Guidance, ideas and examples to support schools in developing their curriculum, pedagogy, enrichment and support for more able learners, within a whole-school context of cognitively challenging learning for all. Includes ideas to support curriculum development, and practical examples, resources and ideas to try in the classroom. Popular topics include: curriculum development, enrichment, independent learning, questioning, oracy, resilience, aspirations, assessment, feedback, metacognition, and critical thinking.
Posted By Anjali Patel, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE),
04 June 2025
Updated: 04 June 2025
Anjali Patel, Lead Advisory Teacher, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE)
The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) is an independent UK charity, and English Association, dedicated to raising the literacy achievement of children by putting quality literature at the heart of all learning.
It is a charity with a national and international reputation for providing excellent literacy training and resources for primary schools, based on extensive research and best practice.
CLPE’s core beliefs and mission align with those of NACE in that we believe it is every child’s right to achieve and to be given the opportunities and experiences necessary to thrive.
What is Power of Reading?
CLPE’s research around the importance of using quality texts as the basis for English planning and quality teaching, and to provide reflective professional development, is embodied in our flagship training programme: the Power of Reading.
Built on 50 years of CLPE’s research, the Power of Reading explores the impact high-quality literature has on children’s engagement and attainment as readers and the link between reading and children’s writing development, supported by creative teaching approaches to develop a whole-school curriculum, which fosters a love of reading and writing to raise achievement in literacy.
In short, we recommend the kinds of books that provide challenge and opportunity for sustained shared study in whole-class English lessons with detailed teaching sequences that enable teachers across all primary Key Stages to work in depth with the best children’s literature being published today.
When ‘broad and balanced’ became overloaded and surface-level
So why do we believe should Power of Reading be at the heart of any English curriculum?
At CLPE, our school members are integral to our work. We benefit from thousands of schools and teachers being part of that CLPE community and this means we can draw on our relationship with and research in these schools to design professional development programmes and teaching resources that remain relevant.
The Power of Reading programme is refined each year, informed by the evaluations of participants and to take into account new research or statutory guidance or developments from the DfE and Ofsted and to support our schools to interpret and implement policy and guidance with confidence and integrity to what we know works.
In recent years, the issues raised with us by teachers and leaders on our INSETs and training sessions has been overridingly related to concerns around understanding how to use language to communicate meaning and for effect, both orally and in writing; and in editing, refining and response to writing. Perhaps their views resonate with you?
“Children are not motivated to edit their work beyond proofreading for spelling or other ‘surface features’.”
“There is so much curriculum content, we are teaching too much at a surface level rather than teaching at depth, particularly in writing.”
“The EYFS curriculum is too constrained for periods of sustained shared thinking to happen. Reduced time is spent at play, with more carpet time ‘sitting and listening’.”
“Responses to texts don’t have depth, children aren’t able to go below the surface and be reflective and evaluative.”
“Some set structures and routines, e.g. ‘we have to do writing every day’, ‘we have to do grammar on a Wednesday’ are barriers to developing effective practice, particularly in writing.”
“Not enough time and expertise in how to respond to writing as readers (teachers and children) – text references are features-based, not drawing on language and composition for effect.”
Providing depth to close the disadvantage gap
It is interesting to explore these commonly shared views through the lens of inclusion and to make the connection between being ‘more able’ and the kinds of experiences that lead to this opportunity to thrive and become highly literate.
Children from privileged backgrounds are more likely to experience the kinds of book ownership and book sharing experiences that support them to deepen their reader response and understanding of the world so that – in school – they can begin to explore how authors, illustrators or poets can achieve this response and how they themselves can make meaning for a reader in their own writing.
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more reliant on classroom routines and resources to be able to access and make connections with high-quality, representative children’s literature; to engage in daily book sharing experiences; develop deeper reader response through sustained book talk; and, as Frank Smith (1982) put it, ‘join the literacy club’ (1).
If teachers are saying they are constrained by an overloaded curriculum or lack opportunity to develop subject knowledge through quality professional development (2), the English curriculum will become increasingly disjointed and ‘surface’ level with a disadvantage gap that grows ever wider. When what all teachers want is to give every child the opportunity to work at greater depth whatever their starting point.
The last thing we want is for only privileged children to be afforded the benefits of challenge and so we must provide an equitable curriculum that enables all children to be motivated to make and create meaning with rich texts through non-reductive teaching approaches and with expert teachers.
And this is why we believe at CLPE that the Power of Reading is as necessary today as it was 20 years ago, if not more so.
