Blackpool Literacy Project
Literacy is a core skill that underpins pupils’ successful progression through school, and their transition into adulthood and employment.
We work collectively with schools and partners to systematically implement evidence-informed literacy interventions in the early years of secondary school that are underpinned by high-quality teacher professional development and a focused process of change.
The project aims to have positive, sustainable impact at both pupil and teacher level that will ultimately lead to enhanced GCSE attainment when the Key Stage 3 cohorts reach Y11, increasing the prospect of social mobility.
In addition to the increase in pupils’ literacy levels at Key Stage 3, the programme aims to evidence wider progress against the curriculum and subsequent uplifts in the child’s attitude to their own learning.
The project aims to tackle a number of complex issues relating to literacy, including, but not limited to:
Pupils
- Historical poor attainment and progress at GCSE across a range of literacy-based subjects including English.
- Analysis of Key Stage 2 Reading data showing comprehension (inference) to be a particular weakness.
- Poor sentence and paragraph comprehension for a significant number of pupils related to poor decoding skills, limited fluency and limited vocabulary.
- Large variance in the culture of reading across the pupil population.
Schools
- Limited ownership of literacy by teachers across the curriculum.
- A lack of consistency/whole-school practice in the teaching of reading.
- Large variance in teacher knowledge and understanding of explicit teaching of literacy.
Unlike collaboration or partnership, the collective impact initiative, involving the Department for Education, Blackpool EEF Research School and St. Mary’s BEBCMAT Catholic Academy, has a centralised infrastructure with dedicated leads to help participants make the shift from acting alone. By providing both backbone support and a focused process of change, together with local leaders, we aim to develop people and culture in relation to literacy.