LITERACY POLICY
Rationale
We aim to provide a supportive, stimulating and secure environment where
children are encouraged to express themselves and where their contributions are valued.
We will provide for the language development of pupils and will develop their ability to use
language to think, to explore and to recognise and communicate their ideas.
Principles
 We believe that every pupil has a right to fully develop their literacy skills regardless
of their ability.
 Every teacher will be responsible for the development of literacy across all areas of
the curriculum.
Aims
1. To maintain the highest standards of literacy at all times.
2. To enable pupils to express and communicate meaning in spoken language,
listening to and interpreting what others say and matching style and response
to audience, context and purpose;
3. To provide pupils with a range of relevant and purposeful opportunities to
develop their ability to read, understand and engage with various types of text
for enjoyment and learning;
4. To enable children to communicate using written language effectively, making
and shaping text appropriately, according to context, purpose, reader or audience.
Role of the Teacher
In the teaching of literacy, the teacher fulfils a number of roles in all modes
of language.
a) Model: as a skilled user of language, the teacher’s role is the central element of fostering
positive attitudes towards literacy;
b) Facilitator: providing a supportive and stimulating environment, organising purposeful
activities and enabling children to develop literacy skills;
c) Initiator: providing a variety of resources and opportunities for a wide range of balanced
activities to encourage the development of skills in talking, listening, reading and writing;
d) Monitor: observing and recording the development of skills in literacy;
e) Assessor: evaluating and assessing the development of skills in literacy;
f) Collaborator: working with children to assist in their development.
Talking and Listening
Rationale
Talking and listening are fundamental skills upon which the educational development of our
children depends.
Through the development of oral and aural skills, they learn about language and this equips
them to demonstrate and refine their learning.
Our overall aim is for our children to become efficient language users. This
will be achieved by devoting time, energy and resources to the development
of oral communication. Through purposeful interaction with teachers,
children will be provided with experiences that develop their skills and their
thinking.
Learning environment
(to include activities both inside and outside the classroom)
The learning environment will be one in which children feel ‘relaxed, accepted and
affirmed’ at all times. Talk will be planned for both within schemes monthly notes
and topic planners. All children will be encouraged to talk and all contributions will be
equally valued. It will be emphasised in all classrooms that talk is work. Topics will be
of interest to both boys and girls thus encouraging talk from both genders.
Teaching approaches and organisation of learning
 Talk will be planned for in all areas of the curriculum.
 Experiences and activities to promote a wide range of types of talk will be provided.
 Talking and listening will be valued for social, communicative and cognitive
purposes.
 Classroom organisation and management will vary as appropriate to the occasion
e.g. use of pairs, small and large groups; varying composition of groups; varying roles
in groups.
 The teacher’s role in modelling oral language will be of great important in the
classroom.
 Teacher will use a wide range of resources and display e.g. interest tables, voice
recorders, book displays, television and radio, computer software.
 The link with reading and writing will be emphasised at all times.
 Community of enquiry.
 Circle time.
 Class council meetings.
 Infusion of thinking skills
Reading
Rationale
Our aims are that our children will learn to read, will enjoy a wide variety of
texts and will become independent, critical, life-long readers and learners.
Learning environment
The classroom / school will be a place where reading is given its rightful importance
and where children – girls and boys – feel inspired to read. Books and other sources
of reading will be displayed attractively in both the class and school libraries. The
range of texts in these libraries will be varied and will cater for the needs of all ages
and both genders. A wide range of both fiction and non-fiction books will be
available. There will be books suitable for the full range of learners. A range of
other reading materials will also be available to include comics, magazines on a range of
topics. Newspapers will also be available. Children’s own work will be available to read and
will be on display around the school.
Teaching approaches and organisation of learning
In order to facilitate pupils varied learning styles, a range of approaches to learning
will be employed. These will include:
 Regular reading to children in all classes P1-P7;
 Look and say;
 Paired reading;
 Developing phonological awareness through rhyme;
 Phonics;
 Language experience, combining writing and reading;
 Guided reading;
 Shared reading with Big Books;
 Uninterrupted, sustained, silent reading (USSR);
 Visits from a librarian or to a local library or mobile library;
 Group novels from end of Key Stage 1;
 Use of environmental print;
 Reading from computer, the IWB and the IPAD2
Non-fiction / reading for information
Reading for the purposes of study requires specific skills. These will be taught in
context where appropriate. These skills will include the following:
 Extracting information from books using the contexts pages or index;
 Classifying information by alphabetical order;
 Using dictionaries;
 Using a computer database;
 Using reference material such as encyclopaedias, atlases, directories,
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timetables, brochures, computer programmes, CD Roms, internet;
Formulating questions which require a search for information;
Skimming a text to get an impression of what it is about;
Scanning a text to search for specific information;
Making notes, selecting what is relevant and appropriate;
Distinguishing between fact and opinion in evaluating information.
