St Andrews Primary School

Policy Statement for Language

Rationale

“Literacy is fundamental to all areas of learning, as it unlocks access to the wider curriculum. Being literate increases opportunities for the individual in all aspects of life, lays the foundations for lifelong learning and work, and contributes strongly to the development of all four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence.

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.”

(Literacy Across the Curriculum)

Aims

At St Andrews Primary School we aim to offer all our pupils a language programme of high quality. To achieve this aim for language, all pupils will experience a range of activities that include a balanced range of writing, reading, listening and talking activities. We also aim to ensure that all pupils have equal access to the programme, where each has opportunities to say:

I develop and extend my literacy skills when I have opportunities to:

communicate, collaborate and build relationships
reflect on and explain my literacy and thinking skills, using feedback to help me improve and sensitively provide useful feedback for others
engage with and create a wide range of textsin different media, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by ICT
develop my understanding of what is special, vibrant and valuable about my own and other cultures and their languages
explore the richness and diversity of language, how it can affect me, and the wide range of ways in which I and others can be creative
extend and enrich my vocabulary through listening, talking, watching and reading.

To achieve this, we need to provide:

a whole school ethos in which language is highly valued
raise levels of attainment/achievement in language throughout the school
a structured programme in order to allow pupils to make progression in their reading, writing, talking, and listening skills
opportunities to express feelings ideas and thoughts through appropriate activities
experiences of working with real-life situations
opportunities to order, clarify, record and reflect on experiences
opportunity to have confidence and pleasure in reading, writing, talking and listening
opportunities to evaluate their own, and peers’ language work

Curriculum Content

“Effective learning and teaching encouraged pupils to enjoy learning and helped them to think for themselves. It occurred most often where teachers shared the purposes of lessons with pupils and took time to make sure that pupils knew what they were expected to achieve. Where pupils understood the purposes of tasks and the criteria for assessing them, they were more confident and ready to plan and improve their work. The most skilled teachers used a range of teaching approaches with their pupils, including questioning, explanation and demonstration.”

(Improving Achievement in English Language in Primary and Secondary Schools – HMIE)

In taking forward improvement set by inspectors, further attention is given to providing:

teaching approaches which clearly demonstrate how and what pupils need to do to learn and improve
learning approaches which give pupils the purposes, criteria, discussion and thinking time to produce work of a high standard
opportunities for pupils to deepen and extend their learning through dialogue and reflection
careful diagnostic assessment to give pupils constructive feedback on all key learning outcomes and their next steps in learning
approaches to identify and tackle barriers to learning at an early stage
sustained challenge for all pupils

To give structure and progression to the pupils’ English language experience, teachers plan with specific objectives in mind. They use a balanced variety of approaches recommended in A Curriculum for Excellence:

TalkingListeningReadingWriting

All pupils should be given the opportunity to become:

Successful Learners—able to take responsibility and become increasingly independent
Confident Individuals—with a sense of self-worth and self-awareness, secure in their values and beliefs
Responsible Citizens—with respect for others beliefs, able to make informed choices and decisions wherever possible
Effective Contributors—recognising and celebrating achievement and developing interpersonal skills

For children to develop these attributes, language lessons will have key features which will enable them to:

develop their ability to communicate their thoughts and feelings and respond to those of other people
develop the high level of skills in listening, talking, reading and writing which are essential for learning, work and life
use different media effectively for learning and communication
develop a secure understanding of how language works, and use language well to communicate ideas and information in English and other languages
exercise their intellectual curiosity by questioning and developing their understanding, and use creative and critical thinking to synthesise ideas and arguments
enhance their enjoyment and their understanding of their own and other cultures though literature and other forms of language
develop competence in different languages so that they can understand and communicate, including, for some, in work settings.

Teaching and Learning

“From their earliest days, children are motivated to communicate their needs and feelings to other people. They enjoy playing with language and experiencing the pleasure of using language creatively. Learning and teaching in languages builds upon children’s motivation to communicate. It provides the environment and structure to enable them to use progressively more complex language with increasing competence and independence, in their own and in other languages.”

(A Curriculum for Excellence -Building the Curriculum 1)

Throughout education, from 3 to 18, effective learning and teaching in literacy and English will involve a skilful mix of appropriate approaches including:

the use of relevant, real-life and enjoyable contexts which build upon children and young people’s own experiences
effective direct and interactive teaching
a balance of spontaneous play and planned activities
harnessing the motivational benefits of following children and young people’s interests through responsive planning
collaborative working and independent thinking and learning
making meaningful links for learners across different curriculum areas
building on the principles of Assessment is for Learning
frequent opportunities to communicate in a wide range of contexts, for relevant purposes, and for real audiences within and beyond places of learning
the development of problem-solving skills and approaches
the appropriate and effective use of ICT.

The balance between these approaches will vary at different stages and across different sectors and areas of the curriculum. Continuing dialogue about learning and teaching approaches within and across sectors will help to ensure continuity and progression.

