https://leadinglearner.me/2018/06/17/re ... eginnings/
Really Bold Beginnings
POSTED BY LEADINGLEARNER ⋅ JUNE 17, 2018
The Education Endowment Foundation latest guidance, Preparing for Literacy, has just been release. Its seven recommendations start with a focus on the development of communication and language with approaches that emphasise spoken language and verbal interaction.
The guidance is well worth reading. But how could we use it to increase substantially the development of pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds?
Stopping the Gap Appearing
Most of us have spent our professional lives attempting to close the attainment gap between pupils from more affluent backgrounds and those who are from significantly more disadvantaged backgrounds. Better to stop it appearing in the first place: intervene early and carry on intervening in ways that will significantly enhance children’s literacy.
If we really want to make a bold statement, at the beginning of a child’s education, why not place a statutory limit of fifteen pupils to one teacher in a reception class, rather than the current thirty to one, in schools with the greatest percentage of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Halving class size in this way, in an environment where the pedagogical approach is likely to mean it is effective, would need to be rigorously evaluated given the costs involved.