Education Scotland
How well are learners progressing and achieving in literacy?
This material is adapted from guidance given to HM Inspectors and
Associate Assessors in August 2011 to support their work with
establishments.
How well are learners progressing and achieving in literacy?
Introduction
This guidance supplements other national advice and support materials available to
help schools and establishments implement Curriculum for Excellence. The
guidance brings together key messages from a range of available resources in such
a way as to help staff in schools and establishments ensure learners are progressing
and achieving in literacy.
Literacy, alongside numeracy and health and wellbeing, sits at the heart of
Curriculum for Excellence, as the knowledge, skills and attributes which equip
children and young people for learning, life and work.
Literacy across learning is one of the three areas which are the responsibility of all.
Literacy:
Learning language
Thinking tools
Thinking!
Learning!
Numeracy:
Wellbeing:
Care, participation
recognition, motivation
Thinking about, understanding
and relating to the environment
Charles Leadbetter
Competence and confidence in literacy, including competence in grammar, spelling
and the spoken word, are essential for progress in all areas of the curriculum.
Because of this, all teachers have responsibility for promoting language and literacy
development. Every teacher in each area of the curriculum needs to find
opportunities to encourage young people to explain their thinking, debate their ideas
and read and write at a level which will help them to develop their language skills
further.
Building the Curriculum 1
The relationship between Literacy and English
It continues to be the case that practitioners in pre-school establishments, primary
schools and staff in the English department in secondary schools will deliver the
framework for literacy and English. However, the framework recognises that all staff
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in schools have important responsibilities for and contributions to make towards the
development of literacy.
Almost all of the literacy and English experiences and outcomes relate to either
literacy or both literacy and English. As a result, much of what children and young
people learn as part of English includes developing their literacy skills.
The literacy and English framework have the same three organisers:
• listening and talking
• reading
• writing
English
In English, learners will also develop skills in word patterns, text structures and
studying literature, including Scottish literature and a wide range of texts. This will
involve some experiences and outcomes identified as English. These include
aspects of: tools for listening, talking and reading; understanding, analysing and
evaluating as part of reading; and creating texts as part of writing. In relation to this
children and young people will learn about characters, setting, plot and the
techniques authors have used to make these effective. They will also be
encouraged to talk and write imaginatively and listen to the ideas and thoughts of
others.
Literacy
Literacy skills will be developed in all subjects and across the eight curriculum areas.
The experiences and outcomes promote the development of:
• critical thinking;
• creative thinking;
• competence in listening and talking, reading and writing;
• personal, interpersonal and team-working skills; and
• skills in using language.
In nursery and early primary, children learn through conversation, play, exploration
and investigation.
In primary schools, children will develop their literacy skills through all areas of their
learning.
In secondary schools and other settings where a young person might be learning,
young people study a variety of curriculum areas with literacy across learning. At
various times all their teachers will be supporting them in activities which involve
listening and talking, reading or writing and so their literacy skills will continue to
develop.
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What does progress within literacy look like?
All staff and all teachers, regardless of the subject being taught, are responsible for
supporting, developing and extending the literacy skills of learners and for ensuring
that prior learning is built upon, practised and refreshed regularly.
To show they are progressing, learners should be able to provide evidence across
the breadth, challenge and application of their learning in literacy. The following is
taken from the Principle and Practice papers and illustrates progress in learning in
listening and talking, reading and writing.
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningteachingandassessment/learningacrossthecurric
ulum/responsibilityofall/literacy/principlesandpractice/index.asp
In listening and talking, learners will demonstrate their progress through their
interactions in social and learning contexts and through using individual talks,
presentations and group discussions. This range of sources will provide evidence
about their confidence, their increasing awareness of others in sustaining
interactions, the clarity of their ideas and expression and their skills in listening to
others and taking turns.
In reading, learners will demonstrate their progress through their growing fluency and
understanding, and their increasing confidence in reading to learn as well as learning
to read. Progress in critical literacy will be demonstrated as learners move from
dealing with straightforward information towards analysing, evaluating and being
aware of the trust that they should place on evidence.
In writing, learners will demonstrate their progress through the degree of
independence they show, the organisation and quality of their ideas, their skills in
spelling, punctuation and grammar, the match of their writing to audience and the
effectiveness of their use of language.
Breadth
Within each level breadth in learning will involve learners experiencing and
achieving success in an increasing number of literacy outcomes.
For learners to progress across the breadth of learning within a level in literacy they
will need to have encountered a wide range of different types of text in different
media. Learners should have the opportunity to engage with a variety of written or
printed texts and other forms of text, such as web pages, social networking sites,
films, graphs and the spoken word.
The definition of ‘texts’ is described in the Principles and Practice papers as follows:
a text is the medium through which ideas, experiences, opinions and information can
be communicated.
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Examples of texts are as follows:
Examples of texts
novels, short stories, plays, poems
reference texts
the spoken word
charts, maps, graphs and timetables
advertisements, promotional leaflets
comics, newspapers and magazines
CVs, letters and emails
films, games and TV programmes
labels, signs and posters
recipes, manuals and instructions
reports and reviews
text messages, blogs and social networking sites
web pages, catalogues and directories
Challenge
As they progress in their learning, learners will respond to the level of challenge set
out in the literacy experiences and outcomes and move forward to more challenging
learning in some aspects. They will encounter texts of increasing complexity in
terms of length, structure, vocabulary, ideas and concepts. Learners should be
developing higher-order thinking skills. Appendix 1 illustrates types of question
stems which can be used to help assess how well learners are developing higherorder thinking skills using approaches such as Bloom’s taxonomy.
Application
As learners make progress in literacy they will demonstrate how well they can apply
their literacy skills in different situations, including other areas of the curriculum. For
example:
• How well do they contribute to discussions and openly explain their thinking?
• Are they increasingly able to distil key ideas from texts?
• Can they apply their literacy skills successfully in different areas of their learning
and their daily lives?
As a guide learners are required to demonstrate their literacy skills across learning
as follows:
Listening and talking for learning