The impact of a reading-rich English curriculum
The Power of Reading programme stems from CLPE’s seminal research publication The Reader in the Writer (3). This research aimed to investigate how children's writing might be influenced by studying challenging literary texts in the classroom.
The findings from that research serve as the backbone to CLPE’s training programme and they are at the heart of the Power of Reading teaching sequences that support our members to develop an evidence-led literacy curriculum in their own classrooms.
After 20 years, and with thousands of teachers trained across the UK and internationally, the programme continues to evidence impact on teachers and children whose schools have participated in the training. All the evidence we collect to measure impact continues to teach us how powerful reading can be for both children’s academic attainment and wider learning and development.
An independent evaluation by Leeds Trinity University reported on the impact of using Power of Reading in 11 Bradford schools from Autumn 2018 to Spring 2019 (4). The report shows that children in these schools made accelerated progress and the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils was significantly narrowed.
More recently, in evaluating the impact of Power of Reading on children in the Early Years (5), the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers was smaller in research schools compared to all pupils within the local area. And when we compared the engagement and attainment of project children at the start and end of their Reception year, the findings were significant with double the number of children working at age-related expectations in Language and Literacy Areas of Learning.
Key recommendations for a challenging English curriculum
So what can we learn from this research to support classroom practice?
If we can create an English curriculum that is evidenced to close the disadvantage gap through exposure to and engagement in high-quality texts leading to increased world and vocabulary knowledge and writing outcomes in which children make deliberate choices for their own readers, we are creating a curriculum in which all children have access to experiences that increase their self-efficacy and the chance to be more able.
Our Associate Schools – in some of the most disadvantaged communities in England – observe children working at and achieving greater depth and this is articulated beautifully in a recent case study from the team at Miriam Lord Community Primary School in Bradford.
The Power of Reading practice and provision at Miriam Lord – and the outcomes observed – connect deeply with NACE’s core principles and can be framed as key recommendations for a challenging English curriculum:
Ensure teachers have strong subject knowledge of high-quality children’s literature so they can give children access to a range of literary forms within and across all year groups.
“[The children] can talk with a greater depth of knowledge of authors… so their ability to compare themes, characters, likes, dislikes is so much better than it ever was and then that communicates into the writing.”
Choose books in which they see their own and other realities represented so that you can build authentic reader and writer identities in all children which allow them to develop and demonstrate their abilities.
“The children need to see themselves in books – or at least an element of their lives – in books. They need access to books that they can connect to and that will draw them in and I think the book choices we give them here give them a bigger hook, certainly than the book choices I had when I was growing up.”
Use a range of non-reductive, social and creative teaching approaches to deepen children’s understanding and broaden their experiences, including drama, artwork and storytelling.
“It provides lots of opportunities for immersion and exploration which is really important for a number of children that come to our school because they’ve got deprivation of experience so they don’t get to have those exciting days out or lots of real-world experiences so the books give them that and then they get to participate in role play and activities which enthuse them which then feeds into their writing process.”
Follow an authentic writing process in which children are making meaning from well-crafted written language, then engage in making conscious choices with their own writing. Focus not on the ‘what’ but the ‘why’ when making such choices, within a community of readers and writers.
“It puts children’s enjoyment at the centre of everything. It’s not focused solely on the final written output and the success criteria which was the case for a number of years and it made the whole writing process quite onerous and quite boring for children.”
Make explicit the connections children can make between growing literacy knowledge and skills and in wider curriculum work so that children have opportunity to thrive across a range of contexts and throughout the curriculum.
“It has wider themes threaded through it like geography, history, citizenship so it’s not just English as a stand-alone subject.”
Plus: save the date! On Friday 3rd October NACE and CLPE are collaborating on a “member meetup” event (free for staff at NACE member schools) exploring approaches to sustain pleasure and challenge in reading and literacy across Key Stages 2 and 3. Details coming soon to the NACE community calendar.
Bob Cox, author of the Opening Doors books, shares some key principles and strategies for a challenging primary English curriculum – based on the latest addition to the series.
Every school’s intent is to be ambitious for its pupils. In the privileged role I have as educationist, consultant and writer, I so often admire displays, website quotes, inspirational messages and exhortations to pitch high and achieve dreams; yet I also realise how complex this can be to apply in the classroom on a day-to-day basis.
