Cracking Communication: Preparing schools for Ofsted and National Curriculum changes 28 th March 2012 www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk The importance of oral language across the school curriculum www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk Anita Kerwin Nye, Director The Communication Trust Delivered by Wendy Lee, Professional Director The Communication Trust Acting as one voice We will cover The Scale and impact of the issue Current policy context What that means in practice What The Communication Trust is doing to help 3 The Scale The children... Around 10% of all children have long term SLCN In areas of social deprivation, the number of children entering school with SLCN rises dramatically to around 50% Of the 21% of children who are identified as having SEN, 28% at the primary level have SLCN as their main need In secondary schools, this figure is just over 8% In addition, we know that the majority of children with SEND have some degree of SLCN SLCN is the most prevalent childhood disability The Way We Talk is a film from The Communication Trust It shows s seven e children with SLCN talk about their life, experiences at school and what is it like to have a communication difficulty www.talkingtrouble.info 1
The Impact The policy context... Direct links to literacy Children with poor language and literacy development at 5 years are at substantial risk of low achievement at 7 years. Gaps continue to widen into secondary school Between 50% and 90% of children with persistent SLCN go on to have reading difficulties To attainment Just 7% of pupils with a statement of SEN achieve 5 A* C at GCSE or equivalent. This compares to an average of 66% for pupils with no identified SEND To behaviour More than 50% of children at risk of exclusion have undiagnosed SLCN To employability 47 percent of employers in England report difficulty in finding employees with an appropriate level of oral communication skills Policy Terminology! A shared language Ofsted framework Expert panel for national curriculum Literacy framework Initial teacher training standards PLASC data for SEN Communication skills Oral language / Oracy Speaking and listening Articulacy Speech, language and communication needs NATIONAL CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK National Curriculum framework Oral Language and its Development within the National Curriculum There is a compelling body of evidence that highlights g a connection between oral development, cognitive development and educational attainment. We are strongly of the view that the development of oral language should be a particular feature of the new National Curriculum Oral language in the National Curriculum rationale 1. Appropriate provision for the development of oral language would improve overall levels of attainment. 2. New provision could reduce the spread of attainment. 3. Oral language is inextricably linked to both word reading skills and to reading comprehension. language enrichment work across the curriculum should continue throughout the period of compulsory education 2
Key points Whilst it should find a particular place within the National Curriculum for English, oracy should also be promoted more widely as an integral feature of all subjects. Strong provision should be made for oracy across the curriculum as a whole and throughout the years of schooling. Oral language / Oracy...? Origin: 1960 65; or(al) + (liter)acy the ability to express oneself fluently l and grammatically in speech OFSTED Speaking and listening a key feature in outstanding schools In the most effective schools, inspectors saw teachers thread rich opportunities for speaking and listening into lessons Explicit teaching of speaking and listening was highly effective Excellence in English Ofsted, 2011 The most effective teachers worked explicitly to get children talking and, in particular, saw the development of their vocabulary as a central priority Moving English forward: action to raise standards in English March 2012 More comments from Ofsted... Previous subject inspections have identified a lack of emphasis on explicit, planned teaching of speaking and listening. This remains the case. Speaking is more commonly seen in schools as a way of supporting writing. Practice in this area has been resistant to change for many years. One reason is that teachers understandably prioritise pupils work in reading and writing because they feature more prominently in national tests and examinations. Now within the Ofsted framework Communication skills Explicitly referred to as a parameter for inspection in two areas of judgement: Quality of teaching: How well teaching enables pupils p to develop skills in reading, writing, communication and mathematics. Pupil achievement: How well pupils develop a range of skills, including reading, writing, communication and mathematical skills, and how well they apply these across the curriculum 3
Within Pupil Achievement... How well disabled pupils and those who have SEN have achieved since joining the school How well gaps are narrowing between the performance of different groups of pupils in the school and compared to all pupils nationally Communication skills...? Communication skills are a complex range of skills from across the areas of language and communication which work together in a range of purposes and with different people to support effective learning and interaction Within teacher standards Articulacy Initial teacher training Teachers are required to: demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use of standard English, whatever the teacher s specialist subject Articulacy...? A shared terminology...? A derivative of articulate the ability to express oneself fluently and coherently It involves a complex range of language and communication skills to fulfil a broad range of communicative purposes with different people. Language Communication Articulacy Oracy Knowledge and skills To be used For different purposes With different people To learn To interact For a reason or outcome 4
Language the most complex skill we ever learn Enabling these skills? Knowing typical development in order to know what to expect, what to model and to spot difficulties Knowing the component elements for spoken language in the same way as written language Building communication into pedagogy and content of teaching Balancing pedagogy and content... Pedagogy Developmental Modelling Asking why? Content Communication Language Speech And in practice... Support / CPD for teachers? Planning for language and communication in lessons. Communication skills are explicit Pupils are enabled through modelling, demonstration, structured teaching activities iii and constructive feedback. Classrooms are environments which support communication There are structured opportunities for pupils to use different language and communication skills for different purposes with different people Pupils progress in language and communication skills is monitored Children with SLCN do better when... 1. Therapists take account of educational context 2. Teachers understand the importance of language to the whole curriculum 3. Parents are informed and involved 4. Systems change within the schools to reflect and support collaboration 5. School leaders are involved and interested 6. You have champions (with clout) in your schools I CAN talk series issue 6 The argument Communication is the vehicle for learning, language is the fuel which means, regardless of what is being taught...every lesson is a language lesson and Communication everyone s business The language machine 5
What are we doing to help? We are supporting range of partnerships that you will hear about today Cracking Communication together Schools which turn the dial on language and communication are able to turn the dial on a number of key school improvement priorities, from raising attainment to narrowing the gap and improving behaviour. Jean Gross, Communication Champion (2011) Good communication is one of the most important skills anyone could have Chris Pike, Young Person with Aspergers Syndrome talk at home, in school, among peers is education at its most elemental and potent. It is the aspect of teaching which has arguably the greatest influence on learning. Cambridge Primary Review Coming up next Cracking Communication: Preparing schools for Ofsted and National Curriculum changes 28 th March 2012 www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk 6