CENTRAL FOUNDATION GIRLS SCHOOL (Voluntary Aided)

CENTRAL FOUNDATION GIRLS SCHOOL (Voluntary Aided) Educating Tomorrow s Women Policy Title Literacy Policy Version No 1 Rationale As a Rights Respecting School, Central Foundation Girls School recognises that literacy skills are essential for young people to reach their potential in school and for fulfilling opportunities throughout life (Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child).Therefore, we need a rigorous whole-school literacy policy, which is implemented systematically across the curriculum, with all teachers regarding themselves as teachers of literacy, regardless of their subject specialism. Nationally, the policy landscape is changing significantly. The focus on literacy through both the change to Teaching Standards and through government initiatives to raise profile of, and accountability for, achievement and progress in literacy demonstrates the importance of literacy as a whole school issue. Teachers Standards (2012) require all teachers to demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use of Standard English. All teachers must know the literacy barriers for students in their groups and adapt their teaching accordingly. Policy Statement This policy will be implemented across all years at CFGS to recognise that all teachers and key staff are teachers of literacy and as such are committed to developing literacy skills in all our students in the belief that it will support their learning and improve progress across the curriculum. We recognise that individual subjects create different language demands, which need to be identified and addressed within those subjects. Therefore all departments have an important role to play in supporting students language development. For this reason, training and provision of staff inset, including coaching, is an integral part of our work. We recognise that improving literacy and learning will have an impact on improving attainment and students self-esteem. We recognize that improving literacy and learning will have an impact on motivation and behaviour and at the same time allow the students to learn independently. At Central Foundation Girls School we believe that for students to live happy and productive and successful adult lives it is important that they are equipped to: Express themselves clearly and confidently in speech and communicate in a wide range of contexts Listen astutely to others in a wide range of contexts Page 1 of 9

Read for both meaning and pleasure to a sophisticated level Write clearly and effectively across a range of forms In line with the National Guidelines for teaching literacy and learning our framework identifies three main areas for development: 1.Learning through talk and listening 2.Reading and learning from text 3.Learning through writing 1.Learning through talk and listening comprises of: Using talk to clarify and present ideas Active listening to understand Talking and thinking together Talking leading to writing Role of Literacy Leader: In order to equip staff to deliver learning through talk, the Literacy Leader will provide opportunities for staff to develop their expertise in developing students Speaking and listening skills, through: INSET The Teaching and Learning Community The Literacy Working Party The Literacy Leader will offer individual and departmental and faculty support and training on all aspects of classroom talk such as the use of: Higher Order Questioning Talk tokens to encourage reluctant participants Socratic discussion to improve students questioning skills and exam preparation Philosophy for Children to develop a questioning mind and an ability to discuss and listen and build on the ideas of others Structured talk leading to writing PQCS to encourage reciprocal reading and discussion Our teachers will ensure that students speak in Standard English by: Explicitly teaching the difference between Standard and non-standard English Correcting students when they speak in non-standard English and by modelling the use of Standard English Page 2 of 9

Our teachers will develop active listening strategies by: Modelling active listening strategies Teaching students active listening strategies. In all subjects students will have opportunities, where appropriate to: Use talk for a range of purposes and audiences Plan, discuss and evaluate their speaking and listening Explore ideas through drama and role play Use talk to explore and evaluate other activities Use talk to express feelings and opinions Ask and answer questions in group discussions Solve problems collaboratively All subjects should enable students to: Value and respect talk of others Develop active listening techniques Appreciate talk as a valuable area of learning Select the appropriate degree of formality for their audience Recognise the difference between Standard English and the varied dialects within our community Develop self-esteem and pride in their own language Provide students with key subject terminology and provide students with opportunities to use this language orally with increasing accuracy and confidence. 2. Reading and learning from text At Central Foundation Girls School we want our students to enjoy reading and to be able to use their reading to help them to learn and to become more confident learners Reading and learning from text comprises of: Page 3 of 9

Developing research and study skills Reading for meaning Understanding how texts work Role of the Literacy Leader To provide engaging and appropriately resourced libraries on both sites To provide time within school to read through DEAR registrations (Drop Everything and Read registrations) To support the library when organising events throughout the year to promote reading such as author visits To provide training for teachers on active reading strategies such as Predict, Question, Clarify and Summarise (PQCS) to promote improved comprehension and understanding of fiction and nonfiction texts To Provide and facilitate training for 6th formers to become Reading Buddies To Provide training for teachers and the library to deliver the reading intervention programme Accelerated Reader for years 7&8 To Use the Literacy Working Party to develop and share strategies for students to improve the reading of nonfiction texts particularly for exam purposes Our teachers will provide students with: Examples of reading material throughout all keys stages and model ways to read and access this information using the cognitive and reciprocal skills of Predicting, Questioning, Clarifying and Summarising (PQCS) Opportunities to learn the spelling and meaning of key subject terminology so they can cope with the increasing sophistication of the reading material at exam levels Opportunities to increase the speed of reading and comprehension to prepare students for examinations Opportunities to facilitate reading development through their subject Our teachers will Teach students to skim, scan or read intensively according to the task Teach students to select or note only what is relevant Page 4 of 9