Primary teachers are expected to be experts in many subjects, so detailed support is needed in specific domains. Along with my team of ‘opening doors’ consultants, and with case studies being explored constantly with the schools in our network, we have been able to condense and express into a new publication some of the key principles and strategies needed to develop high-quality, ambitious primary English from which every pupil can benefit. This means that pupils who are already advanced and need regular immersion in literature, language and ideas are provided for in rich and creative ways: not by discrete divisions from others or by labelling, but through a challenge culture which encourages and enables all pupils to aspire and reach further.
It's not just a question of talking about risk-taking, the unexpected, the wonder of top-class thinking skills, philosophy and quirky writing; it’s using the resources and strategies to make this all happen. How many keynote speeches have I attended over the years receiving deserved rounds of applause for charisma and style and social justice – but giving little indication for teachers who are not subject experts of where to actually begin.
I’ve seen schools hugely idealistic, wonderfully caring and totally committed, wandering in the dark for pathways to subject-specific depth. It’s all too easy then to adopt a package, a linear routeway, a stepped process which often tends to leave high performance learners revisiting concepts previously mastered. This can leave teachers de-skilled in the longer term too, as the delivery stages can dominate thinking and planning more than creative ideas. The latter needs the constant fuel of new challenging texts, quirky possibilities and curiosity. That starts with the teacher’s autonomy and nurturing of ambition. I am seeing this happen across our network and it’s very exciting!
In short, personalising approaches in any way can becomes harder if teaching to the middle rather than beyond the top takes a cultural grip. If models of excellence and ambition start to be squeezed, teachers themselves may lose sight of their own potential and ‘age-related’ notions become a goal rather than a starting point.
Our new book ‘Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary English’ provides the guide that schools have been asking for to confront that key issue of HOW ambition expresses itself in English, with a mixture of research, case studies, ideas and examples of pupils’ writing.
Essentially, high performance learners will benefit from being in a school where challenge for everyone is a priority!
Five key principles for achieving this:
Pitch lessons beyond the level of the most advanced pupil.
Scaffold and intervene as appropriate for others.
Link quality texts from the past to the present and across the globe.
Exploit the potential of literature, including poetry, to give scope for new learning and deep knowledge acquisition as well as general knowledge.
Plan for sequencing and progression of knowledge via concepts in English.
Five key strategies for successful implementation:
Access support is needed continually, even for advanced pupils; this could include chunking stages; visual literacy; music; drama; questioning as a culture.
Productive group work and structured classroom talk provides the explorations of style and language needed for in-depth comprehension of quality texts.
Diversify the question layout to meet the needs of the pupils.
Develop quality writing via taster drafts which can link into sustained writing.
Zoom in to teach the specifics of English; zoom out to offer linked-in whole-text reading.
This is just a snapshot of the exciting work which we facilitate and activate. It’s very fulfilling. Our work is particularly in tune with attempts to inject high aspiration by matching intent to resources and approaches which will lift pupils’ standards and confidence.
Visit our website to read more about the five resource books in the series and the new book which will become the lead one, as it puts into words what schools have already been achieving to inspire so many more to follow. It’s time to make your primary English that much more exciting!
“Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary English: Pitching high and including all” is available to order now from Amazon or Crown House Publishing.
NACE members can benefit from a 20% discount from all purchases from the Crown House Publishing website. Log in to our member offers page for details.
Zoe Enser, author of the new book Bringing Forth the Bard, shares eight key steps to help your students get to grips with (and enjoy!) the symbolic, allusive, musical, motif-packed language of Shakespeare.
The language of Shakespeare is perhaps one of the greatest barriers to most readers unfamiliar with its style, allusions and patterns. Shakespeare’s language can be something of a leveller as it doesn’t necessarily matter how proficient you are at reading generally; all students (and indeed many adults) will stumble across his words and need to deploy a different approach to reading than they are used to.
With so many finding the language problematic, there is a temptation to strip some of the complexity away; to focus instead on summaries or modern adaptations. There is, though, much to be gained by examining his words as they appear, much as you would when exploring a poem with your class.
Getting it can be really satisfying, and a key light-bulb moment for me at school was seeing how unpicking meaning could be looked at like a problem to be solved, much like solving equations in maths or finding the intricate pieces of a jigsaw. Most importantly perhaps is that his use of poetry, imagery and musicality frequently stays with us, and lines from Shakespeare that linger in our mind and our everyday language remain due to their crafting. We want to allow students to have that opportunity too.
Here are eight steps to bring Shakespeare’s language to life in your own classroom:
1. Begin by giving students an overview of the plot, characters and themes. Good quality performance, coupled with summary and questioning, will mean students arrive at language analysis ready to see how it relates to these bigger ideas. Audio readings of the plays can also be useful here to allow them to hear the language spoken and to model fluency.
