Whole class guided reading in KS2: Finding the right balance for all children (Part 2: Selecting texts & mapping text potential)

Published
05 March 2024

"This blog, the second in a series of three, looks at how to judge and decide upon books that are suitable for whole class guided reading in key stage 2, through mapping the potential of a text, as well as how to consider a wide variety of text types to support all-important background knowledge."

 

Having considered how to ensure that all children are recipients of a rich reading diet, with whole class guided reading being just one element (see Part 1), let’s turn our attention to how we might* develop and structure whole class guided reading (WCGR) lessons in key stage 2 (KS2).  This blog aims to support you through this process, whether you are new to implementing whole class guided reading (WCGR) with your class/ school or have been doing this for some time already.

*We say ‘might’ very deliberately here – all guidance must be combined, questioned and underpinned by your own experience and knowledge of the children you teach.  This is one part of a sequence of three blogs, focusing on whole class guided reading.  Part 2 focuses on selection of texts; Part 3 goes into the detail of a potential WCGR lesson structure.

 

Which texts should we be using for whole class guided reading?

Once pupils can decode accurately and speedily, reading a lot is the principal way they develop as readers. Putting in the ‘reading miles’ allows pupils to practise their reading, building experience with increasingly complex texts, encountering new knowledge, gaining new language, including vocabulary, and developing their fluency.  

(The reading framework, 2023, p. 18)

This is something we are often asked. Of course, it sounds obvious to say that we must ensure that children have access to excellent literature. As the reading framework states: ‘They should read, listen to and talk about contemporary and classic writing by a broad and diverse range of authors, where the depth of ideas and language allows for rich discussion and study’ (The reading framework, p. 87). We know the vital importance of books being ‘mirrors, windows and sliding doors’ (Dr Rudine Sims Bishop) where children encounter characters, situations, and viewpoints ‘that mirror their own lives, so they understand that they matter’ but should also ‘give them a window into the lives of others’ (The reading framework, p. 87).  

We know that reading high-quality and diverse literature, including some of the ‘classics’, is crucial. But how do we know which ones are suitable for different year groups, and for our own class? It might be tempting at this point to refer to Lexile scores to help us. However, such readability formulas do not give us the full picture and can even be misleading. Mature themes, ambiguity, and requirements for background knowledge are not accounted for. In the English language, a whopping 80% of words have more than one meaning – they are polysemous (Quigley, 2020, p. 74). How we identify that meaning depends on the context within which it has been used. For example, to describe someone who has ‘sharp ears’ carries different meaning compared to describing a pencil as sharp. A seemingly everyday word therefore can become more abstract and require deeper inference making, depending on its usage within the text.  As Wayne Tennent et al state: ‘Counting the length of words and sentences is not sufficient to make a judgment about the challenge a text will present.’ (2016, p.7). They offer a different way to evaluate texts to be selected for guided reading study in KS2 – calling this method ‘mapping text potential’.

Mapping the potential of a text

Finding the right text is important, but this takes time and knowledge of the text itself.  There are, ultimately, no short cuts to having read the book beforehand, to decide whether it is suitable for your whole class guided reading lessons. Tennent et al (2016) suggest these key criteria when selecting a text for study, based on its potential and challenges:


  • Subject – what is the text about?

  • Text-type, purpose and intended readership
  • Theme – the deeper meaning
  • Narrative features – from whose perspective is it written? Where is it set?
  • Literary features – particular stylistic devices
  • Language features – e.g. imagery, metaphor
  • Grammar, syntax and sentence structure
  • Vocabulary
  • Historical, social and cultural context – where is it set and who is represented?
  • Coherence
  • Visual features – design of material
  • Making links to background knowledge and experiences

Taken from ‘Guiding Readers – A handbook for teaching reading comprehension 
to 7-11 year olds’ by Wayne Tennent, David Reedy, Angela Hobsbaum and Nikki Gamble (2016)


The type of text and text structure needs to be noted here.  What we know and expect from a text’s structure and its organisation is a key component of how we construct meaning from that text. This means that selecting a broad variety of text types or genres (e.g. narrative, poetry, information texts, articles, speeches, newspaper articles, etc) should be an important factor in deciding what children will read in their reading lessons.  More practice with reading unfamiliar, as well as familiar, text types, along with a wide variety of subject matter makes us better readers.

We could argue that the above criteria can be applied to a text to be studied by a whole class of children, as well as by a smaller guided group, because even within a small group of children there will be a diverse range of interests, experiences and background knowledge. No one child (or human being) is ever the same as another. No single text can ever capture the hearts and minds of all children within a whole class; the same can be said for children within a group. Here, therefore, are inevitably the limitations of using the same text with more than one child. However, we can try to mitigate against that pitfall with a thorough shared understanding of reading for pleasure and its embedded ethos within the school, as well as recognising other elements of a reading diet or additional instruction that each child should have (see part 1).  All children are entitled to encountering challenging texts.  Thus, we must make sure that, alongside this challenge, the texts we select for WCGR lessons are engaging, rich, multi-layered, exciting and, ultimately, are worth the effort of reading them.  

Here is an example of how a teacher took the above criteria, and started to map the potential of a core text for Year 6 (the brilliant ‘Clockwork’ by Philip Pullman), in preparation for whole class guided reading whole class guided reading lessons:

The importance of considering text variety and background knowledge

In this example, the children in Year 6 would study the core text ‘Clockwork’ by Philip Pullman in their whole class guided reading lessons for a half-term, but that is not the whole story (if you’ll excuse the pun). Reading just one text for a whole half-term would not provide variety, and perhaps not all children will enjoy it. This teacher has thought about reading other text types, and how to encourage children to make intertextual connections with other works of fiction and poetry. They have also carefully considered how different elements of background knowledge need to be addressed and incorporated within WCGR lessons (as well as when they might need it). Whilst it is not necessary to know everything about a text to understand it (and of course, reading is often how we learn new things), we need to consider which elements of background knowledge are not essential and which could indeed be very useful. In a recent study, Reid Smith et al (2021) concluded that ‘explicitly teaching background knowledge should be considered foundational to increasing competency in reading’ (p.233). As teachers, we can support children to build and monitor their comprehension as new background knowledge is acquired. It is therefore crucial that links are made for the children to show how the supplementary texts that are studied provide us with the background knowledge required to deepen our understanding of the core text, and beyond. 

