Teachers won’t have been surprised by this year’s key stage 2 Sat results. Although reading scores held up remarkably well, those for spelling, punctuation, grammar and writing clearly show the impact of two years of pandemic-induced disruption.
The results echoed what teachers already know: in response to a YouGov survey in May, over a half said one of their biggest concerns in the run-up to this year’s transition was literacy, and a third were planning to implement a more comprehensive reading programme from September as a result.
We know that issues with children’s grasp of basic vocabulary existed before the pandemic. In 2018, Ofsted alerted teachers to the “word gap” issue with disadvantaged children and highlighted research that shows a high correlation between a pupil’s vocabulary size and their academic success. Both the National Literacy Trust and ImpactEd have, for years, stressed that barriers to literacy cannot be tackled if problems with vocabulary aren’t identified and addressed first.
Conversations we have had with multiple schools and teachers suggest, however, that the social isolation imposed by serial lockdowns has made the situation worse - and while disadvantaged children are disproportionately affected, the problem isn’t restricted to them.
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A few years ago, an assessment lead we worked with conducted a small-scale vocabulary study on very young children at two Home Counties schools with similar demographics. They were surprised to discover that the conversational skills of children in one school were markedly more developed - largely, it transpired, because children in the other had been spending less time with their parents so they had little opportunity to practise them.
Similar conditions were created by the pandemic. Key workers or parents whose jobs demanded constant attention online couldn’t interact with their children in the way they would have liked, nor were they able, in most cases, to enrol additional at-home support.
Vocabulary: tackling the word gap at the start of secondary school
Even when that wasn’t the case, most children were denied the opportunity to socialise with their friends for long periods, and some simply retreated into their devices, spending hours in a solitary speech-free, online world. Other children, of course, blossomed - particularly independent learners or those who find classroom environments taxing.
It’s not always easy for teachers to identify which children fall into which camp - and concentrating solely on disadvantaged students risks overlooking those from other families who, for a variety of reasons, may be struggling to master basic vocabulary.
Transition, always challenging and especially so this year after two years of disruption, only complicates matters. It takes time for teachers to get a sense of both the potential and challenges of an incoming class of Year 7s.
Nevertheless, it’s imperative that teachers identify any underlying vocabulary issues as soon as possible. Not only are they an “early warning sign” of future literacy problems, but they are also an immediate barrier to progress. A child without literacy skills will not be able to access the curriculum, but a child who lacks basic vocabulary will never be able to acquire those skills in the first place.
The danger, if those gaps in a child’s basic vocabulary are left unaddressed, is that children will learn coping mechanisms. To mask their lack of basic vocabulary - and to avoid being embarrassed in front of their peers - children tend to parrot technical words that give the appearance of knowledge without really understanding their meaning or being able to use them appropriately.
So what should schools do to address the issue? Here are five basic steps.
Ensure you have teacher buy-in
Assessing all incoming Year 7s for their vocabulary skills is a prudent first step, but it’s also crucial that everyone understands the importance of vocabulary, not just the Sendco or the English department. This means all staff have to understand the difference between tier one, two and three vocabulary, model effective vocabulary daily in the classroom, and, where possible, enlist parents to help.
Encourage students to be ‘word conscious’
This involves adopting strategies like semantic mapping activities (how a word is pronounced, its etymology, antonyms, synonyms and so on), visual displays for things like “word of the week” and embedding vocabulary into regular knowledge retrieval activities. Students need to see and hear a word multiple times before they are confident enough to use it and it’s embedded in their long-term memory. When a child uses an adventurous word, stop for a moment to celebrate it.
Use only high-quality texts
Allowing students to read poor texts won’t help them to develop a richer vocabulary so look to develop disciplinary literacy opportunities that expose all students to high-quality fiction and non-fiction texts. Where required, pre-teach key vocabulary and scaffold up.
Give students oracy exercises
Fluency builds confidence, broadens vocabulary and ultimately leads to improved literacy. Give students the opportunity to present Dragons’ Den-style business pitches, recitals and speeches, and to engage in debates and formal discussions. All of this will help students to use language for purpose in formal settings.
Let students play with words
Research suggests that words will be remembered if students have to do something with them. Prepare word lists with part of the word missing, so students have to figure it out, give them crosswords or Wordle games, use knowledge organisers that allow parents to ask questions about key words, and so on. Just make sure that students understand that experimenting with words is low stakes - they have to know it doesn’t matter if they get it wrong.
Crispin Chatterton is director of education at GL Assessment