2. Reassure students they won’t get it all immediately. Explain that the joy in studying Shakespeare’s language comes from the gradual understanding we gain and how it enriches our understanding, which is a process: one which even those familiar with his work will continue to go through. It is a process where we layer understanding, deepening each time we revisit it. If students have been used to exploring simpler texts this might be a challenge at first to consider this different approach, but model this for them, demonstrating how you can return to the same quote or extract again and again to delve deeper each time.
3. Look at short extracts and quotes from across a play or a range of texts to examine patterns and connections. Linger on individual words and then trace them as they are used elsewhere so students can notice where these links are and hypothesise as to why.
4. Use freely available searches to explore the frequency and location of key words and phrases. For example, a search on Open-Source Shakespeare reveals there are 41 direct references to ‘blood’ or ‘bloody’ in the play Macbeth, some of which are clustered within a few lines. This provides an opportunity to explore why this is the case and what Shakespeare was doing with these language choices. Equally, looking for references to the sun in Romeo and Juliet reveals 17 instances, and if then cross-referenced with light it brings forth a further 34 references, suggesting that there is a motif running through the text which demands further attention. Allowing students to explore this trail in their discussions and consider the prevalence of some words over others can reveal much about the themes Shakespeare was trying to convey too. For example, simply looking at the light and dark references in Romeo and Juliet enables students to see the binaries he has woven into the play to mirror the idea of conflict.
5. Discuss the imagery Shakespeare is trying to create with his language via pictures, selecting those which are most appropriate to convey his choices at different points. Thinking about how different audiences may respond to these is also a useful way to examine alternative interpretations of a single word, line or idea. This can also support learners with different needs as they have visual images to link to ideas, especially abstract ones, repeated throughout the text. This will provide them with something more concrete to link to the text and, as images are repeated throughout the narrative, can act as support for the working memory and enhance fluency of retrieval as they recognise the recurring images visually. This can be particularly useful for EAL students, supporting them to follow the plot and explore the patterns that emerge.
6. Teach aspects of metre (such as iambic and trochaic pentameter), ensuring students have lots of opportunities to hear the language spoken aloud so they can appreciate the musicality of the language and choice of form. Using methods such as walking the text, whereby students physically walk around the room whilst reading the text and responding to the punctuation, can be a powerful way to convey how a character feels at any given point. Lots of phrases, short clauses, or single syllable words can change the pace of the reading and we should model this and give students the opportunity to examine how this may then impact on performance. Long, languid sentences can create a different performance, and where the punctuation has finally landed in his work can reveal a lot about how a character or scene has been read. Try different ways of reading a single line to illustrate why we place emphasis on certain words and pauses at different points.
7. Read the text aloud together. As well as modelling reading for students, employing practices such as choral reading (where the class all read the text aloud together with you) or echo reading (where they repeat lines back) can be another way in which we remove the barriers the language can create. Students build confidence over time as the language becomes more familiar but also they do not feel so exposed as they are reading with the group, and not alone.
8. Let students play with and manipulate the language so they are familiar with it, and it doesn’t become a block to their interaction with the plays. Pre-teach the vocabulary, letting students consider words in isolation and explore quotes so that they don’t become overwhelmed at trying to interpret them. Even translating short phrases and passages can provide a useful coding activity which can support later analysis.
Zoe Enser was a classroom teacher for 20 years, during which time she was also a head of English and a senior leader with a responsibility for staff development and school improvement. This blog post is an excerpt from her latest book, Bringing Forth the Bard (Crown House Publishing). NACE members can benefit from a 20% discount on this and all purchases from the Crown House Publishing website; for details log in to our member offers page.
This term’s NACE member meetup brought together colleagues from across our network to explore the theme “developing oracy for high achievement”. Following a morning of CPD presentations, the afternoon session was dedicated to sharing examples of effective approaches to developing oracy skills, to support cognitively challenging learning and high achievement.
Here are some of the approaches shared:
1. Get all staff members on board
One common theme from the event was the importance of getting all staff members on board, through a shared vision and whole-school approach. Salusbury Primary School has approached this using the Voice 21 oracy benchmarks, and developed specific inset sessions based on priorities identified through a staff and student survey.
A similar approach – again starting with staff and student surveys – was adopted at Maiden Erlegh School, and you can read more about this here.
Alongside a shared vision and framework, members highlighted the importance of opportunities for flexibility, innovation, collaboration, feedback, and sharing what’s working across the school.