 

The importance of vocabulary knowledge

Along with background knowledge, vocabulary knowledge is essential in order to comprehend, and these two areas are intrinsically connected. It is useful to consider the work of Beck, McKeown and Kucan (2013) to help us decide which words to teach or discuss. To use their definition of ‘tiered vocabulary’, tier one words are words that we might commonly use in everyday speech (such as ‘door’, ‘run’, ‘because’ or ‘quick’). Tier two words are those that are more commonly used in written communication and in literary language, but they are also not subject-specific or technical words. As a result, they are often overlooked because they are not associated with a particular discipline or subject (such as science or music, for example). Whilst reading ‘Clockwork’, the teacher has selected some of these tier two words to focus upon from the book, such as ‘relentless’, ‘scowled’ and ‘temperament’. Also, to refer back to those tricksy polysemous words – they are other words to think about…  is there an ordinarily tier one word (such as ‘sharp’) masquerading as tier two? These are also very useful words to pick out and talk about, so that misunderstandings do not spiral, but also to demonstrate how unendingly fascinating and intricate the English language is.

 

Points for consideration

Here are some questions to consider when selecting texts for whole class guided reading study in KS2:

  • Are children reading a wide range of whole texts in WCGR lessons, as well as shorter pieces and/or extracts, that encompass broad and diverse literature? Are there a wide variety of text types, as well as subject matter, being discussed?
  • Do the criteria for selection of texts include those from the suggestions listed above?
  • Does your school have a list of ‘core texts’ for WCGR lessons in KS2, which is regularly reviewed and refreshed, taking into account new publications and children’s needs and/or interests?
  • Are there opportunities for all children to study supporting material for development of background knowledge, to support comprehension of the core texts and beyond?
  • Do parents know about their books their children are studying, and how they can support at home?

 

Other useful resources and websites:

If you would like more support with selecting texts, Assessing with Age-Related Texts (AART) is a framework to support identification of texts that offer appropriate challenge to underpin robust reading assessment. There are analyses of sample age-related texts for teachers that demonstrate end-of-year expectations.  The award-winners are often a great place to start, along with other very useful websites that collate suggestions for wonderful texts according to approximate year group categories. Here are some websites that might help:

  • UKLA Book Awards
  • The Yoto Carnegies
  • Empathy Lab
  • Books for Topics
  • LoveReading4Kids

References:

Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown & Linda Kucan (2013): ‘Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction’, Guildford Press.

Department for Education (2023): The reading framework The reading framework

Alex Quigley (2020): Closing the Reading Gap, David Fulton.

Reid Smith, Pamela Snow, Tanya Serry & Lorraine Hammond (2021): ‘The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension:  A Critical Review

Christopher Such (2021): The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading, Corwin.

Wayne Tennent, David Reedy, Angela Hobsbaum & Nikki Gamble (2016): Guiding Readers – A handbook for teaching reading comprehension to 7 – 11 year olds, UCL Institute of Education Press.

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Teacher Encounters Programme – Herts teachers go behind the scenes at Sky Studios Elstree

Published
04 March 2024

We are very excited to share that we have teamed up with Sky Studios Elstree for a special event to help teachers from all over Hertfordshire understand what it takes for their students to get into careers in the media.

Together, we have organised a special Industry Insight Event day at Sky Studios Elstree on Tuesday 11th June 2024 where teachers will get behind to scenes access to gain a greater understanding of the skills young people need to develop.

We have also secured a day at the Hertfordshire Development Centre for teachers to meet local employers from the STEM (Science, IT Design and Technology, Computing, Digital Media and Maths) sector (Friday 19th April 2024). The businesses will be giving updates on the breadth of opportunities available in the sector.

“At HFL Education, children are at the heart of everything we do. These events are part of the comprehensive support services, training and resources we offer to schools and learning settings. We want to enhance every child’s education. Our Insight Industry Events give teachers that extra knowledge to bridge the gap between industry and education.”

“Research by The Sutton Trust shows nearly nine in ten teachers (88%) feel their training doesn’t currently prepare them to deliver careers support to students. We want to give teachers the knowledge and also, local contacts to pass on to their students who are interested in aiming for these careers. Our strong partnerships with schools and employers ensure that we have the right mix of educational and industry expertise to make our careers events extremely effective.   
 

The session at Sky Studios Elstree will give teachers the chance to talk to local employers in the creative industries and find out more about the application and selection process for jobs in the sector.

The STEM event at the Hertfordshire Development Centre will include a presentation from Kevin Gilmartin, Post-16 specialist, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), who will give teachers information on the changing post-16 landscape, and the importance of supporting careers in the curriculum. The Hertfordshire LEP, Careers and Enterprise company and Unifrog will share insights in local labour market information and the future career opportunities for young people in the county.

HFL Education’s Industry Insight Events are part of the Teacher Encounters project, commissioned by the Hertfordshire Careers Hub.

Both events are FREE and can be booked on the links below:

Teacher Encounters - Industry Insights into STEM - Friday 19 April 2024, Hertfordshire Development Centre, Stevenage.

This event is suitable for teachers of Science, IT, Design and Technology, Computing, Digital Media, and Maths. 

Teacher Encounters – Industry Insights in Film and TV Production – Tuesday 11 June 2024, Sky Studios Elstree.

This event is suitable for teachers of Art and Design, Music, Drama, English, Design and Technology, Film and Media and Performing Arts.      

 

Contact the training and events team

ESSENTIALmaths v2.0 - we've done our homework!

Published
01 March 2024

We are passionate about maths and ensuring that children not only get the right answers, but that they understand what they have done and why.

We also believe in giving teachers the tools to support them in the classroom rather than a passive plug-in-and play approach which other schemes might lead to. This passion was the driving force for the development of our ESSENTIALmaths resource.

We are incredibly proud of the results we have seen from schools using the resources and the difference it has made to the children you work with, but we won’t stop there. Our advisers regularly see ESSENTIALmaths in action, have noted ways to make it even better, have listened to your feedback and are excited to be launching an ESSENTIALmaths v2.0 subscription, ready for September 2024.

Watch the recording of our ‘show and tell’ webinar held on the 4th March 2024, where we tell you all about the latest developments in the single and mixed-age ESSENTIALmaths planning and pupil rehearsal suite.

