Supplementary guidance for the inspection of Welsh and English literacy in schools

About this guidance

Our inspection guidance explains What we inspect and How we inspect. However, we also produce supplementary guidance to help inspectors to consider further specific aspects of education and training.

The supplementary guidance documents set out some key principles, considerations and resources for inspectors. They relate to all sectors that Estyn inspects, unless they state that they are for a specific sector. They expand on certain aspects of education/training (e.g. the inspection of literacy) or on ways of conducting inspections (e.g. the use of learning walks) or specific inspection arrangements (e.g. guidance on inspecting church schools).

The supplementary guidance documents do not aim to be comprehensive. Inspectors are not required to work through them exhaustively when covering any specific aspect on an inspection. However, inspectors may find them useful when responding to specific emerging questions that arise during inspections or when they wish to reflect or investigate further.

The supplementary guidance documents may help providers gain an understanding of Estyn’s inspection arrangements. They may also be helpful to providers in evaluating specific aspects of their own provision.

Our inspection work is based on the following principles:

• Inspectors will approach inspection with a positive mindset to ensure it is the best possible professional learning experience for the staff in each provider
• Inspectors will take a learner-focused approach to inspection
• Inspectors will always focus strongly on the quality of teaching and learning
• Inspectors will seek out well-considered innovative practice
• Inspectors will tailor the inspection activities according to the circumstances in each provider as far as possible
• Inspectors will be agile and responsive to emerging findings and will use the increased range of inspection tools and approaches available
• Inspectors will consider everything in the inspection framework, but will only report on the key strengths and weaknesses within each provider

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Inspecting literacy

Literacy is an essential skill that allows pupils to understand written and spoken language, to interpret what has been written or said, and to draw inferences from evidence. Literacy also refers to the ability to communicate fluently, cogently and persuasively.

The key tasks for inspectors are to evaluate:

• how well pupils develop the literacy skills they need to access the whole curriculum and to learn effectively
• how well teaching and learning experiences develop pupils’ literacy skills
• the quality of and leadership in, and management of the co-ordination of provision to develop pupils’ literacy skills

Inspectors should report on pupils’ literacy skills in every inspection and, where appropriate, report on any outcomes or indicators that relate to these skills.

The following guidance is intended to support inspectors in evaluating and in reporting on pupils’ standards of listening, speaking, reading and writing, and on their ability to use their literacy skills in work across the curriculum. Although the guidance contains information about the school’s provision for literacy, inspectors should remember that the main focus should be on the impact it has on pupils’ learning and progress. In addition, when inspecting Welsh, inspectors should refer to the Supplementary guidance: Welsh in Welsh medium, bilingual and English medium non-maintained settings, schools and PRUs.

Gathering and reviewing inspection evidence

The team will plan the inspection so that they can gather evidence about literacy within the five inspection areas. The Reporting Inspector will ensure that the team has enough time to review the key evidence it needs to make its judgements. The main forms of evidence are:

• samples of pupils’ work in language, literacy and communication and Welsh/English work (including that completed online)
• samples of pupils’ work from other areas of learning and subjects
• listening to pupils’ activities, for example listening to them reading aloud and discussing texts, discussions with them about their literacy work
• discussions with staff, leaders, governors, parents and others
• observation of teaching and other activities, including evidence gathered through learning walks that focus on a specific aspect of literacy work, for example talking to pupils about their reading
• documentary evidence, including information on pupils’ learning and progress (such as the analysis of standardised reading scores of particular groups and the progress of pupils on literacy intervention programmes), and evaluations of progress against literacy action plans

The team will use direct observation of pupils’ work wherever possible to gather evidence to support its judgements. Inspectors may select an additional sample of pupils’ work, if required, to further their investigation in a specific aspect of literacy. They will observe teaching and other activities.

The voice of pupils is a key source of evidence for inspectors. Discussions with pupils will provide an opportunity to explore their knowledge and understanding of their work. It will also help inspectors to gauge how well the school supports pupils and contributes to their progress.

Schools should make information available to the inspection team about the standards of literacy achieved by pupils, particularly the results of any initial screening tests and any other assessments. This will help inspectors to evaluate pupils’ progress, to come to a view about the standards they achieve compared to their starting points, and the way teachers use the information from assessment to inform their planning for future learning.

The team will need to consider stakeholders’ views on the school and test out the validity of those views during the inspection.