Teach students to question, challenge and recognise bias in a range of texts Support students who are at the early stages of reading Teach students to read identified subject vocabulary Encourage students to read for pleasure 3. Writing Learning through writing comprises of: Using writing as a tool for thought Structuring and organising writing Developing clear and appropriate expression using Standard English Role of Literacy Leader Provide teachers with a literacy marking code (appendix 1) Provide students with a Green Pen to edit their written work and for peer assessment Provide teachers with support to develop Literacy Writing Mats for all key stages Provide teachers with strategies to improve formal writing Provide teachers with bespoke training to ensure writing is always a part of each lesson Provide a Literacy Shared Area with resources to support the different text types required across the curriculum In order to support students academic writing teachers will: Use the collaborative method of writing with students to increase student confidence and competence Have a consistent approach to marking errors using our Literacy marking code (see appendix 1) Ensure all students use the Green Penning method of self-assessment before handing in their work Provide model assessed work so that students can see what exemplar levels and grades look like Page 5 of 9

Ensure all students use the CFGS perfect page and the technical accuracy strip to understand the importance of accurate, neat and tidy handwriting Provide opportunities for a range of writing including sustained writing Offer students opportunities to spell and use identified subject vocabulary 4. Key Vocabulary The key vocabulary of a subject area should be clearly taught and used explicitly by staff and students. This should include the meanings, spellings and in some instances the route of key terms. Academic vocabulary should be developed by subject specialists particularly in KS4 and KS5. Roles and Responsibilities of the Literacy Leader To develop a literacy marking policy which enables staff to help students identify and rectify errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar To lead a series of training sessions for teachers and faculties and provide practical resources which will enable teachers to feel secure addressing all areas of literacy To use a range of quantitative and qualitative data to lead, monitor and evaluate and report to SLT on key aspects of the literacy policy To set up and monitor a literacy shared area providing resources and guidance on the delivery of the key literacy priorities To line manage the library and ensure that it is a centre for reading and learning To keep up to date with the changes in literacy teaching and attend regular training in the delivery of literacy across the curriculum The Role of the Literacy Working Party: This will consist of a representative from each faculty and department to meet as stated in the school calendar. It is the role of the Working Party to continue to promote Literacy across the curriculum, trial new initiatives regarding literacy where appropriate and to monitor the literacy strategies through learning walks. The outcomes will be shared with HOFs so that they can identify any training needs and these will then be addressed by the HOF or Literacy Leader: Each literacy conduit will ensure that literacy issues or initiatives are addressed at departmental and faculty meetings The Literacy Working Party, through research and peer monitoring, will help to inform the continual strategic direction of the literacy needs in the school The Role of Heads of Faculty/Department: To support the literacy priorities as agreed in the Literacy Policy To seek support and training from the Literacy Lead when required Page 6 of 9

To ensure that literacy is a regular agenda item on departmental and faculty meetings To monitor impact through work reviews, lesson observations and learning walks The Role of SLT: To have an oversight of the literacy provision and support the literacy priorities To Line Manage the Literacy Leader To liaise with the Head teacher on all matters relating to literacy The role of Governors To monitor the literacy provision as agreed by the Head teacher Role of the SEND Faculty The SEND Faculty provides intervention for students with a low reading age,or specific educational needs related to literacy acquisition through targeted intervention programmes. Students with specific SEN difficulties have programmes tailored to their specific needs these include : SEND programmes to support Literacy Toe By toe A highly structured multi-sensory 1:1 reading manual which is used to establish reading skills. Used for students with reading ages below 5 Stareway to Spelling A 1 to1 programme to help students to commit the 300 most used words to longterm memory and recalls the words at will. In doing so, they will greatly increase their ability to connect the sight and sound of words and start to read, spell and write words more rapidly and spontaneously. Stride ahead A 1 to1 Lexia programme for students who can read, but who have difficulty in understanding and comprehending written texts A research-proven, blended learning program online that accelerates the development of fundamental literacy skills for students of all abilities Page 7 of 9

ReadTheory An online reading comprehension programme for students. It allows students to read narrative, informative, or informational literary passages and answer corresponding comprehension questions Getting the Picture A 1 to1 or very small group programme with illustrations of different people in different places, all of which are accompanied by a series of questions designed to encourage prediction and inference skills. Participants are asked to consider everything from who the person in the picture is to how they may be feeling and why. Reading between the lines A programme for 1 to1 or small groups designed to help with the teaching of comprehension. It is used to teach how to 'read between the lines' or to use inference and deduction to find information and understand a story. The role of TAs: To support the literacy priorities of the school and attend the literacy training set out in the school calendar To provide students with necessary support and literacy scaffolding in reading, writing, speaking and listening To deliver bespoke intervention programmes for students with complex speech and language needs or specific learning difficulties To liaise with the classroom teacher to identify learning needs of targeted students and to keep records on students progress in relation to literacy targets set The Role of the Parent/Carer At key stage 3 they should support our reading programmes At all key stages they should encourage their daughters to read at home and write with accuracy The role of the students: Students should understand how literacy strategies are being used in lessons Students should take increasing responsibility for recognising their own literacy needs Students should be familiar with School Marking Policy and Green Pen selfassessment tool Page 8 of 9

Monitoring & Review Students should commit to reading widely outside of school Students at key stage 3 should have a reading book with them at all times as part of our Accelerated Reader programme All students should read for at least 30 minutes a day All students should have a reading book with them for DEAR day registration All students in Years 7&8 should have a reading log book Monitoring activities will focus on the extent to which provision for literacy has been implemented. Activities will take place in line with the key dates specified in the calendar as well as: Formal lesson observations Faculty reviews Book reviews Learning walks The SLT Line Manager with overall responsibility for Teaching and Learning The Literacy Leader The Literacy Working Party Links to other policies School Group Responsible Date approved by Governing body Review every three years. Teaching and Learning policy Homework policy Assessment and Marking policy SEND Policy Literacy Leader Literacy Working Party Date approved by Curriculum committee 31/10/2018 Page 9 of 9