Here are some of the improvements we share:

  • Re-mapped long-term plans
  • Curriculum progression identified on every sequence
  • Re-designed Rehearsal and Reasoning sheets
  • Fully aligned homework suite
  • Online teacher interface – everything in one place

 

Further information on our maths support

If you would like to receive our maths subject leader emails, please sign up.

For more information on primary maths support and services

Contact our Primary Maths team 

Making the switch – a guide to teaching with your Chromebook

Published
29 February 2024

For teachers moving to Chromebooks as their main teaching device, this handy guide from HFL Education will show them what they need to know to get started.

Chromebooks have risen in popularity as pupil devices over the past decade, with this lower-cost, simple computer now one of the most frequently found in schools. The widespread adoption of the Google Workspace for Education tools (including Google Classroom) during the pandemic further reinforced their status as an ideal educational device, particularly in the hands of pupils, especially when using Google tools.

It is now commonplace to find trolleys of Chromebooks shared amongst primary school classes, for use in computing lessons and IT across the curriculum. In secondary schools and MATs, the Chromebook is often the chosen device for one-to-one schemes.

Uptake of Chromebooks by teachers as their main teaching device has arguably been slower, however, at least in this part of the world. This may be because the teacher is used to using particular tools that are not directly available on Chromebooks, such as Windows-based interactive whiteboard software. Perhaps a Chromebook is perceived as a device that is great for the learners, but not functional enough for the staff.

However, a Chromebook designed for higher-performance tasks can be a powerful and flexible teaching device that is ideal for 21st century instruction in a cloud-based environment. And they can still save money for schools when compared to more traditional laptop computers. 

teaching with a chromebookFor teachers making the transition to using a Chromebook as a primary device for teaching, the change can feel daunting. It often means finding different ways of doing things. With this in mind, HFL has written a new guide, entitled Teaching with your Chromebook.

In this free e-book, teachers can learn about using these devices for classroom instruction, from connecting to the interactive screen to enhancing accessibility.

Across the guide, readers will learn how to:

Connect their Chromebook to classroom screens and interactive whiteboards for whole-class instruction.

  • Harness online whiteboard tools such as Smart Lumio for dynamic lessons and collaborations.
  • Use Google Slides as a teaching tool.
  • Share digital materials like worksheets, writing frames and more, to pupil devices.
  • Facilitate shared interactive learning activities for active engagement and challenge.
  • Record and share their Chromebook screen for pupil-accessible video resources.
  • Adjust accessibility settings to assist access to the content being presented.
  • Use various keyboard shortcuts, multiple-desktops and more.

In addition to helping teachers get used to Chromebooks as a teaching device, the guide signposts online training materials from Google, for those that are completely new to this type of computer and the Google Workspace platform.

In creating this guide, the aim has been twofold. Firstly, teachers that are making the switch will save time when finding their way with using their new device. Secondly, schools can find out more about what a Chromebook can offer as a teaching device, and therefore make a more informed decision about whether it is the right device for them, when they are planning their digital strategy.

If you need advice about which Chromebooks may be right for your setting, please contact us at technology@hfleducation.org. 

And don’t forget our popular free e-book, 50 things you can do with Chromebooks and Google Workspace, is still available to provide teachers with some further inspiration for using this platform.

Please refer to the DfE Laptop, Desktop and Tablets Standards in Schools and Colleges, when making purchasing decisions about devices.

 

50 things you can do with Chromebooks


 

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Primary subject leaders – puzzled about Early Years?

Published
28 February 2024

Subject leadership in primary schools can be a challenge with a full teaching schedule.  Do you feel confident talking about your subject in the early years?

So, you have been asked to lead a subject across the school, or you may have been leading a subject in primary for a few years now or in a small school you may be responsible for more than one subject.  Do you really know how to monitor and strengthen your subject in Early Years? Especially as sometimes the subject has a different name. Keeping on top of monitoring, checking that your colleagues are confident teaching your subject, monitoring attainment and keeping up to date on current thinking - I think I can help. 

 

vintage typewriter

During my teaching career, colleagues from other year groups visit EYFS and are slightly discombobulated by the layout of the classroom, the lack of desks and chairs and how learning is taking placed and being assessed.  Often the passing comment as they leave EYFS is ‘I don’t know how you do it!’  Well, it is the best place in the world to teach, although I might be bias, but what I really want is for colleagues leading a subject to come into the provision and find their subject in action, to feel confident talking about how the early years teaching underpins later learning in Year 1 and beyond.

Foundation Stage really does ‘what is says on the tin’, it lays the foundation for learning, the behaviours, and beliefs that children can be successful regardless of their starting points.

The Early Years Foundation Stage seeks to provide: 

  • Quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress, and no child gets left behind. 
  • A secure foundation through planning for the learning and development of each individual child and assessing and reviewing what they have learned regularly. 
  • Partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers. 
  • Equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported.

EYFS Statutory Framework (2024) 

There are seven areas of learning each interwoven, so learning makes sense.  The four overarching principles of EYFS are:

  • Every child is a unique child 
  • Children learn through positive relationships 
  • Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults 
  • Learning and development - children develop and learn at different rates

Alongside these principles, the Characteristics of Effective Learning (CoEL): 

  • Playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’ 
  • Active learning - children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements 
  • Creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things 

The three CoEL can be applied to all subjects at all ages.  A great way to think about learning and how adults apply these characteristics is by reminiscing about the last time you bought a new mobile phone. Let’s be honest, none of us read the extensive manual in the box.  If you are anything like me, you held the box, slid open the lid, listened to the unique sound as the box slid open, then pressed buttons, and followed instructions on the screen until all contacts have moved across and we have access to our favourite apps.  You played, explored, thought critically and were creative.

 

female teacher playing with small children


 

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Why are my children in Key Stage two still using their fingers to calculate?

Published
27 February 2024

An exploration of when finger counting can be instrumental to pupils’ understanding of number and when it can become prohibitive to their mental fluency in KS2 maths.

You may remember reading various reports following the Covid pandemic that attempted to measure the impact on pupils’ learning, such as, Understanding Progress in the 2020/21 academic year. This was a fairly early one from the DfE which aimed to link outcomes in the first half of autumn term 2020/21 with outcomes at the same point in 2019/20 at pupil level and compare their progress with similar pupils in earlier academic years.

