Linking Literacy between Primary and Secondary:

The Mutual Benefits

– Developing links and CPD across our Teaching School Alliance / Challenge Partner Hub

– School Improvement Plan – “Literacy for Learning”

– Refining school-wide literacy policy– The Compton’s English department aware of

the need to improve the way skills of technical accuracy were taught – SPAG at GCSE, area of development for students

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The Compton School Context

Sowing the seeds…

– Under-developed transition within the borough due to the fact that primary students go to a vast range of schools

– Transition SoW not necessarily appropriate at this stage – needs to be about the pedagogical skills

– Primary Schools within the Partnership are “outstanding” – looking for “the edge”

– Challenge Partner hub has created space for more dialogue and focus on specific teaching and learning needs

– Challenge Partners framework has created trust between the schools – openness.

– This linking work came out of Partnership discussions with Primary Headteachers – pilot project with one primary school:• English AST outreach work with a local primary school.

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The Cross-Phase Context

Sowing the seeds…

• “Although the survey uncovered areas of good practice, the quality of transition between Key Stages 2 and 3 in English was too often no better than satisfactory. The lack of regular communication and exchange of ideas between primary and secondary schools created problems for continuity in teaching and assessment. There was similar evidence about whole-school literacy. This report includes some examples of good practice but the majority of schools visited did not have systematic procedures in place to develop good literacy practice across all departments” – Moving English Forwards (2012)

• “Maintaining the academic momentum”- More Able Ofsted Report (2013)

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The Educational Context

Sowing the seeds…

• The 5 Bridges of Transition:• “The pedagogy bridge deals with how teachers teach. A

shared understanding of how students are taught will improve the continuity in teaching and classrooms between phases. It seeks to counter stereotypes held by teachers in each phase and to encourage cross-phase and professional support and dialogue” – DFES report from London Challenge programme, 2005.Th

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tThe Educational Context

Sowing the seeds…

• 5 primary colleagues from 4 different schools: – Looking at Assessing Pupil Progress grids used to level at

KS3 and understanding the level 6 criteria.– Pupil friendly level ladders.– Assessment focus posters to raise awareness of the

different reading and writing skills.– Question stems to encourage higher level reading skills for

the respective assessment focuses. – Exemplar level 6 work / exercise book scrutinies.– The level 6 SATs paper- familiarisation.– KS3/ KS4 strategies for tackling writing exam questions

shared.

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The Primary School Teachers’ Conference

Level 6 Workshop

• 5 primary colleagues from 4 different schools: – Looking at Assessing Pupil Progress grids used to level at

KS3 and understanding the level 6 criteria.– Pupil friendly level ladders.– Assessment focus posters to raise awareness of the

different reading and writing skills.– Question stems to encourage higher level reading skills for

the respective assessment focuses. – Exemplar level 6 work / exercise book scrutinies.– The level 6 SATs paper- familiarisation.– KS3/ KS4 strategies for tackling writing exam questions

shared.

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The Primary School Teachers’ Conference

Level 6 Workshop DISCUSS

• Who?– Primary: A mixture of senior staff, classroom teachers and TAs.– Secondary: 1 literacy teacher and 3 English teachers from The

Compton visited 4 respective primary schools within the Partnership.• What?

– Precise focus: 2 terms – develop primary school teachers’ confidence in how to stretch G&T primary students in Literacy and for secondary school teachers to enhance their teaching practice.

– Precise timescale: 2 terms– Secondary teachers observing literacy in action at the primary schools– Year 6 G&T students visit The Compton for a day-long Year 6 “master-

class” focusing on how to achieve a level 6. Primary colleagues observed this teaching.

– Fundamentally, this was an opportunity to have time and space to discuss what goes on in their classroom, reflect and make changes.

• How?– Use of subject credit of funds as a result of Challenge Partnership.

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Making Mutually Beneficial LinksThe Logistics

• A shared understanding of what makes a piece of writing and reading level 6 respectively.

• Assessing Pupil Progress grids and how to use them.• Question stems to develop students’ thinking against

the particular assessment focuses.• What level 6 teaching looks like in practice.• A range of teaching methods to try out in their own

classrooms.

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Making Mutually Beneficial Links

Lessons Learned: Primary Colleagues

Department Level:• Developing a common language for literacy – new SATs paper.• Literacy booklet accompanying a SoW.• We have “raised the bar” in terms of our expectations of year 7.• Reinvigorated and more creative approach to teaching core skills.• Improved understanding of phonics in relation to spelling strategies. • Visual targets and prompts.• Varied reading approaches: one-to-one, reading recovery,

differentiated reading groups, whole class.• Students grouped by ability, not just mixed ability all of the time. • Use of the visualiser to help model proof reading and editing skills.• Spelling and vocabulary books.

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Making Mutually Beneficial LinksLessons Learned:

Secondary Colleagues

• Whole School Level:– Using the common language for literacy across the

curriculum – still in development.– Inspired by how a primary school used “The Power of

Reading” to ensure texts read by students are suited to their capabilities – we will be trialling Accelerated Reader with year 7 next year.

– Sustaining and building on the love of reading students have in primary schools.

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Making Mutually Beneficial LinksLessons Learned:

Secondary Colleagues

• Cross-phase peer-to-peer support is enriching and reinvigorating.

• Collaboration and having the time and space for dialogue around Teaching and Learning was vital.

• The effectiveness of Challenge Partners in providing structure and organisation in a deregulated and autonomous system of education; it is a vehicle for ensuring consistency and cohesion between the phases.

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Making Mutually Beneficial Links

Lessons Learned Generally

• Cross-phase peer-to-peer support is enriching and reinvigorating.

• Collaboration and having the time and space for dialogue around Teaching and Learning was vital.

• The effectiveness of Challenge Partners in providing structure and organisation in a deregulated and autonomous system of education; it is a vehicle for ensuring consistency and cohesion between the phases.

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Making Mutually Beneficial Links

Lessons Learned Generally

What can you learn from each other?

• A formalised transition unit explicitly building on skills taught at primary which has grown out from the project. Pedagogy first, curriculum next.

• Policies on teaching and learning shared across phases – moving towards a cross-phase literacy framework.

• Continuation of observation and “master-class” model to further enhance cross-phase CPD.

• Refining the way we teach spelling strategies to include reference to phonics.

• Evaluating the impact: improved numbers of level 6, qualitative data surrounding primary school teacher feedback. A more systematic approach needed.

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Developing Mutually Beneficial Links…

Our Next Steps…

Moving English Forwards (2012) cited the following examples of transition to be effective:• Writing produced by Year 6 pupils on their introductory visit to the

secondary school that was later built into English lessons in Year 7 • A reading passport or record that moved with the pupil between

primary and secondary school, giving the Year 7 teacher good, early information about each pupil’s reading habits

• The English department asking students to bring their best piece of Year 6 work to school in September

• A transition unit involving joint work by teachers across phases including teaching by secondary staff in the primary school or vice versa

• In a summer school focused on literacy and aimed at Year 6 pupils.

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Developing Mutually Beneficial LinksOther ideas…

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