Progression
Reading Scheme: Oxford Reading Tree and Collins Big Cats.
This provides a range of books, to include fiction, non-fiction, pattern and rhyme,
poetry and plays.
This encourages a wide variety of teaching approaches to include phonics, look and
say and informational retrieval.
From end of Key Stage 1, the children will read a range of novels and a range of
activities will be used with these. These activities will be based on the latest
research into thinking skills and will encourage the use of text evidence.
Writing
Rationale
Writing is an essential tool in the learning process. Children write to
express their emotions, to convey their thoughts and opinions and to
present evidence of research. By developing these skills we can equip our
children to use writing across the range of curricular activities in which
they are involved.
Our aim is that our children will develop the ability to write effectively in
various forms according to purpose and audience.
Learning environment
All teachers aim to provide a stimulating environment where children are encouraged
and inspired to write. In the Foundation Stage classrooms children will play at writing in the
house corner. In all classrooms there will be a variety of stimuli such as dictionaries,
thesauri, work banks, wall lists, the word processor, including a variety of different
writing implements.
There will be displays of writing by children themselves, throughout the school and
where appropriate, the children’s work will be made into anthologies or Big Books to
re-read in the library area.
Teaching approaches and organisation of learning
 At an appropriate time examples of various forms of writing will be displayed
and discussed so that children become familiar with the structure and language
features of these forms e.g. letters, diaries, lists, invitations, notes, etc.
 A variety of audiences will be provided. Children will write for themselves,
their peers, the school, their parents, and a range of other outside groups.
 The purpose of the writing will be made clear to children before they begin e.g.
are they trying to amuse, persuade, inform or frighten the reader?
 Teachers will show children how to approach a writing task by writing
themselves, explaining what they are doing as they go along (modelled writing)
and by scribing the children’s ideas onto large sheets (shared writing).
 Writing sessions will include time for discussion and planning.
 Children will be encouraged to revise and redraft as part of the overall process
of writing. This will be done in consultation with the teacher and their peers.
 Children will engage in collaborative writing in small groups from time to time,
using the word processor as often as possible.
 Spelling will be taught using a variety of methods to accommodate a range of
learners. A cursive script for handwriting will be taught to children from P4.
 Teachers respond to children’s writing in order to create improvement. Where
possible, comments will be made to the child in person, thus allowing two ways
interaction. Written comments will be positive as far as possible and will be
used to encourage the children to make further progress.
Parental involvement
Parents as a vital part of school life and in the Wallace Preparatory Department, we believe
that education should be a partnership between children, parents and teachers.
Parental involvement is vital in order to help children develop to their full potential.
Parents will be involved through homework, reading, reports, parents’ evenings, P1
induction, etc. Where appropriate, parents would be invited to school to help or to give
talks or presentations.
Homework
From P3 upwards, there will be purposeful homework when deemed necessary by the class
teacher. There would also be reading and spellings done at home. Parents are encouraged
to work closely with their child. From P1 upwards, children read at home. On occasions,
homework of a research nature may be set.
Equal opportunities
There is a need to raise standards of literacy among boys. In Wallace, we will
provide a wide range of non-fiction material to encourage boys to read. We will also
provide a range of comics and fiction designed to appeal to boys. It is, of course,
important that girls do not suffer as a result and we aim to raise standards among all
children equally.
Assessment
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We would regard assessment as on-going and so use both formative and
summative assessment.
At the end of Key Stage 1 and 2 a range of Assessment Units may be used in
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order to formally assess the children’s progress. We also use NFER / Nelson
reading tests from P3 upwards.
The co-ordinator monitors literacy throughout the school. This includes
perusing displays or samples of work, staff discussion of progression within classes,
between classes and over time. It would involve children’s self-evaluation, talking to
children about their work, staff development and training.
Resources
A wide range of resources will be used to include cassette recorders, audio tapes,
television, video, camera, digital camera, computer programs, library of fiction and
non-fiction, language games, text books, novels and Reading Scheme with associated
material.
UICT
A wide variety of ICT resources to include interactive white boards will be used to
develop literacy. These include a range of laptops and PCs, television and video and
tape recorders. A range of programmes are used to develop literacy skills. Every teacher
will use ICT to promote talking, listening, reading, writing, collaborative work, editing and
cross-curricular work. CD Roms and the internet are used to further reading for information
and library skills.
The school has recently invested in the IPAD2 and literacy skills are reinforced through the
use of APPs.
Written – September 2011
Next review – September 2014