“We find that all year groups have experienced a learning loss in reading, ranging from 1.6 months to 2.0 months. The learning losses in mathematics were greater. In primary schools, learning losses averaged just over 3 months”. 

Others reported similarly, including the EEF’s published findings from the longer term NFER study on the impact of the pandemic on younger pupils’ attainment. But if you ask colleagues teaching any year group, I think you are probably hearing the same as me, “We are still trying to get the learning back”.

In my advisory role, I work alongside many different teachers and their pupils. In more and more instances, I am being asked to help schools to address the fluency and language in children’s mathematics so that their reasoning can improve. 

To support this, we’ve had a deep look at children’s approaches and tried to identify how we can make a difference. Using the broadest brush strokes, I can say that I have seen patterns. Younger children are not yet secure enough in their subitising skills to use them effectively to calculate with them. This limits them to their one-to-one counting strategies and returning to zero when asked to address number combinations. 

boy in yellow tshirt using fingers to count

 

Many older children are similarly constrained, identifying one value in any combination, and then counting on or back from there using their fingers. The repertoire of known facts does not seem to be progressing and the strategies to calculate more efficiently are almost absent.

 

So, does it matter if our children are using their fingers?

I recently read a research article to quench my own curiosity - “Development of number combination skill in the early school years: when do fingers help?” by Jordan, Kaplan, Ramineni and Locuniak (2008).

There has been much research to suggest that “along the path to mastery, fingers provide a natural scaffold for calculation”. There is even evidence that calculation skills were derived from finger sequencing in the first place!

I am sure you have recognised the propensity to use fingers to identify values and quantities in young children and this seems to be a very important start to “help children represent and manipulate quantities”. It becomes an important tool in their armoury to “facilitate the transition between early nonverbal representations and conventional symbolic representations”.

I think we can all agree that it is essential to our youngest learners (and can be celebrated) but, as the article goes on to explore, “There are questions, however, about the timing of finger use. When do children benefit from using their fingers and when do fingers potentially get in the way of development?”

 

From counting to calculating

Jordan et al carried out a longitudinal study of children, assessing confidence in number combinations for addition and subtraction and children’s approaches in Years 1, 2 and 3. They were specifically investigating whether they used their fingers to calculate the solution.

In Year One, the “frequency of finger use was a strong and reliable predictor of number combination accuracy.

By the end of Year 3, however, there was a small but significant negative correlation between finger use and accuracy... finger counting errors are more common on combinations with larger totals (e.g. > 10) (Gray and Tall, 1994)”.

So perhaps we are beginning to understand that whilst it’s a key element of early understanding of number, there is a point at which the reliance on counting, and using fingers, is prohibitive to efficient calculation and even accuracy. I think we would also agree that a child reliant on using fingers to calculate is not a fluent mathematician.

 

But what does a fluent mathematician look like?

In “Mental Maths: Just About What We Do In Our Heads?”, Ineson and Babbar (2013) identify what we can call mental mathematics and its place in the curriculum. Interestingly, we did this as a team too, before we began to write the HFL Education ESSENTIALmaths resources and if you have taken part in our central training, you may remember one of our ‘four wise men’, Richard Skemp, who explored relational understanding in much detail, examining conceptual and procedural understanding in human thinking.

Ineson and Babbar explain his role in the debate.

“It is useful to draw on the distinction that Richard Skemp made between instrumental understanding of mathematics and relational understanding. He wrote about pupils developing an ‘instrumental’ understanding of mathematics where they follow ‘rules without reasons’ (Skemp, 1978). The alternative approach is to develop ‘relational’ understanding which encourages pupils to know both what to do with a calculation and why.”

They draw upon a useful analogy of a tourist in London, who uses just the underground system to get around town, compared to a London taxi driver setting out on the same journey. The tourist is fine to use the tube map, as long as the trains are all running, but the taxi driver would have alternative routes up their sleeve, responding to varied traffic conditions.

“The underground user is like the pupil with instrumental understanding; able to follow rules to go between different concepts within mathematics – for example, able to follow an algorithm to solve long division. The London taxi driver on the other hand, is the pupil with relational understanding – able to navigate in a multitude of ways between different mathematical concepts.”

In the end, it must be about identifying the missing parts in this instrumental thinking and then reflecting upon how we are teaching them. As I’ve been working alongside teachers in schools, I have often heard a familiar refrain, “I have never really stepped back so much before to watch them and their learning. I am too busy ‘teaching’ the curriculum”.

Every primary teacher can surely relate to this (the ‘when do I have time’ pressure). But I can promise that every teacher I have worked with has reflected upon the impact of this investment on children’s learning without any regrets.

There are lots of ways to provide depth and breadth in opportunities so that you can reflect upon children’s learning.

If you are a teacher in Year 3, and an ESSENTIALmaths user, you will be familiar with this game about halfway through the autumn term (3LS6). This is a really key moment (step 7) in the learning sequence.

Even if you are teaching in older year groups, have a play with this game to find any gaps in your children’s repertoire. Play the game several times and watch the strategies grow.

You can input numbers onto the outside corners to support learners or leave the children to input the first numbers and make up their own as they continue to rehearse. 

Then pupils continue to find the difference between corner numbers until they either reach zero on all sides or run out of squares.

 

I need to find the difference between 62 and 45


 

You might decide you need to go back to what they do and don’t know.

there are hundreds there are tens there are ones

Source: HFL Education Fluency Session Materials

If you’re lucky enough to have taught in several different year groups, you could map the children’s learning journey from the foundation stage upwards. Sometimes the gap is much earlier in their learning.

maths diagram of building on learning

 

Several teachers I know are beginning to make much more use of their working walls and their fluency sessions, following similar types of analyses, to address the specific gaps they have found.

The time they have spent just stepping back and listening to children in these open activities has been fully repaid by the progress they have seen through the year. These have become ideal opportunities for regular reinforcement and continued rehearsal. Blank laminated models of ‘Multi-Strategy Mats’ and key models that are flexible for different choices of approach are helpful pupil scaffolds.

maths working wall

 

working wall in maths

 

how many beads are hidden on the string

 

For more ideas about using working walls, read Nicola Adams’s blog 4 ways to make your maths working wall work and this one from Siobhan King: Primary maths planning, modelling and working walls – dig out your sticky notes!

