I recently came across two valuable and informative guidance reports  from ‘Evidence for Learning’. The team at Evidence for Learning operate nationally across all sectors of the Australian education system, enabling and supporting evidence-informed education practice in Australian schools. Evidence for Learning is an independent Fund, which chooses education programs that are rigorously researched and evaluated by a panel of education experts.

The guidance reports outline several key principles or ‘lever points’ where there is useful evidence about literacy teaching that schools can use to make a significant difference to students’ learning. 

Click to view the Summary of Recommendations posters titled ‘Improving Literacy in Lower Primary (5-7 yrs)’ and ‘Improving Literacy in Upper Primary (7-11yrs)’.

It is important to point out that, at St Paul’s, our current teaching practices and pedagogy are congruent with the principles described in these reports. Through the implementation of the Letters and Sounds Synthetic Phonics Program (K-3), Teaching Reading Strategies (grades 2-6) and Words Their Way Spelling Program (grades 4-6) we are using the most recent, evidence-based research for positive impact on student achievement. 

We have quality, structured interventions for children who are struggling with literacy such as MSL (Multisensory Structured Language), Pre-Lit, Mini-Lit and Multi-Lit. 

At St Paul’s we also have a school-wide Assessment and Intervention Plan which outlines the diagnostic assessment tools administered and analysed by classroom teachers to identify student’s abilities in decoding, reading comprehension, reading fluency and spelling. This enables teachers to ‘collect high quality, up to date information about students’ current capabilities, and adapt teaching accordingly to focus on exactly what the student needs to progress’.

The ongoing modelling, explicit teaching and use of oral language (vocabulary) is embedded as a key ingredient throughout all literacy teaching and learning experiences.  

As part of our School Review and Improvement plan for 2020, one of our goals is ‘To create and begin to implement an effective approach to teaching the writing process, based on research and evidence, so that students' achievement outcomes will improve’. This will assist us in targeting recommendations 5 and 6 from the Lower Primary report and recommendations 4 and 5 from the Upper Primary report. As is expected, due to the interruptions of COVID-19, we will continue to gather data and evidence in order to work towards developing a whole-school approach to the teaching of writing at St Paul’s. 

Thank you for working with us to support your children to be the best that they can be.

Mrs Angela Mourinho
Literacy Coach