context of Quality First Teaching

4. ELS: design guidelines • Intervention is based on an assessment of critical literacy objectives • Additional ‘lessons’ are delivered as well as, not instead of, the literacy hour • Aim of intervention is to generate accelerated learning back to the appropriate NLS Framework for teaching objectives

5. ELS: design guidelines cont. • Focus of teaching is to ensure word level objectives are in place • Intervention is time limited • Intervention is delivered in small groups • Children follow a structured programme • A follow up safety net is in place

6. Shape of the intervention • During the first term of Y1 all children will receive Quality First Teaching • At the end of term 1 priority children will be screened to monitor progress against the NLS Framework for teaching objectives • The most at risk children will be identified for inclusion in the intervention

7. Shape of the intervention cont. • During the second term of Year 1 a group of up to 6 identified children will receive 60 additional literacy sessions • The additional sessions will be delivered by the TA outside the Literacy Hour

8. The screening process • The screening is designed to identify children who are ‘not on track’ and may be ‘at risk’ • The screening is designed to complement existing assessment processes • The screening includes speaking and listening, reading, writing and word level knowledge • The screening is delivered within the structure of the Literacy Hour

9. The additional literacy lessons • Each lesson will be carefully structured and over each week will include: reading, writing, word level and speaking and listening tasks • Each session will support teaching towards a key NLS Framework for teaching objective

10. Training and support • 3 days of central training on Quality First Teaching (QFT), screening and selection materials and intervention sessions • School-based release for Y1 teacher and TA • Website support for all schools

11. Structure of the training Day 1 - Quality First Teaching • Pre-course tasks (½ day in school for Y1 teacher and TA):revisiting PiPs, introduction to ELS programme and review of current practice • Training day – Y1, Reception teachers and TAIntroduction to intervention, shared writing, guided reading and role of the TA • Post-course tasks (½ day in school for Y1 teacher and TA)Planning and delivering shared writing and guided reading

12. Next steps checklist • Brief staff and Governors • Locate budget from Standards Fund for school-based training and resources • Establish ELS implementation team – may include member of SMT, SENCO, Y1 teacher and TA • Recruit TA • Identify class teachers and target class • Revise Literacy Action Plan to include ELS • Plan for partnership with parents and carers • Cover arrangements for teachers and TA to attend training • Incorporate ELS into schools’ monitoring and evaluation framework

13. Further information www.standards.dfee.gov.uk/literacy