Points to consider:

• Do pupils grasp meaning, develop understanding and extend their vocabulary through listening to others?
• Do pupils learn the knowledge and skills that support effective spoken communication in a range of contexts and settings?
• Do pupils (in Welsh-medium contexts) use mediation skills to support effective communication?
• Do pupils have access to texts that are sufficiently rich and substantial to engage them intellectually and emotionally?
• Is there evidence of pupils developing their reading skills through tasks based on: literal and inferential comprehension, evaluation and appreciation, information retrieval, analysis and synthesis?
• Do pupils (in Welsh-medium contexts) use their translanguaging skills, for example to read in English and synthesise their findings in Welsh?
• Do pupils make hypotheses, summarise and draw conclusions from their reading?
• Do pupils write across the curriculum to the same standards they achieve in language, literacy and communication sessions or Welsh/English lessons?
• Do they write across a range of genres for different purposes and audiences, structuring their work appropriately?
• Do they plan, redraft and edit their work effectively?
• Is spelling and punctuation age-appropriate?
• Is handwriting and presentation clear?
• Are learning activities purposeful and do they build successfully on what pupils know and can do?
• Is there clear evidence of appropriate challenge for all pupils?
• Does feedback help pupils to improve their literacy skills?

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During the inspection

IA1 Learning

Inspectors should report clearly on how well pupils listen, speak, read and write when evaluating the development of their knowledge, skills and achievements in literacy. They should consider to what extent pupils have the literacy skills required to access the whole curriculum and how well the wider curriculum itself develops pupils’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, appropriate to their ages and starting points.

When evaluating the progress of specific groups of pupils, for example those with Welsh/English as an additional language, those with additional learning needs and those who are more able, inspectors should consider whether they are making as much progress as they could. It is important that inspectors consider the level of challenge pupils face and their previous learning, when using their literacy skills.

Inspectors should identify situations where pupils have difficulty with their literacy skills and where this presents a barrier to their learning across the curriculum. Inspectors will need to identify the possible causes of this, for example pupils’ inability to discriminate between sounds, their lack of phonemic awareness, limited vocabulary and knowledge of strategies for spelling.

Listening and speaking

Inspectors should consider how well pupils:

• listen to understand, recall, infer and interpret what they hear
• discriminate sounds, and develop and adapt their vocabulary and sentence structure when speaking (through listening)
• listen to develop their understanding of key concepts and ideas, and apply this understanding to new situations
• take turns in a conversation, following the topic, and manage their contributions and interactions appropriately
• listen to others (for example to gain different views and ideas) and use techniques to remember the main points of their talk (for example making notes, summarising)
• respond appropriately to others in a way that suits the subject, context, audience and purpose (for example challenging what is heard based on reason, evidence or argument to arrive at their own conclusions)
• ask and answer questions to clarify their understanding of what has been heard and to respond to others with comments and suggestions (for example to build on the views of others in collaborative work)
• pronounce words correctly and speak clearly in an appropriate register
• use sentence structures accurately and make appropriate vocabulary choices
• (in Welsh-medium contexts) communicate meaning from one person to another, within the same language or from one language to another, for example by relaying, explaining or translating information or ideas?
• convey ideas and information precisely, effectively and confidently (for example emphasising key points, sequencing an explanation)
• vary the tone, the pace of their speech and their voice projection to suit the audience and purpose
• show awareness of the listener and take account of the audience’s level of understanding (for example by paying attention to gesture, posture, facial expression, eye contact and the use of rhetorical techniques)
• undertake a range of responsibilities to structure and develop group talk (for example maintaining focus on task, time management, summarising)
• examine their own and others’ ideas critically and sensitively
• sustain a role or a convincing point of view

Reading

Inspectors should consider how well pupils:

