Literacy Planning & Assessment For Year 1

[Guest]

Sadly, it's the last day of the hols and having had a fab Christmas I have now got to get back into work mode!

 

I recently took over as KS1 Literacy co-ordinator and am wondering how we should be planning Literacy in KS1 - my big dilemma is -

 

As we assess using APP, should we therefore be planning from the APP statements or, should we be planning from the framework and the units and fitting APP to them?

 

One of the things that worries me is, that although I have documents linking the framework to the APP strands, surely this is making work for myself and the other teachers who plan the literacy for their year groups and wouldn't it be easier to plan for APP as we then can ensure we have the coverage and evidence for APP to make good judgements. Progress and attainment is measured across the school using this.

 

Also should we be planning from the Framework units or not?

 

What do you do and can anyone help!

[Susan]

Neither are statutory. I dont think you should be planning from APP but that you should be planning for APP.

We use the framework to ensure coverage, including a balance of genre.

[Guest]

If you plan using the units then you should automatically be covering the APP statements anyway. APP is a very general set of statements, not really broken down into small enough objectives and there is not the same structure or coverage that the units provide. I think it would actually be extremely difficult to plan purely from APP, you'd actually still be drawing on the units, or at least your prior knowledge of the units for your planning anyway.

[KST]

I agree, APP is for your assessment only. However, you plan for gaps in your APP towards the end of the year if they are not secure in them.

 

Does anyone know if the frameworks are staying next year? Heard a rumour that the strategies are being scrapped?

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

 

Apologies for the delay in replying - have had a very bad week! Thanks for all the advice much appreciated and good to hear advice from outside of my school -

 

As for the frameworks/strategies, haven't heard anything about them staying - although I had heard that the conservatives didn't like the new primary curriculum that was supposed to come out for next year. Bearing in mind our LA is cancelling courses left right and centre at the moment, I can't see the govt putting something in place which will need money being spent to implement it!

[Guest LornaW]

Does anyone know if the frameworks are staying next year? Heard a rumour that the strategies are being scrapped?

 

The strategies have never been statutory but we did have Primary Literacy & Numeracy Consultants working to support schools in all LA and their posts have all been deleted as from the end of March 2011. Some LA's such as Kent have already deleted these posts but some LAs have their until March this year. The Lit and Num strategies will not be supported after March. It was actually Ed Balls who scrapped them!!

 

Lorna

[KST]

Thanks for that Lorna. Do you know what is now recommended? Should we just return to the National curriculum? I'm actually in Reception so don't use the frameworks anyway but moving to KS1 in September and trying to get my head around it all!

[KST]

And where can I find this information about them going? My school use the frameworks and love them and didn't believe me when I said the Government were not supporting them anymore! Would be good to prove it to them so we can all think about what we should be doing. Thanks!

[Guest LornaW]

You can see an article here

 

http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/ByDiscipline/...pported-unions/

 

and see the attached Ofsted report.

 

Also speak to your LA KST they should advise. The advice I would give is use what you feel is best about the strategies but they are not statutory and have never been. Many schools had developed their own Lit and Num taking the best parts of the strategies. The only statutory requirement is to cover the National Curriculum.

 

Lorna

The_National_Strategies_a_review_of_impact.pdf

[KST]

Thanks very much for that Lorna. K x