Teachers employ a range of generic teaching strategies including:

instructing/directing
modelling/demonstrating/scribing
explaining
questioning
discussing
consolidating
evaluating
summarising

Literacy contributes to many subjects within the primary curriculum and opportunities will be sought to draw literacy experience out of a wide range of activities; this will allow children to begin to use and apply their skills in real contexts.

Class Organisation

Class teachers are responsible for their own class organisation and teaching style in relation to English language, but at the same time ensure these reflect the overall aims of the school. Classroom organisation is flexible, providing the following:

individual/group/whole-class teaching
social/ability groups teaching
formal/informal situations
teacher-directed/child-selected activities
team teaching—with support for learning teachers, classroom assistants and early years worker
withdrawal of small groups or individuals

Differentiation

All children should have equal access to a broad, balanced curriculum which includes reading, writing, talking and listening activities, and each child in our care should make the greatest progress possible. This includes providing a challenging curriculum for able pupils as well as supporting pupils with specific needs and difficulties. Every child will be given the opportunity to experience success.

We recognise that pupils have different learning styles and needs, and seek to provide suitable learning opportunities for all pupils by matching the process, experience and content to their needs. This will feature:

task and high expectation
level of challenge and degree of independence
shared learning intentions
targets agreed
level of support
resources
response

Some lessons are differentiated through group work. Where appropriate, IEPs are formulated for a pupil by the support for learning teacher, class teacher, pupil and parents, and perhaps with the support of other agencies.

Continuity and Progression

With the implementation of ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’, English language experiences provided for each pupil are continuous, not only from 5–14 years, but 3–18 years. As progress in language work varies for individual children, it is important that each pupil’s work is appropriate to his/her needs.

Throughout the year, each child’s progress in reading and writing is tracked using Assessments from the national bank, and targets are set and regularly reviewed for the children. A support for learning teacher and classroom assistants are in place to support children needing additional provision.

Before children begin their new academic year the child’s previous and new teacher meet to discuss the progress and attainment of each child, and to plan continuity and progression. By reporting in a similar way to the Language Department of Kirkwall Grammar School, we seek to ensure a smooth transition from P7 to S1.

Assessment

“Assessment that encourages learning fosters motivation by emphasising progress and achievement”.

(Assessment is for Learning)

Assessment focuses on the application of standards and expectations of each learner's progress and achievement in knowledge and understanding, skills, and attributes and capabilities as detailed in the experiences and outcomes within curriculum areas and subjects and in the curriculum guidance.

As part of ongoing learning and teaching

Teachers assess constantly as part of daily learning and teaching, by, for example, watching and listening to learners carrying out tasks, by looking at what they write and make, and by considering how they answer questions. They get to know their learners well, build up a profile of their progress, strengths and needs, and involve them in planning what they need to learn next.

Periodic

From time to time, teachers also take stock of their learners' progress and achievements in order to be able to plan ahead and to record and report on progress, to ensure that learners' progress is on track and that action is being taken to address any problems at the earliest possible point. Learners and others involved in their learning need timely, accurate feedback about what they have learned, and how much and how well they have learned it. This helps to identify what they need to do next and who can help them build up their knowledge, understanding and skills.

Formative assessment strategies including effective questioning, feedback, sharing learning intentions and involving pupils in self-evaluation are important in engaging pupils actively in their learning, and are key aspects in St Andrews Primary School.

Strategies employed include:

giving pupils time to think before providing an answer and allow them time to explore reasons for wrong answers.
using assessment information to plan pupils' next steps in learning.
giving guidance to pupils on areas for improvement and how to achieve that improvement.
high quality classroom interactions which promote thinking and demonstrate learning and development
conversations about learning between teachers and children or among the learners themselves

Teachers will use a variety of assessment methods, depending on what is to be assessed, checking written work, observing activities, discussing events with pupils. Pupil self-assessment also has a place, it is valuable for its motivating effect and for the insight it offers pupils on how to improve.

Summative assessment also informs planning, and includes such as spelling tests and grammar. Formal summative assessment is undertaken through administration of Assessments from the National Resource in Reading and Writing when teachers judge pupils to be working consistently and confidently at skills in a given level, confirmed by cross-marking of set pieces. Further formal assessment takes place at P1, P3, P5 and P7 through PIPS Assessment. Evaluation of pupils‛ assessment criteria and effectiveness of learning and teaching is recorded on weekly evaluations. The pupils will know what is to be learned and be aware of the criteria being used for assessment.

Assessment supports the purposes of learning and reflects the principlesof Curriculum for Excellence. We develop coherent approaches to planning learning, teaching and assessment, and to sharing information about progress and achievements.

Conclusion

This statement of policy has been agreed and accepted by all staff at St Andrews Primary School in November 2010, and is intended to show parents and visitors what we achieve and how we do it.