Teach-Primary-Issue-19.3

www.teachwire.net | 15 As an English teacher, I see first-hand the startling lack of ability when it comes to reading. And I’m not talking about a lack of understanding of vocabulary, or even oracy, but the actual foundations of putting together phonemes and graphemes to create sounds, and recognise words. This might be a small proportion of pupils in your school, but you still have the responsibility to address it – if it’s your job to teach children anything, it’s your job to teach them to read. We see headlines all the time, too: ‘Reading for pleasure drops!’; ‘Eighteen per cent of adults display functional illiteracy’ ( tinyurl.com/ tp-AdultLiteracy ). Is it any surprise that children don’t find pleasure in reading, when so many of them find it such a struggle? No wonder they then grow into adults who avoid reading. We should be striving for better. How can we do this? Two words: proper training. The results of effective literacy teaching reach far, far beyond your I f I have to sit through another vague CPD session designed by an outside agency, telling me something I already know and do every day, pretending to find something revolutionary in it, I might scream. Teachers know how to adapt teaching using feedback; we know a multitude of ways to get that feedback; and we know about ‘I do, we do, you do’... please stop patronising us for the sake of ticking a box. Leaders need to stop pandering to the latest pedagogical hero figure, or buzzing about being into ‘the next big thing’. All these trends pass. What doesn’t? The need to be able to read. Instead, then, leaders desperately need to put teaching children to read at the forefront of CPD. We need to equip every teacher (primary and secondary) with the knowledge, skills and strategies to effectively teach our pupils essential literacy skills. As professionals, we’re itching to take part in truly worthwhile training. English lessons, too. How many times have you had to call a senior member of staff to deal with a disruptive pupil? Did you ever think to check whether they could understand the work in front of them? Literacy levels and behaviour are linked ( tinyurl.com/tp-Literacy- Behaviour ), and if a child can’t digest text, they can’t properly participate in learning. This frustration is then often expressed in ways that are likely to distract from the core issue – that they can’t read. How many of your staff point out that they have so much content to get through? What if we gave them the tools to develop the reading skills of their class, allowing more time and access to the knowledge they are trying to teach, in the long term? If the children can be more independent in their reading, they become more independent in their thinking, leading to stronger connections with what is being taught (and more time for that teaching). If pupils can read texts, instructions, and questions, then they can be successful. If our children can be successful, our society can be successful. It sounds wonderfully simple to me. To take steps in achieving this goal, we need to: • Spend CPD time with real experts (look at your EYFS teachers) to learn the best ways to teach reading. It’s not part of teacher training, but really should be considered pedagogy 101. • Create an approach with common language and strategies to support pupils who need extra help. This consistency shows you’re on the same page, and can maintain clarity for children across subjects. • Promote decoding and pattern-finding skills, including with pupils who might be more confident. This is an essential life skill; it doesn’t stop when school does. • If you want that shining star, try extending some of this training to the other adults in your children’s lives. They may benefit from it, and be able to help. It’s a win-win. So, for the sake of future generations, and for the sake of our society, and the sanity of the whole teaching staff, let’s drop the vague and useless ‘development courses’, and train every teacher in one of life’s most important and foundational skills: how to teach reading. TP Jennie Shearer has over 15 years of teaching experience, and has run initiatives to close attainment gaps and improve standards of education. Jennie Shearer Forget vague CPD; help us teach reading linkedin.com/in/jennie-shearer-539076332 VO I C E S Why bother with useless courses, when there are still functionally illiterate children in our classrooms? @honestliteracylead.bsky.social