| North Lanarkshire Council |
|
| Strategy |
| The approach taken in North
Lanarkshire has been to develop an authority wide project containing 3 separate but
linked strands: |
- The development of an authority wide early literacy strategy
to increase literacy skills in P1 and P2 children. The emphasis is the development of
appropriate teaching strategies with a view to establishing a rolling programme of staff
development throughout North Lanarkshire. A pack of support materials will be produced.
- An early intervention pilot project concentrated on
2 clusters of primary schools in areas of particular disadvantage. A total of
16 schools are participating in a structured phonological programme involving
in-class nursery nurse support to teachers and enriched reading and curricular materials.
The aim of this strand is to improve the measurable reading attainments of children by the
end of their first 2 years of schooling.
- The production of a parent and child pack for use in
schools. A number of additional home/school partnership projects are being developed in
year 2.
|
| |
| Scope |
| One of the main intentions was
to involve as many schools as possible in the project. To date a total of 16 schools
have benefited from participation in the strand 2 pilot programme. Another
42 schools have used challenge funding in year 1 to produce parental materials
linked to strand 3. An additional 12 schools have come forward to take part in a
SHARE project using materials which encourage parents to take an active role in their
child’s learning. At the present time the authority is identifying a further
24 schools to be involved in the second phase of the "Reading Recovery"
element of our strand 1 strategy. it is therefore expected that 94 out of
138 primaries will be actively involved by August 1998. |
| |
| Achievements and emerging lessons
|
- Involvement in the "Reading Recovery" course at
London University has produced 2 accredited reading recovery tutors who will now
train 24 other teachers. A training centre for this purpose has been established in
Noble Primary in Bellshill.
- The provision of significant national funding, topped up by
local authority monies, has convinced headteachers and staff that the early intervention
programme will make a difference.
- The involvement of so many schools has given the programme a
very significant profile within the authority.
- Rolling out associated in-service and staff development
along with support materials means that lessons learned and good practice identified are
widely shared by our staff.
- The establishment of baseline assessment data in the
strand 2 pilot programme will provide objective measurements for the analysis of
outcomes. Anecdotal evidence already indicates that individual children with severe
difficulties in acquiring early reading skills are benefiting beyond expectations as a
result of intensive, well planned and responsive programmes of work on a daily basis.
- Class teachers are commenting very favourably on the
positive effects of nursery nurse support in the development of effective teaching
strategies.
|
| Parents have expressed
appreciation for the support being offered to them in helping their children to learn.
|
| |
| Local Views |
| "Additional in-service
on phonological awareness has given me the confidence to carry out much more of the work
in the nursery through play." (A nursery nurse) |
|
| "I am delighted by the
way that this child has developed from having one word recognition to becoming a fluent
reader, well able to keep up with the average group in the class." (A
headteacher) |
|
| "I have become more
focused on the development of phonological skills and can see how rapidly children
progress in reading." (A primary teacher) |
