Literacy

The latest news, analysis and best practice advice when it comes to literacy, from recent research and how to implement it to new guidance and what it means

Thursday

11th Apr 2024

School reading corners: do they actually help?
Is all the work that teachers put into creating a fancy ‘book nook’ worth it in terms of encouraging more children to read and, ultimately, improving literacy? Christina Quaine finds out

Tuesday

9th Apr 2024

Early years: 5 simple ways to play with nursery rhymes
Nursery rhymes help to develop linguistic skills, introduce storytelling and, most of all, they’re fun – so let’s make sure we keep the tradition alive, says Michelle Windridge
EYFS: How early years teachers can make best use of nursery rhymes

Monday

8th Apr 2024

8 ways to make a success of whole-class reading
Research tells us there are numerous benefits to whole-class reading comprehension lessons – so how can you make the most of them?

Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Michael Morpurgo: ‘Reading is not a medicine. You don’t just have to take it’
Establishing a ‘reading culture’ is vital for pupils’ development, but schools face barriers to making this a reality, says the children’s author
Michael Morpurgo: ‘Reading is not a medicine. You don’t just have to take it’

Monday

25th Mar 2024

Saving Scotland’s ‘languages ecosystem’ from collapse
Languages are a fragile but essential part of the curriculum and urgently need stronger backing in Scotland, say Fiona Barclay and Fhiona Mackay
How to prevent the collapse of Scottish education’s ‘languages ecosystem’

Sunday

17th Mar 2024

5 ideas for Scottish schools to explore on World Poetry Day
By helping pupils see poetry in the real world and appointing a school makar or poet laureate, schools can show that poetry is not stuffy, says English teacher Alan Gillespie
Timorous beastie Poetry

Thursday

7th Mar 2024

What works to get children reading for pleasure
Fewer children in England report that they enjoy reading, but what can be done to reverse the trend? Zofia Niemtus speaks to researcher Teresa Cremin to find out
How to get more children reading for pleasure

Monday

4th Mar 2024

Spelling is hard - so how do we make it easier?
What can teachers do to help pupils learn words that are often misspelt? Megan Dixon rounds up some research-backed strategies for teaching spelling
Spelling mistake
Poorer pupils still behind on maths and reading after Covid
Think tank report shows it’s ‘abundantly clear that there needs to be continued investment in education recovery’
Maths and reading gap since Covid

Friday

9th Feb 2024

Pandemic: Call for action on language development
Post-Covid call comes as NHS data shows increase in number of children and young people waiting for speech and language therapy
Broken keyboard

Wednesday

7th Feb 2024

Call to scrap literacy and numeracy SNSAs at all stages
SNSAs lead to schools being judged ‘inappropriately’ and are ‘inconsistent’ with a play-based approach in early primary, says Willie Rennie
Call to scrap literacy and numeracy SNSAs at all stages

Wednesday

24th Jan 2024

A spell in primary ‘can make secondary teachers better’
After years as a secondary teacher in Scotland, Sam Tassiker finds that working in primary schools has given her a deeper understanding of both sectors
How primary schools can make a secondary teacher better