2. Set and model high expectations for spoken responses
Another recurrent theme was the setting and modelling of high expectations for spoken responses. This could include insisting on the use of full sentences, accurate grammar, and appropriate tier 2 and 3 vocabulary.
To support students with this, approaches include sharing sentence starters with learners, using a “bounce it on” model to collaboratively build discussions, and the use of ethics debates to help learners develop confidence in expressing opinions.
There was consensus that such techniques have led to students becoming more confident and accurate in both spoken and written communication.
3. Word(s) of the day
At Haybridge High School, a dedicated section of the board is used to share key terms relevant to the lesson – including challenging vocabulary and discourse markers to structure talk. The meaning of the words is taught explicitly, with call-and-response vocalisation to aid pronunciation. Learners are then challenged to use these words during discussions within the lesson.
Similarly, Harris Academy Beckenham uses a “word of the day”. Students start by vocalising the word together, then using it in a sentence. The word is then revisited throughout the lesson, so all students use the word multiple times in different contexts.
Again, members reported increased retention, confidence and accuracy. In addition, the additional vocabulary can open doors for learners to think abstractly or conceptually about a topic.
4. Vocabulary bullseye
Another approach to developing vocabulary was shared by Brook Field Primary School, where learners play “vocabulary bullseye”. In this game, key words are shown within a bullseye diagram. Children are challenged to use the words to explain a concept – gaining one point for words in the outer ring, two for the middle, and three for the inner circle. Points can be deducted for “umms” and other filler words.
This game can be played either with the bullseye diagram visible or hidden, depending on the stage in the teaching sequence. It has led to learners using higher-tier vocabulary more confidently and effectively, in both spoken and written communication.
5. Public speaking clubs and competitions
Several schools shared the use of public speaking clubs and competitions, providing further opportunities for learners to develop oracy skills. At Pangbourne College, this has been approached in several ways, including public speaking workshops as part of leadership training for sixth-form students, as well as integration within the Year 9 English curriculum.
As part of the latter initiative, learners are taught rhetorical devices, and have the opportunity to plan and delivery speeches, culminating in “The Declamations Cup” competition – complete with prizes and a trophy for the winner.
6. Be consistent (but not “perfect”)
Finally, members agreed on the importance of consistency across the school, and ensuring oracy is embedded into everyday routines so that staff and students alike have ample opportunities for practice.
Alongside this, several emphasised the importance of ensuring students know they don’t need to be “perfect” when speaking – and that in fact, the more opportunities they have to practice, the more comfortable they become with taking risks and making mistakes. Practice doesn’t make perfect!
New research from ImpactEd has found that pupils who have high confidence in and enjoyment of reading have higher wellbeing and lower anxiety than their peers. In this blog post, the ImpactEd team share insights from the research, and suggestions as to how schools and families can support children’s reading and mental health.
At ImpactEd we recently released a piece of research (in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, TutorMate and Place2Be), which looked at the relationship between reading and wellbeing for young people across England.
In an educational landscape recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with ongoing concerns about unequal loss of learning due to school closures and concerns for children’s post-pandemic mental health, we believe this research, which explores the relationships between pupils’ reading experiences, attitudes and behaviours and their mental wellbeing, is hugely timely and important.
We surveyed almost 30,000 pupils and findings show that pupils who scored a five (the highest score) in confidence in reading had wellbeing levels that were over 30% higher, and anxiety levels that were over 20% lower than pupils who scored a one (the lowest score). Similarly, pupils who enjoyed reading very much had wellbeing levels that were over 6% higher than those who didn’t enjoy reading at all.
We spoke to partners who contributed to this research to get their perspectives on the implications for children, schools and families, and they shared some valuable suggestions on what educators, parents and carers can do to support children’s reading and mental health.
1. Read little and often
To support children to develop their reading, and thus support their emotional wellbeing, Emma Bell, Executive Director at Innovations for Learning UK, suggests a focus on reading “little and often”, rather than making reading a chore. In the video below she shares that reading can often be integrated into things families are already doing, such as reading recipes, road signs or subtitles on the telly. She notes that these small activities can have a big impact, and create a positive reading culture.
2. Talk to older children about their reading
Our research also revealed that pupils frequently want support with their reading, regardless of their age. While many pupils mentioned reading directly with family members (“I would like my family to read with me, especially my little sister”) older pupils’ suggestions for support included parents and carers asking them questions about what they are reading, and giving or suggesting books that they might enjoy (“Ask me questions about what I’m reading so I can answer and express my feelings on the book”).
