Research findings
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
 Literacy interventions
 Having ‘no intervention’ does not enable pupils with literacy difficulties
to catch up (Brooks, 2002, 2007)
 Many effective literacy intervention programmes have cooperative
learning at their core (Slavin and Lake, 2008)
 The key elements of effective teaching approaches for low attainers in
literacy include: early intervention, one to one and/or small group
support and personalisation (Brooks, 2002)
 There are fewer interventions to help pupils struggling with reading in
secondary education in comparison to a wide range of interventions
designed to help primary pupils (Brooks 2002, 2007). However, some
interventions that are primarily intended for use in primary schools
could be used at any time between the ages of 6 and 14 (Singleton,
2009).
 Brooks (2007) looked at the effectiveness of intervention schemes
used in the UK to target the reading, spelling or writing attainment of
low-achieving pupils in Years 1-11. He noted that there is much less
evidence on reading interventions at secondary level, and none on
writing interventions. Brooks (2007) concluded that this represents
evidence of “useful to remarkable effectiveness” for schemes such as
Academy of Reading, Literacy Acceleration, Read Write Inc. Fresh
Start, and Sound Training.
 Brooks (2007) concluded overall that: Large-scale schemes, though
expensive, can give good value for money; where reading partners are
available and can be given appropriate training and support,
partnership approaches can be very effective; success with some
pupils with the most severe problems is elusive, and this reinforces the
need for skilled, intensive, one-to-one intervention for these pupils;
interventions longer than one term may produce proportionally further
benefits but the gains need to be carefully monitored; good impact –
sufficient to at least double the standard rate of progress – can be
achieved, and it is reasonable to expect it; most of the schemes which
incorporated follow-up studies showed that the pupils maintained their
gains or even made further gains.
Review of Catch-Up Strategies, DfE 2012
OFSTED
 10 principles of good practice
 Literacy was at the heart of learning in every one of the survey
schools, with each working successfully in an individual way and with
particular priorities.
 There was no one way of ‘getting it right’. Approaches varied from
school to school and depended on the needs of pupils and the skills,
knowledge and experience of staff. In one school the emphasis was
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on extended writing. Another school realised from its entry
assessments that the issue was more to do with pupils’ confidence in
speaking and listening. Enabling pupils with very little English to settle
confidently and have access to the full curriculum was a key priority in
another. Some schools gave the leadership responsibility to English
teachers, while others pursued a different route. Some schools
established literacy coordinators and working parties while others
treated literacy as a whole-staff teaching and learning issue.
There are many possible routes to the same outcome: effective
practice across all subjects. Nevertheless, this report identifies
features that characterise the effective practice across all seven
survey schools.
Setting literacy issues firmly within the teaching and learning debate
Literacy initiatives are less likely to be successful where literacy is
seen as something separate from normal mainstream teaching and
learning. For this reason, some schools prefer not to talk about
literacy but to refer to ‘language for learning’, for example. Literacy, or
language for learning, needs to be seen as an integral element of all
good teaching. Literacy should be a constant item on the agenda
when issues of effective teaching and learning are discussed. The
issue for all teachers is, therefore, ‘How can I use language for
learning effectively to improve achievement in my subject?’ A
challenge for all school leaders is to ensure that teachers not only ask
that question but have the skills and commitment needed to
demonstrate through their planning, teaching and assessment of
pupils’ work that they know the answer and can put it into practice.
No quick fix
How long does it take to effect any significant change in literacy
practice? In the successful schools visited, literacy had become a
permanent feature of their development planning. There was no
attempt to address literacy through a one-off training day for staff and
the display of key words around classrooms. Literacy had become an
integral part of longer-term school improvement plans and informed
the content of action plans for each subject. It frequently involved
governors and sometimes became a performance management target
for teachers. This survey confirms that there is no quick fix with
literacy but that clear aims, strong commitment and a sense of
urgency produce positive results.
The active support of headteacher and senior leaders for crosscurricular literacy learning
While this may be an obvious point, it remains an important one. This
report illustrates the importance of active leadership by headteachers
and other senior leaders in making the case for literacy. In the survey
schools, headteachers cared about literacy and ensured that it
remained a constant topic of discussion. They modelled its importance
in different ways, perhaps themselves training older pupils to be
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literacy tutors or themselves teaching intervention sessions. Staff all
knew that literacy was something of importance to the school
leadership. It was evident in everything that the headteacher and
other senior leaders did and said. It was central to the school’s vision
and its improvement planning.
