Best practice in the reading and writing of pupils aged 7 to 14 ... - Estyn

Best practice in the reading and writing of pupils aged 7 to 14 yearsApril 2008• attention to the seating and grouping arrangements to bring maximum benefits toboys and girls’ learning; and• positive strategies that build pupils’ self-esteem and reward effort and good work.89 Other teaching approaches that are successful with boys and girls, include usingrole-play, drama and collaborative group work so that learning is interesting andexciting. Careful selection and use of materials such as fiction and non-fiction, mediaand moving image texts, are important in engaging pupils’ interest and in challengingperceptions of gender stereotypes. The use of resources, such as writing framesand templates also helps to support pupils’ learning effectively. Case study 7 inAppendix 1 provides an example of how a primary school raised the level of boys’achievements by giving attention to these aspects.90 In the best practice, staff use a wide range of assessment information andperformance data skilfully to target support where it is most needed. All pupilsreceive detailed feedback about their work, which is particularly motivating for boys.In these schools, there is a keen emphasis on pupils checking their own work foraccuracy and improved expression, matching their achievements to clear criteria.Peer and self-assessment are used as important tools to help pupils understand whatthey need to do to improve and make progress. In addition, peer mentoring andpaired reading programmes with older pupils are particularly successful in helpingboys to make progress.91 In these ways, staff help pupils to gain confidence and be successful in Welsh andEnglish. This is particularly important for boys as they need to see themselves asreaders and writers.Meeting the needs of less-able pupils92 Overall, most schools are meeting the needs of less-able pupils better thanpreviously. There is usually particularly good support for pupils with specialeducational needs and most individual educational plans (IEPs) identify the readingand writing skills pupils need to acquire and the steps they need to take to achievethese goals. The most successful schools know which pupils are not making enoughprogress in reading and writing and intervene to provide support as early as possibleto help them to keep up with their peers. Case studies 8, 9 and 10 in Appendix 1show how staff in primary and secondary schools have improved support forless-able pupils.93 Over recent years, some of the most successful intervention programmes, many ofthem funded and supported by Basic Skills Cymru, the Welsh Assembly Governmentor the local authority, are:• reading recovery programmes in primary schools that help pupils developreading and writing skills;• catch-up reading programmes;• short literacy-acceleration courses;23