Jonathan Douglas, CEO of the National Literacy Trust, references these comments when he shares in the video below that “no child is too old to be engaged” in reading. He refers to suggestions mentioned in the research, noting that a great way to support children’s education and wellbeing is by initiating conversations with them about their reading.
3. Use stories and characters to open up discussions about mental health
Some more suggestions for supporting children’s reading and mental wellbeing are given by Dr Julia Clements, Principal Educational Psychologist at Place2Be in the video below. She suggests that when reading with children, adults could discuss any challenges that characters in the book are going through and open up a conversation about what they can do when faced with difficult situations in life. This could support children with their understanding of and resilience towards challenging situations.
Read more...
For more findings from our research into reading and wellbeing, and more suggestions on how to support children’s reading at school and at home, the full report is available here.
Bob Cox, author of the Opening Doors books, reflects on the importance of high-quality, challenging texts for all pupils, and key factors for the successful implementation of a challenging English curriculum.
As the author of the Opening Doors series of books for English at KS1, 2 and 3, I’ve had the pleasure of developing a UK-wide network of schools and organisations committed to providing an enriched diet of English where every pupil has the opportunity to relish new challenges. This is particularly pertinent for those advanced pupils whose whole morale can be threatened by revisiting concepts they have already mastered; but it is just as vital for pupils whose reading scores may be low.
We are seeing the high-pitch approaches, encouraged by so many educationists, being turned into reality in the day-to-day classroom by teachers using top-quality texts, poetry, quirky short extracts and contemporary children’s literature with a ‘meaty’ depth. The sheer scope of the language and style is a springboard to genuine comprehension journeys with the teacher’s questioning, knowledge transmission and fascinating oracy being delivered through an inspiring range of methodology. Such is the scope for learning in challenging texts, that the knowledge acquired in the reading can then be applied to the writing.
For example, just read a few lines of Dionne Brand’s Wind:
I pulled a hummingbird out of the sky one day
but let it go
I heard a song and carried it with me
On my cotton streamers
I dropped it on an ocean and lifted up a wave
With my bare hands…
Now see what Faith Gorman, a pupil at Red Barn Primary, has written:
I came in the night,
Luminous black,
Dashing, darting,
I made the street lamps flicker and jerk as I swept by,
I saw the foxes and owls capture their prey…
You can well imagine the range of teaching methodology, word power building and drafting that will have gone on in the process, but without Dionne Brand’s image-making and without overtly exploring the language and techniques, the crafting of the writing would have been less imaginative. There would also have been less knowledge about language acquired: personification, rhythm and meaning; specific vocabulary choices.
Using complex texts and developing the teaching strategies to go with them is key: “start kids out with complex texts that they cannot read successfully; then teach them to read those texts well.” – Timothy Shanahan, February 2017
In my work many years ago as an LA consultant and a freelance deliverer of provision for able pupils – then called ‘gifted and talented’ – there was huge interest from schools in the potential behind the devising of a top-class curriculum; but there were huge concerns about pupils with low reading scores being left behind. That made a lot of sense. In addition, there were concerns that pupils with high learning potential actually disliked risk-taking so much that moving them on to high-level texts and questions was not easy. Schools still report that pupils with very high potential can get upset about an incorrect answer, whereas other pupils can be so used to difficulties that they find it normal to ask their way out of them. [For more on this, take a look at NACE’s work on perfectionism in partnership with York St John University.]
Clearly, challenge for every pupil must become a habit, a norm, an expectation – and then the pupils demand it themselves instead of being wary! I’ve seen this happen in many schools. Resilience grows and healthy ambition prospers. Getting unstuck becomes fascinating, not threatening.
So, when I came to write books for English, pitched high, often asking more of pupils in terms of depth of thinking and breadth of quality reading, I was determined to ensure inclusive routes to excellence which would support equality of opportunity and social justice, and recognising the entitlement to high-class literature – from past to present and across the globe – for all learners, but pitched beyond where the most advanced pupil might be.
These are some key ways in which we have supported schools which are following the Opening Doors approach, and schools have fed back to us as a community growing in knowledge together.
So, what allows those doors to open?
A whole-school action plan is needed to design an English curriculum which progresses from challenge to challenge, concept to concept, and through transition into KS3.
Access strategies should flow through the curriculum: scaffolding, responding to need, clarifying, exemplifying and adapting. Pitch high but offer support when needed.
See the sample units under free resources on my website for examples of our radial questioning layouts, which end the notion of very able pupils treading water on easy questions. We move them straight to high-level challenges if they are ready.