Making the case for literacy in all subjects: showing ‘what’s in it for
us?’
Teachers are busy and hard-working people. They have challenges in
their own subject area. Senior leaders should not assume that all
teachers will welcome and embrace cross-curricular literacy initiatives.
The link between literacy and more effective learning in every subject
area needs to be established clearly and explicitly. The case for
literacy needs to be made carefully and with a sensitive understanding
of individual subjects’ different needs. The starting point for all
teachers should be: ‘What literacy skills do students in my subject
need and what approaches to language learning will help me to be an
effective teacher of my subject?’ An emphasis on writing, for example,
may need to be carefully negotiated in order to ensure that the very
different needs of teachers in, say, history, mathematics and music
are equally met.
Use of specialist knowledge to support individual teachers and
departments
In the survey schools, there were different views about the role to be
played in literacy by the English specialists. It is clear that any literacy
initiative needs to be seen as addressing a whole-school priority rather
than assisting English teachers to ‘do their job’. Nevertheless, English
teachers are (or should be) specialists in the use of language and in
an understanding of grammar. The same is often true of teachers of
modern foreign languages. Other teachers may lack confidence at
times in their own use of English. Accordingly, in successful schools,
good use is made of specialists from English and other subjects to
support the development of effective strategies. It is important to
ensure that these specialists are committed to cross-curricular literacy.
Equally important is to provide time and resources for close
collaboration with other teachers in the development of practical
strategies and schemes of work.
Learning from each other and sharing good practice across the
curriculum
This report describes how one school deliberately started its literacy
work with some of the more ‘unlikely’ departments. This was not the
case elsewhere. What was consistent was the intention to identify
good practice across all areas and disseminate it. Physical education
teachers, for example, often manage discussion and small-group work
very effectively. Teachers of subjects other than English often find real
contexts for language that engage pupils and help to get something
practical done, for example in design and technology or drama. All
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teachers are likely to be enthused by hearing about something that
works in another subject area – especially if it’s not English. The use
of literacy advocates or specialists in different departments can work
well in some schools.
Embedding good practice in schemes of work and development
planning
It is one thing to identify an opportunity for a piece of extended
writing in a particular subject. It is another to extend this across all
schemes of work and establish departmental agreements about the
teaching of writing in each subject that will have a positive impact on
pupils’ work. Effective teachers are constantly devising practical and
engaging subject-specific activities that develop pupil’s reading,
writing, speaking and listening without ‘improving literacy’ being the
stated learning objective. Teachers need collectively to know about
the good practice going on in their own school and to recognise how
this might be translated into equally effective literacy-boosting
activities in their own subject area. Such cross-fertilisation can and
should provide the basis for whole-school development planning for
literacy to be implemented consistently across all subjects, with each
subject maintaining its individual character.
Making full use of the library and librarian
In every school in the survey there were successful measures to
involve the library and ensure that the librarian had an important role
in developing reading. This is common sense, building on the
specialist knowledge that librarians possess. Where librarians are fully
integrated into the management structure of the school, they have an
opportunity to influence debate and to enhance the library’s
contribution to pupils’ progress. Many of the imaginative programmes
to encourage reading that inspectors see are inspired by a good
librarian.
Systematic and effective monitoring and evaluation
Improvements in literacy are not always easy to identify. While, for
example, many schools have introduced some form of reading within
tutorial time, it is less common to find schools that can speak clearly
about the impact of this initiative. For example, if 20 minutes every
day are set aside for reading, can the school be sure that the
approach amounts to good value for time and money? Are all groups
of pupils engaged? What about the poor reader who sits and pretends
to read? What about the keen reader who reads for hours outside
school? What about the teacher who is not a keen reader and remains
uncommitted to the idea? Similarly, the fact that there is more
extended writing going on in the school does not in itself ensure that
the quality of writing is any better. ‘Doing’ more is not enough; it is
essential to establish that good learning is also taking place, and that
can be a complex process.
Recognising that there’s no one way to get it right
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The case studies show how different schools established successful
cross-curricular literacy initiatives, sharing some common principles
but each approaching the challenge in a way that grew out of its
particular context. Schools should not try to transplant, unchanged,
one of the approaches described here, although there is much to be
learnt from each case study.
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The summary of good practice below makes it clear that success in
promoting literacy does not require extravagant or exotic strategies.