 

Calculations to encourage and support fluency

Babbar and Ineson compared the approaches to long division of primary and secondary student teachers. They were asked to solve the problem ‘207 ÷ 23’ themselves and then outline how they would support a pupil encountering difficulty in solving it.

“Secondary student teachers were found to be more secure in the approaches that they used themselves but struggled to think of alternative ways to support pupils in developing approaches for long division. Their favoured approach was that of an algorithm...

Primary student teachers, on the other hand, could suggest a range of alternative approaches for supporting learners.”

This is the professional skill embedded in our DNA and we can’t afford to lose it.

If you fancy a little play yourself, have a quick look at these three calculations on the NCETM website and consider how you would like to teach them.

These were the examples used by Gwen Ineson and Sunita Babbar in Mental maths: just about what we do in our heads?

NCETM: Three calculations to encourage and support fluency

 

Is this a key focus in your school?  

The HFL Education Primary Maths team can work with you in school to develop the teaching and learning of multiplication facts through The Fluency Package.

Find out more about the HFL Education Curriculum Impact Packages

Primary english and maths curriculum impact packages 2023-24

 

Upcoming training and events

 

To keep up to date: Join our Primary Subject Leaders’ mailing list

To subscribe to our blogs: Get our blogs straight to your inbox

 

References

Nancy C. Jordan, David Kaplan, Chaitanya Ramineni and Maria N. Locuniak: Development of number combination skill in the early school years: when do fingers help? Developmental Science 11:5 (2008), pp 662–668 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00715.x

Babbar, S. and Ineson, G. (2013) Mental Maths: Just About What We Do In Our Heads? eBook ISBN9780203762585

Skemp, R. R. (1978) ‘Relational understanding and instrumental understanding’ Mathematic Teaching, 77, 20–26

Babbar, S. and Ineson, G. (2013) ‘Mental mathematics: a comparison between primary and secondary trainee teachers’ strategies’, paper presented at British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics. Bristol University, UK. March 2013.

Denvir, H. and Askew, M. (2001) ‘Pupils’ participation in the classroom examined in relation to “interactive whole class teaching”’, Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics (BSRLM), 21, 1, 25-30. 

Gray, E. M. and Tall, D. O. (1994) ‘Duality, ambiguity and flexibility: a proceptual view of simple arithmetic’, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 25, 2, 115-141. 

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Developing mental maths strategies

primary girl and boy sitting at a desk together
Innovative programmes that will help ensure KS2and KS3 pupils know their base facts, have a range of mental calculation strategies, and can use and apply their knowledge to a wider fluency range.

Launch of the Twin-Track Apprenticeship Toolkit

Published
19 February 2024

Our Post-16 team have been working with the Hertfordshire Careers Hub and are pleased to announce the launch of the Twin-Track Apprenticeship Toolkit. The Toolkit has been designed to help teachers and school leaders support post-16 students to apply simultaneously for both an apprenticeship and a degree. It provides the information schools and settings need to help students to research, apply for and secure apprenticeships.

Our team at HFL Education were commissioned by The Careers and Enterprise Company to create the toolkit to help promote the apprenticeship route as a viable career option for students. 15 secondary schools across Hertfordshire were involved in sharing best practice, and we also heard directly from young people about how they had been supported by their teachers and careers leads.

The Toolkit addresses the challenges raised by teachers in Hertfordshire Careers Hub’s 2023 apprenticeship survey, regarding their lack of confidence in giving advice on apprenticeships and other technical pathways compared to university.

Suki Gill, 16-19 Curriculum and Funding Adviser, HFL Education, who led the development of the toolkit, said: “This project has provided a fantastic opportunity to liaise directly with schools to assess their existing provision and work collectively to identify best practices. As we discovered from speaking to students who were applying for apprenticeships, there is no formulaic system as with UCAS, and by comparison the application process can be something of a minefield for young people, parents and teachers.

“We’re delighted to have been able to create this toolkit which we hope will be a real gamechanger in demystifying the apprenticeship pathway moving forward."

The toolkit is now available for all schools to download and offers a clear and simple route map for teachers to follow to support their sixth form students.

 

Find out more about our Post-16 and sixth form leadership provision services.

If you’d like to receive email updates and information on future opportunities from the team, sign up to our post-16 digest

 

the twin track apprenticeship toolkit

 

Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

Safeguarding – it’s non-negotiable

Published
14 February 2024

Safeguarding  is not a tick box exercise but is rather a culture that needs embedding in our schools, it underpins all aspects of school life and, if working effectively, ensures the safety of staff and pupils alike.

Safeguarding  is not a tick box exercise but is rather a culture that needs embedding in our schools, it underpins all aspects of school life and, if working effectively, ensures the safety of staff and pupils alike. As board members, together with all school staff, we have a collective responsibility for safeguarding.

In this blog we will touch upon some recent developments that fall within the safeguarding sphere and look in a bit more detail at the school Single Central Record (SCR). Safeguarding requires an unrelenting process of constant review, revision and monitoring to ensure the processes you have in place are tested, robust and fit for purpose. New and emerging challenges to consider are constantly adding to the arena of safeguarding concerns, the items covered below are but a snapshot of some.

 

Single Central Record (SCR)

It is the board’s role to ensure their school is meeting its statutory duties regarding the SCR, this is often delegated to the Safeguarding link governor to monitor and occasionally undertake a supervised ‘check’ if concerns are raised. This strikes at the heart of understanding the boards strategic vs operational role, often misunderstandings as to the board’s role can sometimes lead to an overzealous operational approach by governors. Ofsted have tried to make the boards role clear in a recent blog:

Ofsted blog: How we inspect safeguarding in schools (9 Nov 2023) - The single central record………
When we review the SCR, we’re checking against the minimum recording requirements as set out in paragraphs 268 to 272 of KCSIE………We typically carry out the check at the start of the inspection. We do it at the start so that if there are any minor safeguarding improvements that can be rectified during the inspection, schools have the opportunity to do so………As our chief inspector has said before, there is no expectation that governors and trustees go through the SCR themselves. But governors and trustees are responsible for making sure that their school fulfils its statutory duties. It’s therefore important that governors and trustees have mechanisms in place to make sure that key safeguarding and safer recruitment duties are undertaken effectively.

