Literacy

The latest news, analysis and best practice advice when it comes to literacy, from recent research and how to implement it to new guidance and what it means

Thursday

22nd Jun 2023

Teenage reading: 5 things schools need to know
Secondary students are struggling with reading, and schools are finding it hard to support them, say Jessie Ricketts and Laura Shapiro, who have published new research on how to help
Book

Monday

5th Jun 2023

How ‘faster read’ lessons can boost reading
When assistant headteacher Sonja Nunneley wanted to raise reading standards at her school, she turned to research for inspiration
reading for pleasure main

Wednesday

31st May 2023

Why England’s Pirls results aren’t all that they seem
England’s climb up the international rankings for reading has been seen as a success story for phonics – but the results aren’t as straightforward as they seem, says Christian Bokhove
Why England’s PIRLs results aren’t all that they seem

Wednesday

24th May 2023

How New Zealand has (almost) learned to love phonics
Four years ago, the New Zealand government set out to transform the way reading was taught in its schools. Holly Korbey reports on what happened next
New Zealand phonics

Tuesday

16th May 2023

Why don’t we screen for comprehension?
Our assessment of children’s reading skills is currently missing a crucial component, says Megan Dixon
Football, reading

Thursday

11th May 2023

Why I’m torn about using SSP with my class
Using a systematic synthetic phonics scheme has improved decoding at her school, but are the costs to engagement and reading for pleasure worth it, asks Helen Pinnington
Why I’m torn about using SSP with my class

Friday

10th Feb 2023

How to help children with speech and language difficulties
According to research, around 1.7 million children are struggling to talk and understand words – so how can teachers help in the classroom? Jane Harris, chief executive of Speech and Language UK, shares her advice
How teachers can support children with speech and language challenges

Friday

20th Jan 2023

Could this be the way to boost students’ vocabulary?
One trust in Blackpool has come up with a simple solution to improve pupils’ vocabulary knowledge. Kate Parker finds out more
students vocabulary

Friday

13th Jan 2023

How immersive theatre helped boost reading for pleasure
After working with a theatre school, one primary established its own ‘immersive’ reading space, with great results, as Kate Parker finds
How immersive theatre helped us boost reading for pleasure

Friday

2nd Dec 2022

Is there a vocabulary ‘slump’ in transition?
Teachers have observed an apparent decline in children’s literacy as they move from primary to secondary school. But does this slump really exist? Reading researcher Jessie Ricketts finds out
Literacy

Thursday

1st Dec 2022

Why has the number of struggling readers tripled?
It’s tempting to point the finger at Covid for falling reading scores, but we can’t ignore underlying problems that were there before the pandemic, says Megan Dixon
Why has the number of struggling readers tripled?

Friday

25th Nov 2022

Sats: How can schools address the primary writing crisis?
Writing outcomes this year may tell a bleak story, but the situation isn’t hopeless, says Alex Quigley, with simple classroom practices able to have a big impact
Pencil