Schools should: involve all teachers and demonstrate how they are all
engaged in using language to promote learning in their subject,
identify the particular needs of all pupils in reading, writing, speaking
and listening, make strong links between school and home plan for
the longer term, emphasising the integral relationship between
language for learning and effective teaching in all subjects.
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To be literate is to gain a voice and to participate meaningfully and
assertively in decisions that affect one’s life. To be literate is to gain
self-confidence. To be literate is to become self-assertive…Literacy
enables people to read their own world and to write their own
history... Literacy provides access to written knowledge – and
knowledge is power. In a nutshell, literacy empowers.
OFSTED: Improving literacy in secondary schools: a shared
responsibility April 2013, No. 120363
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The National Literacy Trust
 The strong push on phonics in schools has increased the level
of decoding skills amongst children in the first two years of school. However,
children are failing to gain the equivalent of level 4b in reading at the age of
11 predominantly because of poor comprehension skills. This highlights the
importance of spoken language in relation to literacy. Government must
signal that it takes this challenge seriously. Attention also needs to be
focused on secondary schools. Not enough children reach the expected level
at the end of primary school (86%), but even fewer go on to achieve the
equivalent of a good English GCSE by the time they leave school (62%).
There needs to be continuity in the teaching of literacy between primary and
secondary schools to avoid alienating pupils with weaker literacy skills.
Spoken language skills should also continue to be valued as an essential
element of literacy; the fact that spoken language assessments do not count
towards GCSE English grades misrepresents the importance of these skills.
Reading for enjoyment raises literacy: regularly reading outside of school is
associated with higher scores in reading assessments. Evidence suggests
that there is a positive relationship between reading frequency, reading
enjoyment and attainment. It is also strongly related to other learning
outcomes: reading enjoyment is more important in determining a child’s
educational success than their family’s socio-economic status.
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0002/3984/Vision_for_Lit
eracy_2025.pdf
Vision for Literacy 2015, National Literacy Trust, 2014
Institute of Education
What do we know about literacy intervention?
 KS3 pupils' literacy problems can be effectively targeted by direct,
explicit and systematic fluency, vocabulary & comprehension
instruction in one-to-one situations
 (Houge et al., 2008)
 Effective teaching approaches for low attainers include:
 early intervention, one to one &/or small group support &
personalisation (Brooks, 2002)
 Whole school approaches can produce substantial
 improvements in academic outcomes (Sharples et al., 2011)
http://ilc.ioe.ac.uk/documents/GROWatKS3_Briefing_Nov_2014.p
df IOE international Literacy Centre: Grow@KS3 IOE 2014
United Kingdom Reading Association
 A balanced approach is needed in which attention to word recognition
skills is matched by attention to comprehension. This means that
understanding and effective communication are just as important as
word recognition. Graves and Fitzgerald (2003), Scaffolded Reading
Experience (SRE): “It is extremely important that children understand
what they read, enjoy the experience of reading, learn from what they
read and realise that they have learned from and understood what
they read” (p. 96).
 The SRE framework provides a wide variety of activities which are
used in pre, during and post reading stages to enhance pupils’
enjoyment and reading for meaning (p. 101-102). Kispal (2008),
Effective Teaching of Inference Skills for Reading, NFER report:
 “The ability to draw inferences predetermines reading skills; that is,
poor inferencing causes poor comprehension and not vice versa” (p.
6). The report states that inferencing can be practised outside the
domain of reading with pupils of all ages and that one way of
cultivating these skills in young readers and reluctant readers is to do
it in discussion, orally. It suggests using ‘reciprocal teaching’ and
‘think-aloud’.
 http://www.teachers.org.uk/files/UKLATeachingReading[1].
pdf
Teaching Reading, What The Evidence Says, UKRA, 2010
NFER and University of Sheffield
 Too few schools currently develop reading skills effectively across the
curriculum…. In subjects other than English… teachers are less aware
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of approaches that might help pupils to read effectively and make
sense of what they are reading.
Guided reading …The important question for schools is not whether
they make use of a guided reading approach but how effective it is.
Pupils themselves frequently commented to inspectors that they
would like more opportunities to respond in a creative way to the
books they read.
What does Government policy say? Department for Education (2012),
Teachers’ Standards: Promote high standards of literacy…whatever
the teacher’s specialist subject.
Ofsted (2012 April), The framework for school inspection: Ofsted
inspectors will judge how well pupils develop/teaching enables a
range of skills, including reading … and how well they apply these
across the curriculum.