To unpick some of the above, the board has a clear duty to ensure the SCR is up to date and accurate, the board should receive regular reports from the Head that the SCR has been regularly updated and checked (by asking the right questions this fulfils  the strategic/monitoring role of the board) and to receive any external audits of the SCR. External audit outcomes should also be shared with the board and/ or the Safeguarding governor who then have the opportunity to acknowledge and follow up on any recommended actions. Only if concerns are raised (such as a member of staff or governor saying the school isn’t complying with Safer Recruitment requirements) should the Chair or Safeguarding governor ask to make a supervised check of the SCR to ensure the school is meeting its statutory duties. So, to keep it simple, don’t unnecessarily stray from your strategic role, but be ready to act if concerns are raised.

 

Ofsted update

There has been much written about Ofsted and the negative impact that inspections can have on Headteachers and staff following the tragic death of Ruth Perry. As I write inspections for 2024 have resumed following a two week pause whilst inspectors received additional mental health awareness training.  Ofsted has published its response to the coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report outlining what action it’s taken immediately after and since, including:

  • All inspectors trained to recognise and respond to signs of distress in school leaders
  • A clear and simple process for providers who have concerns about an inspection to speak to an unconnected senior Ofsted employee
  • A new policy on pausing an inspection.

As board members we all need to be aware of these significant changes to Ofsted’s approach to inspections, the ‘safety’ mechanisms that now exist where school leadership distress is identified and how as a board we can respond to such concerns whilst the inspection is ongoing. All boards and school leaders should discuss and agree on what they understand by the new Ofsted policy Pausing state-funded school inspections, and how to proceed if they have concerns during an inspection. None of the above cancels an inspection, at best it is paused whilst steps are taken to address the concerns raised by the school or lead inspector.

The above is just a snapshot of the proposed and actual changes Ofsted have recently made, these are designed to reassure school leaders and boards that Ofsted have listened and responded to the concerns raised. If your school is in the Ofsted window or is soon to be the proof will hopefully be evident once the inspection gets underway, it will be interesting to see the feedback from schools and governors following these inspections. Further information from Ofsted can be found here  Gov.UK: Summary of changes 

 

DfE guidance on Gender Questioning Children

Following the long awaited publication of the DfEs draft guidance on Gender Questioning Children most commentators seem to reflect that it was a satisfactory starting point with a widespread encouragement to engage with the consultation process which closes on the 12th March 2024. Boards will need to give due consideration to this non-statutory guidance once the consultation is complete and the final version is published. Consideration may need to be given to consult with stakeholders before your school decides on what changes, if any, will need to be made to policy, procedures, safeguarding and adaptations to the school estate and how best to communicate these.

 

Safeguarding culture

Having a positive safeguarding culture is often referred to but sometimes not fully understood. It starts at the school gate with site security and access key to creating a safe and secure environment. 

  • How is the culture signposted? 
  • Are the DSL details and their team clearly visible around the school and how easy is it for staff and pupils to report their concerns in person or anonymously?
  • Are school policies on child protection, behaviour, safeguarding and online safety clearly communicated to staff, pupils and parents? 
  • Are expectations clearly understood? 
  • Do staff, governors and visitors have lanyards so that pupils can identify adults that should be accompanied and how adults should be challenged? 
  • Are there clear safeguarding protocols for visitors, do they receive/ and or sign to agree to them? 
  • Do the board receive termly safeguarding updates at meetings? 
  • Is safeguarding a standing item on your agendas? 

All of the above contribute to a culture of safeguarding and critically provide the school and governors with the evidence to support that safeguarding is effective in their school.

There is little doubt that safeguarding can become overwhelming for governors, having a safeguarding link governor is a starting point but by no means the end of the matter. A link governor cannot take on the safeguarding brief alone. When you visit your school, whether during the day or evening, have your eyes open to safeguarding concerns, if you see something that doesn’t feel right don’t wait to report it, speak to the Head or DSL whilst you’re there or as soon as reasonably possible after. Governors must have the view that ‘it can happen in our school’, this is no way a criticism of the safeguarding culture in your school, but without this mindset then you collectively enable those that are predisposed to find and exploit weaknesses with all the devasting consequences that can follow. Get trained, be aware, and be prepared to report your concerns for the sake of the children whose care and safety we are entrusted to protect.

 

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Reflections on the National Primary English Conference 2024: My Voice, My Writing

Published
13 February 2024

Marie Lowen reflects on the golden threads that were woven through this year’s writing-focused English conference.

“What a great conference to rejuvenate the passion and inspiration for writing and the teaching of writing - thank you!” – R. Woode (Woodlands) 
“Just loved the speakers!”- M. Childs (Sheredes Primary) 

“I'm pleased the conference did not focus on 'what children need, to be at expected standard by the end of Year 6' but more on creating writers as a lifelong skill.” 
R.Colman (Bowsland Green Primary School) 

“Thank you so much for a really inspirational day. It's good to end with so much to reflect upon and share back at school.”
N. Branagan (Aston St. Mary's CE (VA) School) 

 

The National Primary English Conference 2024: My Voice, My Writing was a highly anticipated event on the HFL English team’s calendar and perhaps on yours too! Inspiring and motivating keynote speakers included children’s literary icon Micheal Rosen and award-winning children’s author Katya Balen. We were also honoured to hear from experts in their fields Professor Debra Myhill and Professor Neil Mercer, not to mention the pedagogical and practice knowledge we gained from head teacher Sonia Thompson, English lead Sam Creighton, HFL English advisers Kirsten Snook and Amanda Webb, English consultant Nicola Izibili and lecturer Navan Govender. The day was jam-packed with golden nuggets to reinvigorate, reignite, and empower teachers with the tools needed to teach the next generation of writers.   

It was fitting that Michael Rosen began our conference referencing the ‘secret strings’ that lie waiting within literature, as many common threads and themes were interwoven between the sessions throughout the day. Threads that returned repeatedly included that of children building a repertoire of reading to support their writing, having autonomy over their writing, manipulating grammar for effect on their reader, the benefit of having a community of writers, and embracing each stage of the writing process itself. Ultimately, educators, writers and academics were united in delivering their message: we want to enable children as writers, with agency, who are capable of learning and applying the craft of writing for authentic audiences.  