• develop pre-reading skills and early reading behaviours as essential foundations for reading (for example listening to a story, handling books like a reader, singing songs and rhymes, and recognising their own names)
• develop phonological understanding and phonemic awareness
• read a wide range of texts aloud with expression, pay attention to punctuation, and vary intonation, voice and pace to convey meaning
• sustain concentration to read texts independently, including complete novels
• use a range of strategies to make sense of words, sentences and whole texts (for example phonemic or phonological knowledge, word roots, word families, sentence structure, text organisation, prior knowledge)
• use their own reading, and being read to, to develop their vocabulary and sentence structures, including discipline-specific words (for example condensation, tundra, modulation) and words that occur in texts across the curriculum (for example reasoned, decline, integrate, entity), which tend not to occur as often in conversational speech
• identify the topic or theme of a text (printed or visual) and show their understanding of the text’s main ideas
• use a range of strategies to find information, select and use information from a wide range of sources (for example close reading, annotation, summarising, synthesising, analysing)
• use inference and deduction to understand texts, and consider the reliability of what they read or view, distinguishing between facts, theories, opinions and bias
• read appreciatively (for example considering how effectively texts convey information, ideas and views and engage the reader)
• respond to what they read or view, asking questions, making comparisons, and expressing viewpoints and preferences
• evaluate critically different perspectives to arrive at considered conclusions
• understand and explore how texts may be interpreted, identifying how they vary in purpose and effect
• respond (verbally or in writing) confidently to ideas and information they have read, using their advanced reading skills
• (Welsh-medium contexts) use translanguaging skills when they read (for example to explain complex ideas in Welsh after researching articles written in English)
• use their reading skills to access learning across the curriculum

Writing

Inspectors should consider how well pupils:

• communicate by making marks, drawing symbols or writing letters and words in a range of contexts
• form letters, and use their knowledge of letters and the sounds they represent, to write words and phrases
• use a range of strategies to attempt the spelling of unknown words (for example word families, roots, letter patterns, morphology, graphic knowledge, phonemic knowledge)
• write accurately and legibly (for example, using standard forms of language and spelling, including applying mutations when appropriate in Welsh)
• use a range of punctuation accurately to vary pace, clarify meaning, avoid ambiguity and create deliberate effects
• write using an increasingly imaginative, varied and precise vocabulary and varying sentence structures for effect
• adapt their writing style to suit the audience, purpose and context
• write in a wide range of text types independently and at length, without over-reliance on adult support or scaffolds
• plan, organise and present ideas and information appropriately (for example through organising their writing into a logical sequence, structuring their writing into paragraphs)
• reflect on, redraft and edit their writing to improve its content and accuracy, responding constructively to feedback, where appropriate
• write in all areas of the curriculum and whether they write to the same standard as they do in their work in Welsh/English

IA2 Wellbeing and attitudes to learning

When considering pupils’ wellbeing and attitudes to learning, inspectors should consider:

• how well pupils use their literacy skills to support and enhance their wellbeing and self-esteem, for example whether they can talk and write about their feelings and emotions, and show empathy and respect for others
• pupils’ attitudes to their literacy work, for example whether they are able to sustain concentration during written tasks to refine and improve the quality of their writing
• how well pupils plan, monitor and evaluate their literacy development
• whether pupils enjoy reading and make informed choices about their reading diet
• how well pupils use self-regulation if they face difficulties when reading and writing independently

IA3 Teaching and learning experiences

Estyn has no preferred methods for teaching literacy. Teachers should be mindful of the stage of pupils’ literacy development and structure sessions in the way they consider most appropriate for the pupils to achieve the intended learning outcomes.

Inspectors should evaluate teaching in relation to the success of the learning and the progress pupils make, and in the context of their learning and progress over time, not on the methods used, or the type or style of teaching.

Inspectors should identify if approaches inhibit the development of pupils’ skills, for example:

• where teaching is too directive because pupils have a good enough grasp of the content or skills to progress by themselves
• the unnecessary use of worksheets that limit opportunities for pupils to write independently or at length
• not providing sufficient scaffolding for long enough for pupils with weaker reading and writing skills, or
• when there is an expectation that teachers use a particular approach to planning and delivering lessons, even though it does not always allow pupils to develop their literacy skills well enough

Inspectors should evaluate whether the curriculum builds systematically and coherently on pupils’ existing knowledge, understanding and literacy skills to secure progression as they move through the school.

Inspectors should consider how well the teaching of literacy:

