Teach-Primary-18.3

www.teachwire.net | 43 THE STORY Telling Rachel Clarke breaks down Ofsted’s recent English subject report and recommends ways to tackle the areas of weakness it highlights O fsted’s recent English subject report, Telling the Story , landed in our inboxes in early March. Based on research visits to 50 representative schools (25 primary, 25 secondary), the report evaluates some of the common strengths and weaknesses of English teaching across the country. There are several areas for suggested improvement including: handwriting; spoken language; the texts used for English lessons; reading aloud to children; and staff training. The good bits But let’s start by celebrating the areas of success. First off, we can see that English is at the heart of curriculum across the country. This is great to hear and shows how schools appreciate the importance of English. Next up, phonics. Thanks to the hard work of teachers and school leaders in addressing the requirements of the national curriculum, the situation here is a good one. The report points to the focus on systematic synthetic phonics as the main approach for teaching young children to read, and notes that the Phonics Screening Test scores have increased since the test was introduced in 2012. All the schools included in the report teach pupils to read using a consistent systematic synthetic phonics programme. Most teach phonics daily to all pupils from the beginning of Reception to the end of KS1. Pupils in all these schools practise word reading using decodable books that match the sounds. We should certainly feel proud of ourselves for achieving such consistent practice and ensuring so many good outcomes for the children we teach. Room for improvement The report does note that some children struggle with phonics from the beginning and quickly fall behind. Schools can implement a three-pronged strategy to address this issue. Firstly, teachers need to make ongoing assessments as they teach, and note which children are not secure with the grapheme-phoneme knowledge being taught. They then need to arrange immediate catch-up for children who are struggling. Time must be provided for them to revisit and practise the specific grapheme-phoneme knowledge they need to secure. Finally, all teachers, including those in KS2, “ English is at the heart of the curriculum across the country ” should be fully trained in teaching phonics so that they are equipped to meet the needs of children who may struggle. Help with handwriting The report suggests that not enough time is given to developing fluency in handwriting; children are thinking about letter formation rather than using it automatically. This takes up cognitive space which adds to the demands of writing. My advice to schools is to continue with Early Years fine motor skills, for example creating pegboard patterns, threading beads onto laces and using spray bottles to build grip strength. Then, during Year 1, take time to ensure that all children develop an efficient pencil grip and that they know how to sit at the table correctly with their paper at a comfortable angle. It’s particularly important to teach handwriting directly; it shouldn’t be used as an independent activity as this is where formation issues slip in. Speaking up While schools understand that spoken language underpins pupils’ reading and writing development, the Telling the Story report shows that they are not necessarily clear about how to teach it, and that in many instances the national curriculum requirements for this aspect T E ACH RE AD I NG & WR I T I NG