Opening Doors schools build in whole-text reading in rich and immersive ways, with plenty of choice. Alongside this, extracts provide a focus for language study, depth and comprehension explorations; link reading provides range and diversity in an ethos of skilled facilitation and expectation.
Teachers develop their own reading and expertise, offering that to pupils as the most wonderful opening of doors to general knowledge, increased confidence and articulation of ideas that there can be.
So, the quality of the text explored deepens learning immeasurably, and that new learning is applied in ambitious writing – but it’s the teacher who makes the difference! Without you, it’s much harder for this to happen.
Reference
Brand, Dionne (2006; originally published 1979), Earth Magic. Toronto: Kids Can Press Ltd.
Full unit features in: Cox, Bob (2019), Opening Doors to a Richer English Curriculum, ages 6-9. Carmarthenshire: Crown House.
Find out more…
To learn more about the Opening Doors approach, explore Bob Cox’s website. Plus: Bob online on 13 October 2022 for an exclusive live webinar for NACE members – register here.
If you would like to buy the Opening Doors books for your school, remember that NACE members can currently benefit from a 20% discount on all purchases from the Crown House Publishing website. For details of this and all current member discounts, visit our member offers page (login required).
Posted By Ilona Bushell,
28 March 2022
Updated: 22 March 2022
Ilona Bushell, Assistant Editor at The Day
Telling the truth about the world we share has become one of the heroic endeavours of the age amidst an ever-changing digital tsunami of information. Effectively embedding journalism in your school is vital to equip young citizens with the skills needed to develop a healthy worldview, engage in a democratic society and tackle the world’s biggest challenges, leading the way to a brighter future.
There is no doubt that news literacy helps develop skills that are valuable right across the curriculum – and prepares children for their adult life. As these young people become voters, tax-payers and earners, they will have the basic tools to navigate the noise, confusion and fog of reality.
Here at the online newspaper for schools, The Day, we call the regular consumption of news a “real-world curriculum”. In February 2022 we launched The Global Young Journalist Awards (GYJA), a free competition open to all under 18s around the world. We aim to inspire young people to build a better world through storytelling, and the ambition is for GYJA to become the leading award for youth journalism.
What, why, and why now?
Written entries are welcome, but the awards are open to work in any medium – including video, photo, audio, graphic or podcast – opening up the floor to different student abilities and areas of interest. The aim is to showcase a variety of voices and encourage young people to report on what truly matters to them.
American actor and comedian Tina Fey, who will be among the panel of GYJA judges, said, “There has never been a more important time to get young people involved in truth-seeking. It is vital for our future that journalists investigate without fear or favour, and this competition is an excellent way of inspiring children to get involved.”
The judging panel also includes TV broadcaster Ayo Akinwolere, the BBC’s gender and identity correspondent Megha Mohan, the FT’s top data journalism developer Ændra Rininsland, and Guardian columnist Afua Hirsch.
Indian computer scientist and educational theorist Sugata Mitra sees the awards as an opportunity to see glimpses of unexplored minds: “I have found children to be good at making up things. They can assemble all sorts of information into stories that are, at worst, fascinating and, at best, brutally honest. A journalist that can think like a nine-year-old will be astonishing… Can nine-year-olds think like a journalist?”
How are the awards aligned to school curricula?
There is an explosion of great reporting today on topics relevant to every area of the school curriculum. The award categories listed below are designed to fit within students’ areas of study and contribute to a rich real-world curriculum. Through their storytelling, entrants can build on important skills including communication, research, fact-checking, confidence, literacy, oracy, individuality and empathy.
GYJA categories:
1. Campaigning journalist of the year
2. Interviewer of the year
3. International journalist of the year
4. Political journalist of the year
5. Mental health journalist of the year
6. Environment journalist of the year
7. Science & technology journalist of the year
8. Race & gender journalist of the year
9. Sports journalist of the year
10. Climate journalist of the year (primary only)
How can schools get involved?
Teachers can download the Awards entry pack at www.theday.co.uk/gyja2022. The entry pack and website include a host of free resources for students. There are top tips from sponsors and judges, prompt ideas, best practice examples and guidance on the six journalistic formats they can use.
What’s in store for the winners?
Winners will be announced at a live virtual ceremony in June. Award winners will have their words, video, photo, graphic or podcast published on The Day’s website and be given the chance to connect with role models from the world of media and current affairs.
Winners will be invited to join The Day’s Student Advisory Board for a year, while winners and runners-up will be offered a day’s work experience in a national newsroom and receive trophies.
Competition sponsors include The Fairtrade Foundation, The Edge Foundation, Oddizzi, Brainwaves, National Literacy Trust and Hello World.