• provides pupils with strong language role models, which influences the development of their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills
• meets pupils’ developmental needs in language and literacy, for example by not introducing them to formal phonics teaching before they are at a suitable developmental stage
• ensures that pupils have an appropriate understanding of what they will be learning and how this links to previous language and literacy activities
• ensures that pupils develop a good understanding of how to be successful in their learning, for instance by providing effective models of different types of writing
• scaffolds pupils’ skill development appropriately
• models thinking processes to develop pupils’ metacognitive skills, for example to illustrate the choices a speaker makes when presenting an argument
• probes pupils’ understanding through incisive questioning that challenges them simultaneously to develop their verbal responses, for example to discuss cause and effect, or to reason and argue
• supports pupils with weak communication skills to acquire key spoken vocabulary and sentence patterns
• helps pupils to learn ‘to talk’ as well as learning ‘through talk’ by developing the full repertoire of listening and speaking skills, such as: debating, role playing, interviewing, presenting, exploring
• supports pupils to develop their understanding of dialect, idiolect and register as part of verbal and written communication
• develops pupils’ early reading skills through a systematic and consistent approach to the teaching of phonics and high frequency words
• builds on pupils’ early reading skills to ensure they can apply a wide range of reading strategies when they read text independently, for example how to use clues to make sense of what they read
• develop pupils’ understanding of text, their ability to retrieve and use information in their work across the curriculum, and to develop more advanced reading skills, such as synthesising and evaluating
• encourages positive pupil attitudes towards reading and supports pupils to develop reading stamina, for example so that they enjoy reading longer, more complex texts and concentrate when reading for sustained periods
• develops pupils’ understanding of the purpose of and their ability to write for a range of purposes and audiences, selecting an appropriate tone and style
• challenges pupils to develop and sustain their ideas coherently and imaginatively, and to redraft and edit their writing to improve its quality
• develops pupils’ planning, composition and transcription skills (for example, the structure and organisation of ideas, sentence construction, spelling, handwriting/digital print and punctuation)
• develops pupils’ vocabulary knowledge as a distinct aspect of language learning in listening, speaking, reading and writing, for example through using etymology
• challenges pupils to develop and apply their literacy skills in meaningful contexts across the curriculum to the same standard as in their language, literacy and communication or Welsh/English sessions

Inspectors should consider how well staff:

• provide classrooms and communal areas that are language and literacy-rich learning environments
• provide effective opportunities for pupils to develop their language and literacy skills through continuous and enhanced provision indoors and outdoors, in the foundation phase
• develop-initiated activities in the foundation phase
• plan for the explicit development of pupils’ listening and speaking skills, including relevant opportunities for older pupils to take part in learning experiences that focus on progressing their ability to speak confidently and appropriately in a range of contexts and settings
• (in Welsh-medium contexts) support pupils to develop their translanguaging and mediation skills
• plan carefully so that developments in one skill, for example speaking, can support and complement the development in another, such as writing
• plan for the progressive development of pupils’ reading skills, including opportunities to listen to others read and to read themselves (silently and aloud)
• foster pupils’ enjoyment of reading through a wide range of media, including reading images (without or in combination with text) in picture books, animations and films
• choose literary and non-literary texts with suitably challenging themes and vocabulary, to engage pupils and enhance their literacy
• ensure that pupils have stimulating and authentic contexts for writing, including imagined and real-life experiences
• build on pupils’ existing knowledge of the structure, organisation and language features of text types to ensure they make progress in their writing
• support pupils to understand writing as a process and to provide worthwhile opportunities for them to think of ideas, plan and organise them and to draft and refine their writing
• identify precisely the weaknesses in pupils’ literacy skills to determine the best next steps for them to know where to focus their efforts for improvement
• support pupils to plan, monitor and evaluate their literacy development
• involve pupils in the assessment of their own and their peers’ learning in literacy
• provide opportunities for pupils to participate in a range of visits that enhance the literacy curriculum, for example trips to libraries and theatres
• make good use of visitors to schools to engage pupils with listening, speaking, reading and writing, for example children’s authors, poets and actors
• use extra-curricular activities to promote and develop pupils’ literacy skills, for example debating societies and drama, creative writing and book clubs
• adapt work when pupils have literacy skills that are significantly above or below the level expected for their age
• make links between different areas of learning and subjects to ensure that skills pupils gain in literacy and English/Welsh lessons are reinforced, developed and enhanced across the curriculum
• use digital platforms and tools effectively to support the development of pupils’ literacy skills
• develop a shared understanding of progression to ensure that assessments of pupils’ literacy are valid, accurate and reliable
• track and monitor pupils’ progress in developing their literacy skills as they move through the school, including those pupils with additional needs, for example special educational needs, disadvantaged pupils or those with Welsh/English as an additional language
• use information obtained from assessment to set clear targets for improved standards of pupils’ literacy

IA4 Care, support and guidance

Inspectors should evaluate how well:

• the school supports pupils with weak literacy skills or specific learning difficulties
• the school makes informed decisions about which intervention programmes to use
• the school uses intervention programmes to ensure that pupils make good progress from their individual starting points
• staff track the progress of pupils who receive additional support for literacy in relation to the targets in their individual plans
• information about pupils’ skills and progress in literacy is shared between staff
• staff adapt teaching and learning strategies for pupils receiving intervention and provide work that is matched well to pupils’ literacy needs
• assessment is used to inform decisions about whether pupils remain in support programmes or no longer need intervention work
• the school develops parents’ capacity to support their children’s literacy development, for example by providing information on the curriculum or workshops for parents that help them to support their children
• the school uses partnerships with other schools or agencies to provide effective literacy support for pupils with additional learning needs or those who may need extra help

Document C could be used as a prompt when considering the impact of literacy intervention programmes on pupils’ learning and progress.