Ofsted (2012 March), Moving English Forward: All teachers should
have a better understanding of the role literacy plays in their subject…
and…[this will] enable them to understand how improved reading,
writing and speaking and listening skills would help them make more
progress in their own subject.
EUROPEAN UNION LITERACY RESEARCH
Create a literate environment
 Promote family literacy programmes focused on both par ents and
children. Their aims should be to help parents improve their skills
and confidence to engage and motivate their children to both develop
their language, and to read for pleasure.
 Support libraries in maintaining a literate learning environment and
increase their accessibility, particularly for disadvantaged learners,
whether children or adults.
Develop society-wide engagement in literacy
 Develop broad public awareness-raising campaigns at local, national
and EU level on the relevance, value and joy of reading and writing.
These should engage a range of educational and non-educational
players and target all age groups.
 Shift the mindset of all players in society – from parents to policymakers, from social and medical services to educational players and
from individuals to businesses – so that they see their engagement
is crucial to promoting reading and writing and that everyone can
learn to read and write with the right encouragement and support.
 Harness the resource of volunteers in the approach to literacy, e.g.
formerly illiterate adults as literacy ambassadors, or retired teachers
or celebrities.
 Promote co-operation between national and regional literacy-related
policies and initiatives at EU level in order to identify, disseminate
and mainstream good practices.
Raise the level of literacy teaching and provide more reading support
 Include a wide range of literacy-specific teaching strategies, including
digital aspects, assessment techniques, methods for diagnosing
problems in reading and writing in initial education and professional
development of teachers of primary, secondary and adult education,
and improve their capacity to communicate with families in order to
inform and complement school work.
 Improve and raise awareness of the early diagnosis of sensory,
language and learning difficulties in order to provide more effective
educational support addressing all reading and writing difficulties.
 Give incentives and support for the creation of organisation-wide
literacy strategies in schools, explicitly committing the whole
school community to raise the level of achievement in reading and
writing.
Adopt a coherent literacy curriculum
 Develop a coherent literacy curriculum from early childhood
education to adult learning.
 Cover the full range of reading materials, from electronic to print, from
canonical literature to newspapers and comic books.
 Set age-related standards and provide assessment tools to help
teachers measure progress and identify extra support needs – and
make sure this support is available.
 Include instruction in reading strategies as useful tools for every
student.
 Allow adequate time for reading instruction and for free reading
activities, where students choose their reading material and set
their own pace while reading.
 Mainstream reading literacy across the curriculum, addressing
reading aspects in the curricula for other sub- jects throughout
secondary education, whether academic or vocational.
 Develop a curriculum for adult literacy. For adults, curricula should
focus on acquiring literacy skills through practical, real-life and/or
workplace examples.
Close the social gap
 Provide all the necessary support and material for children’s needs
in literacy education.
 Offer special support for parents and pupils according to their
individual needs.
 Provide access to free libraries or community centres with books,
reading materials and digital equipment.
 Avoid early differentiation of students by ability in different educational
tracks at the transition to secondary education, and replace class
retention with learning support at all ages.
 Provide migrants and members of other minorities with tailored support
 Ensure that all newly arrived migrants, both adults and children,
have access to language and literacy screening. Provide
individualised support to migrant learners on the basis of this
screening.
 Flexible arrangements are required for newly arrived migrants,
particularly with regard to language learning. In this respect, there is
a need not only for rapid and targeted intervention shortly after
arrival in the host country, but also for sustained programmes of
language support.
 Treat bilingualism as an asset for further language development,
encouraging language maintenance and pride for all linguistic
minorities.
 Close the gender gap
 Focus on motivating boys to read and write in order to close the
gender gap.
 Open up schools to appealing materials, including digital ones, to
make reading and writing relevant to boys’ individual preferences.
 Facilitate contact with male role-models engaging in literacy.
 Attract more men into the educational professions.
Close the digital gap
 Use more digital and non-formal digital practices in class- rooms and
in adult education in order to boost motivation of learners to engage
in reading and writing.
 Equip teachers at all levels, including in adult education, with the
skills they need to integrate ICT in the teaching of literacy.
 Publishers and software producers should provide varied digital
reading environments, allowing more use of ICT for learning – not
only for entertainment.
European Union HIGH LEVEL GROUP OF EXPERTS ON LITERACY
Executive summary, September 2012