 

“Be wild!” (Katya Balen) 

Another key theme of the conference was the idea, and indeed pedagogy, of writing for pleasure which made me wonder how many schools incorporated this element in their own writing curriculums. Writing for pleasure can be defined as writing undertaken for enjoyment and satisfaction (as further articulated by Ross Young in his Writing for Pleasure Manifesto, 2021). English consultant, Nicola Izibili, championed the concept of ‘writing club’ where children are given opportunities to write freely about topics that interest them.  She also explained that she herself was part of a ‘community of writers’ both inside and outside of the classroom and showed an insight into her own writing journal which she regularly shares with her children. Writer, Katya Balen, took this idea a step further by promoting the concept of ‘free writing’ in which children are given time to ‘just write’ and ‘be a writer’. Katya was passionate about giving children freedom and autonomy when writing to escape the constraints that can sometimes occur in school due to a busy timetable or other curriculum requirements, that could, in turn, reduce writing satisfaction.  

 

“Success is messy. Getting a strong writing curriculum can be messy.” (Sonia Thompson) 

Katya Balen described the writing process as a messy one, comparing it to sorting out your ‘junk drawer’ when you take everything out and pull it apart in order to improve and rebuild it again. Head teacher, Sonia Thompson, acknowledged that crafting a writing curriculum that works for your pupils can also be a messy process. She gave some excellent practical advice on how the writing process can be shaped in schools based around the process of drafting, revising and editing (starting from year one and making use of editing flaps), building a culture where feedback leads to improvement and having opportunities for writing to be discussed. Sonia illustrated that these key concepts of the writing process can be followed whilst still ensuring a commitment to the statutory obligations of the national curriculum, which was refreshing. More information on strategies to support the writing process can be found in The Education Endowment’s report: Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2.

She also highlighted the importance of teaching grammar as part of the writing craft (more on grammar for effect to come) and shared the innovative idea of ‘impact flaps’ for children to make comments about their grammar and language choices and their intended impact on their reader. Sonia explained that the school has ensured that its writing curriculum has a key focus on audience - including differing levels of formality - as well as having an authentic purpose. This was a common thread throughout the day, echoed also by Nicola Izibili. Sonia’s school publish their writing in many formats (including competition entries). Michael Rosen also advocated opportunities for children to publish and circulate their writing in order to give a clear purpose and authentic audience. (Although, it should be noted that Michael Rosen did make the valuable point that some writing may be personal to children and therefore not appropriate to share.)   

 

“…embedded within a beautiful sequence of learning.” Amanda Webb 

Our very own advisers, Amanda Webb and Kirsten Snook, offered further practical advice leading workshops on ensuring the fundamentals of writing are in place; they suggested practical ways to support children in the writing process. Kirsten reminded us that sometimes the resources that we need may be lurking somewhere in the depths of our classrooms. She discussed comprehensively how to support children to segment words for spelling so that they can move forward in their writing. She demonstrated how to use the perhaps forgotten resource - the phoneme frame - in a more kinaesthetic manner by using counters! Amanda continued the threads of the conference by using texts for inspiration to ensure learners understood the important skill of sentence demarcation, taking strategies from our popular Fixing Full Stops Across KS2 and Securing Full Stops at KS1 training. 

She explained the ‘Alien Sentences’ activity in which children need to identify the ‘alien’ (non-sentences) and ‘real’ sentences using examples from their focus text. The teacher then acts as a guide in the discussion around the decision to be made, supporting children to ‘fix’ sentences. For further tips, do take a look at this HFL blog: Don't Forget your Full Stops. This linked clearly to a point made by Debra Myhill about teachers being able to express language effects through classroom talk: rich discussions about the impact of our writerly choices support children to be mindful of their own choices in their writing. 

 

“Opening doors to writing… in a writer friendly way.” (Michael Rosen) 

Michael Rosen shared some great ideas of how to open doors into writing, using texts as a motor for writing. He began by building on the ‘Tell Me…’ book talk approach by Aidan Chambers by encouraging the use of open questions (such as ‘did you hear anything in the story that has happened to you or someone you know?’ and ‘if you could ask a question to anybody in the text what would it be?) which help children to delve into texts as a reader. He also spoke about an activity he named ‘secret strings’ (as mentioned at the start of this blog) in which children investigate and explore texts as a writer; identifying cohesive elements of writing craft which could then be applied in some way to their own writing. Debra Myhill also advocated children exploring the writing craft within texts through learning about how grammatical choices have been made to shape meaning for the reader. Like Katya Balen, she highlighted the importance of treating children as authors themselves, so that they can harness the great power of language choices, that established writers also make. Explicit teaching of the ‘why’ behind grammar choices allows children to make informed choices when crafting their own writing. This can be further examined through the LEAD principles. 



“Mining reading for writing ideas…” (Sam Creighton) 

Michael Rosen elaborated further on the writing process by talking us through practical steps that can be taken to provide children with a springboard to writing. He reminded us of some firm favourite drama techniques such as freeze frames and hot seating, which can help children to break the story open, and begin to build an ‘intertextual repertoire’ to use to inspire their own writing. He also encouraged techniques such as creating a prequel or sequel to a text, taking a character from one story into another. He talked about ‘changing the dial’ on a story, to rewrite it by altering the setting, time frame, characters, or plot line. These simple and practical ideas are playful and workable in the classroom. Sam Creighton also spoke about ways in which he improved writing at his school, including ‘mining reading for writing ideas’ to encourage children to be inspired by what they read when creating their own writing, without making a carbon copy of the original text. Micheal Rosen described using the ‘like that’ principle (particularly with poetry) where children are encouraged to write their own piece of writing using a key feeling, structure or sounds from another text. A touching moment in this keynote, was when Michael shared aloud his poem about discovering he had a brother who passed away. Michael explained that this was written about looking through some old family photographs, and went on to explain that children could use the ‘like that’ principle, based on this poem, by exploring their own family photographs for stimulus.   