IA5 Leadership and management

Inspectors may hold discussions with leaders and managers to consider how well they initiate and support effective approaches to developing pupils’ literacy and how they use self-evaluation findings, together with other information, to identify and address improvement priorities.

Inspectors should consider:

• whether the headteacher and senior leaders are well-informed about strengths and issues in the teaching and learning of literacy
• whether school leaders provide strong leadership and convey to learners, staff, governors, parents and other members of the school community, suitably high expectations about pupils’ achievements in literacy
• whether the school has appropriate leadership structures in place to support the co-ordination and development of its provision for literacy, and if its strategy is understood clearly
• how well the school accelerates pupils’ progress from their starting points, how it addresses inequalities in literacy, as a result of disadvantage, and progresses the skills of more able pupils
• whether the school involves parents and the wider community in the development of pupils’ literacy
• how well leaders develop a collaborative culture where staff work together to ensure all have access to, and benefit from, the school’s collective knowledge about literacy
• if leaders deploy staff with specialist knowledge to share their expertise within their own school and with others
• how well leaders work with staff to use the growing body of evidence and research on literacy to inform whole-school decision-making and planning
• whether the school’s reviews and evaluations identify precisely aspects of teaching and provision that need to improve, and enable staff to share the most successful practice across the school
• if leaders target the school’s resources and grants carefully, and evaluate robustly the impact of teaching on pupils’ standards of and progress in literacy
• whether leaders focus closely enough on subject-specific aspects of language teaching in their monitoring activities, and identify precisely staff professional learning needs
• whether professional learning opportunities are successful in supporting staff to develop their subject knowledge and teaching skills in literacy, and how this translates into effective whole-school practice

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Document A: Example questions for listening to pupils in the foundation phase

Reading

Younger pupils in the foundation phase

• What is your book about?
• What is happening in the pictures?
• What do you think will happen next?
• How do you think the story will end?
• What do you do if you do not know a word?
• Do you know this letter name?
• Do you know which sound(s) this letter makes?
• Do you enjoy reading?
• Who helps you with your reading?
• Does anyone read to you?

Older pupils in the foundation phase

• Did you choose this book?
• Did you know anything about it before you started reading it?
• Do you enjoy reading?
• Does the school have the sorts of books that you like to read?
• Do you read information books?
• How often do you read?
• Do you read at home?
• Do adults read to you in school? Do you enjoy that?
• What advice does your teacher give to you about your reading?

Fiction text

• What has happened so far in your book?
• What do you think will happen next? What makes you think that?
• Tell me about your favourite character. Why do you like this character?
• What is your favourite part of the book and why?
• How do you think the author wants us to feel at this moment in the book?
• What do you do if you come across a word you haven’t seen before?

Non-fiction text

• What is this book about?
• Can you explain to me how I can find information in this book?
• When might I use this book?
• What do you do if you come across a word you haven’t seen before?
• Which part of the book do you find most interesting and why?

When pupils are reading aloud, you might ask:

• Have you come across this word before?
• Do you know what the word means or can you work out what it means in this sentence?
• What other word could the author have used that means the same sort of thing?
• Why did you change your voice when you read that part of the sentence?

Writing

Younger pupils in the foundation phase

• Do you like writing?
• What do you like writing about?
• Can you write your name and what you like doing in school, if I help you?
• What do you do if you cannot spell a word?
• Do you sometimes write on a laptop or a tablet?
• Can you show me some of your writing?
• Do adults help you with your writing? How do they help you?
• Where do you do your writing?

Older pupils in the foundation phase

• What type of writing do you like best – writing stories, poems or information writing?
• What do you find easy about writing?
• What do you find difficult about writing?
• Do you sometimes plan your writing? Do you sometimes plan with a friend or in a group?
• What do you do if you cannot spell a word?
• Tell me how you wrote this story/these instructions etc?
• Can you show me a piece of your writing that you think is good?
• Do you ever go back to your work to try to make your writing better?
• How do you know which punctuation to use?
• How do you know how to set out your writing? Why have you written this in a list etc?