engaging with others in group and class discussions of appropriate complexity;
learning collaboratively – for example, when problem solving;
explaining their thinking to others; and
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
exploring factors which influence them and persuade them in order to help them
think about the reliability of information.
Reading for learning



finding, selecting, sorting, summarising and linking information from a variety of
sources;
considering the purpose and main concerns in texts, and understand the
differences between fact and opinion; and
discussing the similarities and differences between texts.
Writing for learning



making notes, developing ideas and acknowledging sources in written work;
developing and using effective vocabulary; and
creating texts – for example, presentations – which allow learners to
persuade/argue/explore ideas.
Please refer to Appendix 3 for further examples of ways in which learners can apply
their literacy skills across the curriculum.
Illustrations of progress are available through ‘quality marked’ examples of literacy
across learning within the National Assessment Resource. These illustrate activities
which are appropriately challenging. Appendix 2 gives examples from the National
Assessment Resource of children and young people applying and developing
literacy skills across different curriculum areas.
Achieving a level
Schools and establishments are expected to report on a learner’s achievement of
Curriculum for Excellence levels. Periodically, staff will evaluate a range of evidence
of learning, taking a holistic approach using their professional judgement about the
sufficiency and quality of the evidence in demonstrating standards and expectations
for achievement of a particular level either for literacy as a whole or for the
components:
-
listening and talking
reading
writing
Achievement in literacy includes breadth, challenge and application of learning.
Learners will have achieved a level when they can apply their literacy skills across
learning. This will require learners to have evidence across the breadth of learning;
demonstrate evidence in relation to a level of challenge with an appropriate
emphasis on higher-order thinking skills; and have evidence of applying their skills in
new and unfamiliar situations.
Appendix 4 provides further details on progression within listening and talking,
reading and writing. Appendix 5 provides reflective questions to focus professional
dialogue on how well learners are progressing and achieving in literacy.
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An Action Plan to Improve Literacy in Scotland
The Literacy Action Plan aims to raise national literacy standards. The plan signals
the Government’s commitment to a heightened, more targeted focus on improving
literacy skills in Scotland through better co-ordination and partnership working,
focussed on clear objectives. The aim is to raise standards of literacy for all from the
early years to adulthood, with a particular focus on those with the lowest levels of
literacy. Curriculum for Excellence proposes to address literacy and raise standards
through, emphasising the need to develop and apply literacy skills across the
curriculum. As part of the Literacy Action Plan schools and establishments should:

provide information to the school on the child’s progress in learning, including
literacy when a child is moving to P1 from early years establishments;

assess all children’s and young people’s literacy skills on an ongoing basis from
P1 onwards;

from P1 onwards provide reports to parents will include information on children’s
and young people’s achievement in all curriculum areas, including literacy, and
their development needs for the next year.

support learners in moving beyond basic literacy skills, to develop the advanced
skills set out within the guidance on levels 3 and 4 of Curriculum for Excellence
experience and outcomes.

involve parents in the literacy development of their children, including Parent
Councils where appropriate.
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Appendix 1 Sample question stems for higher-order thinking skills
Remembering
What is ………?
Where is……?
How did ………. happen?
Can you outline……?
Can you explain / describe…….?
What happened after……..?
Understanding
How would you compare...?
How would you summarise...?
What example could you give of……?
What do you think could have happened next...?
Can you clarify / illustrate…?
What is the main idea of...?
Applying
How would you solve ………. using what you've learned...?
What would happen if...?
What information would you select to show...?
Can you sort/group by features such as…?
Which factors would you change if…?
How is …….. an example of ……..?
Analysing
What conclusions can you draw...?
What evidence can you list for...?
Can you explain what must have happened when...?
What was the problem with...?
What was the purpose of……?
In what ways would you group/sort/categorise these…..?
Evaluating
Do you agree with the actions/outcome….?
What influence will....have on our lives?
How could ……. be improved?
What would you say is the importance of…..?
Based on what you know, how would you explain...?
What information would you use to support the view...?
Creating
What would be a possible solution to...?
Can you develop a proposal which would...?
What theory can you come up with for…..?
Can you predict the outcome if…..?
How many ways can you….?
How can you improve/develop….?
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Appendix 2 Quality marked examples of children and young people applying
and developing literacy skills across learning can be found on the National
Assessment Resource www.narscoltand.org.uk
Social Studies
Second level
Third level
Sciences
Early level
Second level
Third level
Health and wellbeing
Third and fourth level
Expressive Arts
Third level
Third level
Technologies
First level
Languages
First level
Fourth level
- children at Carmuirs Primary School find historical
information using different types of text.
- young people at Beeslack Community High School
study WWII and learn more about persuasive writing.
- children at Bishopbriggs Village Nursery learn about the
properties of materials
- children at Dunrossness Primary School write reports
about science experiments.
- young people at Aberdeen Grammar try to design the
‘perfect’ pan.
- young people at Carluke High School write magazine
articles about healthy food.
- young people at Balwearie High School discuss their
responses to portraits.
- young people at Grangemouth High School create
colourful works of art and learn the importance of layout.
- children at King’s Oak Primary School develop talking
and listening skills alongside their technological skills.
- children at St. Peter’s Primary investigate the language
and the layout of various genres such as stories, poems
and plays, then create their own texts.
- young people at Grange Academy analyse what makes
a good performance and use this to develop their own
skills in speechmaking.
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Appendix 3
The table below indicates some generic examples of ways for learners to apply and
develop their literacy skills in different curriculum areas.
Mathematics
Ways in which children and young people:
 discuss, communicate and explain their thinking;
 use mathematical vocabulary correctly;
 explain and justify their methods and conclusions;
 interpret and discuss results in an appropriate way;
 support the words used in reasoning and proof (if. then, therefore it follows that…);
 use and interpret calendars, electronic / paper-based timetables and schedules;
and
 present findings on how mathematics impacts on the world, past, present and
future.
Expressive Arts
Ways in which children and young people:
 present and perform to an audience;
 communicate their ideas, thoughts and feelings through art and design, drama,
dance and music activities;
 respond to the work of artists and designers by discussing their thoughts and
feelings;
 give and accept constructive comment on their own and others’ work;
 evaluating technical aspects and scripts; and
 create, adapt and sustain different roles, experimenting with expression and voice.
Health and wellbeing
Ways in which children and young people:
 identify, understand and express emotions;
 use and share their experiences;