 

“…big issues are discussed in a safe way to help children with resilience.” (Kayta Balen) 

Katya Balen suggested that books can help children deal with adversity, build resilience and discuss big themes. She herself writes about some big themes, such as domestic violence, anger and loss, and talked about giving children the space to do the same. Similarly, Navan Govender spoke about children writing about their sometimes adverse, yet rich, experiences within a community of writers (also mentioned by Nicola Izibili) and being socially responsible within their pieces. He showed us an example of a hard-hitting poem based on Little Red Riding Hood going to deliver drugs through ‘the hood’ in South Africa. It demonstrated an 11-year-old writer portraying identity and culture while exploring social issues of the time (including violence and HIV). 

Allowing children to write about issues that really matter to them not only helps motivate children as writers, but also gives teachers the opportunity to explore ‘big issues’ further – issues which may be having an impact on their children’s lives. Equally, when children do write about these ‘big issues’, it may also be an indication of them making sense of what is going on in the world around them. Giving children the time to write with agency, therefore, can open up a safe avenue for conversation and discussion about topics which may have otherwise been buried. This is an important message to consider as teachers when responding to children’s writing. Are we responding first as humans?

 

“Reading and writing float on a sea of talk” (James Britton) 

Neil Mercer inspired us all to think deeply about the moral imperative for teaching oracy effectively. He explained that the Education Endowment Foundation found that oracy has a high impact on pupil outcomes and other research has also indicated that language development, cognitive development and educational progress are all closely related. Considering these high stakes, it seems vital that oracy is a key feature across our curriculum. Neil also provided us with practical strategies on how to implement oracy strategies in the classroom. For example, he suggested a very innovative yet efficient way of teaching children new vocabulary through songs or chants. He also highlighted the importance of not just learning through talk (dialogic approach) but learning how to talk. 

This is particularly pertinent when teaching children how to partake in discussions. Neil suggested that this could be achieved through giving children agency to create the ‘ground rules’ for discussions to work. (You will notice that common thread of agency appearing once again!) Due to group-based activities greatly benefiting learning, Neil suggested that it was vital that these discussion skills are taught from an early age through well-planned, purposeful oracy instruction and modelling. Neil was hopeful that the tides may change in terms of the prominence of oracy in the national curriculum to ensure that children have the critical skills needed for future success. 

What an inspiring day!  We’d love to hear about how the messages of the day are shaping practice in your schools and settings.

Don’t forget, if you attended the conference last week you are still able to access recordings of all of the sessions as well as some slides which have now been added. To access these, please visit the link you were sent to attend.   

If you are looking for further inspiration for your own writing curriculum, you may be interested in HFL’s Essential Writing which is due to be released in September 2024. It is a complete scheme for Years 1-6 which encapsulates the key threads of the conference. Do join us for our free information webinar on 12th March 2024.

 

HFL English team’s reflections  

We hope you were as inspired as we were by the speakers on the day. Below are some of our team’s reflections.

Developing Children’s Writing for Purpose and Pleasure 
Michael Rosen - Poet, performer, broadcaster and scriptwriter 

“So much to take away…employing the idea of intertextuality in the classroom, using ‘secret strings’, prequels, sequels and mash up stories, the ‘like that’ principle, allowing children to write about their own lives, the importance of authentic audience and for children to be able to publish their own writing.”  

Story Mudlarking  
Katya Balen - children’s author 

“In addition to one of the most engaging and inspiring author talks I have ever listened to, she had these top tips for inspiring the children you teach to reach for more:

  • Never say that books a child chooses to read are ‘bad’ (even if you think they are rubbish); instead, nudge them towards trying a different choice every so often. 
  • And, when you speculate about what may happen in a story they are creating – emphasise that there are ‘no wrong answers’ and imaginations will soar.”  

Why Oracy Matters 
Neil Mercer- Emeritus Professor of Education and Director of Oracy Cambridge

“A fascinating session! It was inspirational to hear Neil talk about the power of talk and its transformative potential for learning. Lots of ideas to take back to the classroom.”  

Implementing Authentic Writing Projects in the Classroom 
Nicola Izibili- English Consultant and Practising Teacher at The Writing Web 

“An inspiring session which reminded us about the importance of an authentic audience and purpose when writing.”  

Crafting a Writing Curriculum 
Sonia Thompson- Headteacher at St Matthew's C.E. Primary Research and Support School 

“A reflective and poignant point from Sonia, linking to the work of the Writing for Pleasure Centre, which stems from children’s writing starting with themselves, using their own names and lived experiences as a stimulus for writing. What better way for children to evolve as writers than to use what and who they know best?”  

Writing Realities  
Navan Govender- Lecturer in Applied Language & Literacy Studies at University of Strathclyde 

“Such a powerful approach and so many ways in to apply this with different age ranges...”  

Supporting Struggling Writers 
Kirsten Snook- English TLA at HFL Education

“A call to bring back the trusty phoneme frame! Such a versatile and impactful scaffolding resource to support children who are still developing their phonic application within writing.”  

Don’t Forget Your Full Stops! 
Amanda Webb - English TLA at HFL Education

“Amanda’s session provided excellent practical strategies for addressing that common area for development: sentence demarcation. Video footage captured helpful strategies to support sentence construction with pupils.” 

The Reading and Writing Connection 
Sam Creighton - Literacy Lead 

“This session helped subject leaders to find the starting point for reflections about their own schools.”  

Grammar as Choice 
Debra Myhill - Professor Emerita of Language and Literacy at University of Exeter 

“Grammar is the building block of language - we can’t pretend we don’t need to teach it, but it’s not about naming parts of speech or playing hunt the punctuation mark. Instead, it’s about effective communication, owning our language and manipulating it to have the best effect on our reader or listener.” 

 

Further reading 

In collaboration with the Norfolk Children’s Book Centre, we have compiled a list of wider reading written by the speakers. Visit this page to explore a range of children’s books as well as further reading for teachers. 

Norfolk Children’s Book Centre: 2024 National Primary English Conference: Books by speakers

Websites

The Writing Web | The Freedom of Words to Inspire 
The grammar for writing pedagogy | Writing resources for teachers | University of Exeter 
Voice 21 
Katya Balen 

Blogs

Teaching grammar for purpose rather than for evidence | HFL Education 

Texts

‘Tell Me: Children, Reading and Talk’ by Aidan Chambers  
The ‘Opening Doors’ series by Box Cox 
‘What is Poetry?’ by Michael Rosen 
Going Through the Old Photos - The Children’s Poetry Archive 

 

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