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Document B: Example questions for listening to pupils in key stages 2 and 3

Reading

• Do you enjoy reading?
• Does your school have the sorts of books that you like to read? If not, what types of texts would you like more of? Do you visit the school library?
• How do you find out about new books or authors that you might want to read?
• What is your favourite book that you have read in school this year? Do your teachers ever recommend books to you that they think you might enjoy?
• What advice does your teacher give you about your reading?
• Do adults read to you in school? Do you enjoy it?
• Do you take books home? What do you read at home? How often do you read at home?
• Did you choose this book?
• Did you know anything about it before you started reading it?
• Can you explain how fiction and non-fiction texts are different?

Fiction text

• What has happened so far in your book? Tell me about the character/plot etc.

• Do you have a favourite character/part of the book? Why do you like this character/part of the book?
• What does the author mean by the phrase…?
• Which words do you think were the most effective to describe x? Why do you think the author chose these? How do you think the author wants us to feel at this point in the book?
• Do you think x could really happen?
• How else do authors make us think about characters in a particular way?
• Which reading skills might you need to use to understand a character’s mood or behaviour?
• Can you explain what kind of person x is?

• Have you read any other books/poems/plays by this author?
• Have you read books like this written by someone else?
• Have you read any poetry or drama recently? Can you tell me anything about it?

When pupils are reading aloud, you might ask:

• Which strategies do you use if you don’t know a word or you lose track of what is happening in the story when you read?
• Have you come across this word before? Do you know what the word means or can you work out what it means in this sentence?
• What other word could the author have used that means the same sort of thing?
• Why did you change your voice when you read that part of the book?

Non-fiction text

• Can you show me how to find…in this reference book?
• Tell me how you search to find information. What are indexes, contents pages, glossaries and hyperlinks used for?
• Why does this section have subheadings and captions?
• If I ask you to skim this page, what am I asking you to do? Can you skim this page and tell me what it is about? How is skimming different to scanning?
• Do you use the internet for research?
• If you’re using the internet to find information to write about, how do you go about this? Do you make notes? Can you show me any examples of your notes? Do you believe everything you read in an information book or on the internet, when you are researching your topic?
• Can you think of a time where you have had to summarise something you have read? How about synthesise?

When pupils are reading aloud, you might ask:

• Which strategies do you use if you don’t know a word or you lose track of what is happening when you read an information book?
• Have you come across this word before? Do you know what the word means or can you work out what it means in this sentence?
• What other word could the author have used that means the same sort of thing?
• How is reading a non-fiction text different to reading a fiction book?

Writing

• Do you like writing?
• What do you like writing about?
• What do you do if you cannot spell a word?
• What type of writing do you like best?
• What do you find easy about writing?
• What do you find difficult about writing?
• Do you plan your writing? What techniques do you use to plan? What do you think about?
• Do you redraft or edit your writing? Why do you do this?
• How do you know which punctuation to use?
• Tell me how you went about writing this story/recount/persuasive letter etc? Did you have any help with this?
• Why do you need to understand the purpose of your writing?
• Why is it important to know who will be reading your writing?
• Can you tell me how you would set out a report/an explanation/a story etc?
• What helps you to be successful when you write?
• Do you ever get to choose what you write about or what type of text you write?
• Do you use tablets or laptops to write?

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Document C: Prompts to consider when evaluating the impact of literacy intervention programmes

• How does the school identify the pupils who need support to improve their literacy skills?
• How does the school select the intervention programmes it uses?
• Do intervention programmes support the full range of literacy skills, including listening, speaking, reading and writing?
• What training do teaching assistants who deliver intervention programmes receive?
• What is the format and frequency of the sessions?
• How effective are intervention strategies in helping pupils to make progress from their starting points?
• How is the progress of pupils on the intervention programmes communicated to managers and other staff?
• How does the school ensure that classroom teachers are aware of the teaching and learning strategies and the resources used in the intervention programmes?
• What strategies does the school use to make sure they use similar strategies and resources in their lessons?
• How does the school evaluate the effectiveness of its interventions to support pupils’ literacy?
• Does the school have appropriate exit criteria to determine when pupils leave intervention programmes and how do they continue to support them and monitor their progress over time?