 describe aspects, such as, some of the kinds of work that people do, importance of
taking part in energetic activities, parts of the body and how they work;
 investigate areas, such as, different careers/occupations, role of sport, foods, food
labelling systems;
 explain aspects, such as, the links between the energy used while being physically
active, the food eaten and health and wellbeing;
 explore and understand how advertising and the media influence consumers; and
 follow and understand rules and procedures.
Technologies
Ways in which children and young people:
 collaborate, lead and interact with others;
 discuss and debate;
 search and retrieve information to inform thinking within diverse learning contexts;
and
 present information.
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Social Studies
Ways in which children and young people:
 observe, describe and record;
 compare and contrast to draw valid conclusions;
 explore and evaluate different types of sources and evidence;
 interact with others and develop an awareness of self and others;
 develop the capacity for critical thinking through accessing, analysing and using
information from a wide variety of sources;
 discuss and debate;
 develop reasoned and justified points of view;
 develop and apply skills in interpreting and displaying graphical representation of
information; and
 present information – oral, written, multimedia.
Religious and Moral Education
Ways in which children and young people:
 discuss in depth and debate;
 share developing views about values;
 discuss and share ideas, experiences and moral challenges in a variety of ways;
 explain key features of festivals and celebrations;
 interact and collaborate with others;
 respond to questions and issues;
 explore beliefs, values and issues through reading a variety of texts; and
 present information – oral, written, multimedia.
Information and communications technology
Ways in which children and young people:
 use computer software/games to develop their skills in language acquisition,
reading and writing dependant on their age, stage and ability;
 use interactive whiteboards to develop literacy skills;
 to use word processing to plan, edit and organise texts;
 use the Internet to research topics, use higher-order literacy skills, including note
taking and summarising;
 make storyboards and scriptwriting, through being creative, using digital and video
cameras, in activities such as animation and film making;
 use presentation software such as PowerPoint; and
 take part activities such as text messaging, e-mailing, blogging and podcasting.
Sciences
Ways in which children and young people:
 use scientific language;
 explain their understanding of concepts;
 participate in informed discussions;
 ask questions or hypothesise;
 present, analyse and interpret data to draw conclusions;
 review and evaluate results to identify limitations and improvements;
 present and report on findings; and
 developing skills of reasoning to provide explanations and evaluations supported by
evidence or justifications.
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Appendix 4
12
13
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Appendix 5 Reflective questions to support self-evaluation and improvement
Questions to consider how well staff support learners to progress and achieve
in literacy.
•
How confident are we in using the literacy experiences and outcomes?
•
How well do we discuss the standards and expectations within the literacy
experiences and outcomes to help develop a shared understanding?
•
To what extent do we provide a broad range of experiences to develop
learners’ skills in literacy across learning?
•
How well do we provide opportunities for learners to engage with a wide
variety of different types of text in different media?
•
To what extent do we put in place strategies and approaches to intervene and
provide personal support to enable all learners to make the best possible
progress in literacy?
Questions to consider how staff are using information and data
•
To what extent do we use range of evidence from day-to-day learning as well
as from specifically designed assessment tasks, activities and tests and
examinations to arrive at their overall judgements about achievement of a
level?
•
How good are we at taking account of significant aspects of learning that are
pre-requisites to ensure successful progression to the next level?
•
To what extent do we use benchmarking materials and moderation activities
to support our judgements?
•
How do we monitor and track achievement and progress of individuals and
groups using assessment data and trends in achievement over time to
support improvement?
•
To what extent do we record information relating to learners’ progress in
literacy; strengths and areas for improvement?
Question stems to explore how well learners can apply their literacy skills
•
Can you think of an example…
•
Can you explain….
•
Where/when have you used…..
•
In what ways have you applied……
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