The Day is a digital newspaper for use in schools and colleges. It has a daily average circulation of 378,000 students, the largest readership among those aged 18 and under of any news title. Over 1,300 schools are subscribers. NACE members can benefit from a 20% discount on subscriptions to The Day; for details of this and all NACE member offers, log in and visit our member offers page.
Posted By Daisy Morley,
28 March 2022
Updated: 22 March 2022
Daisy Morley, primary teacher and history lead at Calcot Schools, outlines her approach to identifying and challenging more able learners in history – building historical knowledge, understanding and enquiry skills.
As a teacher it currently seems to me that a lot of attention is given to the children who need to meet age-related expectations. While these pupils’ needs are important and their needs must be met, this focus can mean that greater depth and ‘more able’ pupils are often forgotten. It is essential that more able learners are not neglected and are given ample opportunities to showcase their knowledge and shine.
History is one subject where, through careful consideration and planning, more able learners can thrive. Within this blog post, I will examine how to identify and challenge more able learners in history, in the context of primary teaching. These thoughts derive from personal experiences and from extensive research on the relevant literature and recent Ofsted reports. I will focus on ‘historical knowledge’, ‘historical understanding’ and ‘historical enquiry’ in order to suggest how we can think about challenging more able learners in history.
More able in history or just literacy?
Often, children whose strength lies in history will find that they are confident in literacy. Although strong literacy skills will greatly benefit their ability to share, form and communicate their ideas and findings, this does not necessarily mean that they are or will be more able historians. Interestingly, I think that the personal interests of children play a pivotal part in whether they have excelled in history beyond their age-related expectations. This is true from children as young as Year 1, to pupils nearing the end of their primary education. As educators, particularly if you are a subject leader, it is essential that time is taken to identify those children with a personal interest in history, and to provide them with opportunities to showcase their knowledge.
The building blocks: historical knowledge
First and foremost, the subject of history is rooted in knowledge; it is a knowledge-based subject (Runeckles, 2018: 10). While it is essential that pupils’ analytical skills are developed, this cannot be done without first ensuring that all pupils have a secure grounding in historical knowledge. This is also made clear in recent literature from Ofsted inspectors. Tim Jenner, HMI, Ofsted’s subject lead for history, has stated that when teaching history there must be an emphasis placed on content and knowledge (Jenner, 2021). In the most recent Ofsted reports, the term ‘knowledge’ has been divided into knowledge of ‘substantive concepts’, which relates to broader concepts, such as empire, monarch and economy, and ‘chronological knowledge’, which refers to the broader concepts within history, such as the key features of Anglo-Saxon England (Jenner, 2021).
The National Curriculum does expect pupils to “understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed” (DFE, 2013). The enquiry and analytical skills required to thrive in history are essential. However, these skills cannot be developed without first imparting the key historical knowledge to children.
Facts are the building blocks of history.
To emphasise this point, let us look at an example. Imagine a teacher wants to include a module on Boudicca in their history curriculum. Boudicca is listed in the National Curriculum for History under a non-statuary example, and has crucial ties with the statuary module on the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain. For the pupils to understand Boudicca’s historical significance, they would first need to have a secure grasp of the key features of the Roman Empire. Following this, they would then need to be taught the key components of Britain during this time. This knowledge would be essential before embarking on a specialised study of Boudicca. If the teacher then wished to hone and develop pupils’ analytical and enquiry skills, they could include a lesson on the conflicting sources that are available regarding Boudicca. To understand the primary written sources, however, they would first need to have a secure understanding of the historical knowledge of Boudicca, the Roman Empire, and the political landscape of Britain during this time.
Building historical knowledge takes time, as it requires a build-up of knowledge. As a result, educators may not see this accumulation of knowledge until a significant period of learning time has passed. Nevertheless, for children to develop their enquiry skills, historical knowledge is essential.
Developing historical understanding through open-ended questions
To see progression within a pupil’s historical understanding, historical knowledge, understanding and enquiry are best taught alongside one another. Historical knowledge and understanding are inextricably linked, and it would be difficult to separate these concepts within every lesson. Nevertheless, if a child is demonstrating the potential to achieve beyond the age-related expectations in history, their historical understanding could be one way to identify this – and thus to extend and challenge their learning. More able learners often process the key historical knowledge more quickly than their peers, which in turn means that they often quickly grasp the role of criteria in formulating and articulating an historical explanation or argument. Furthermore, more able learners are frequently able to draw generalisations and conclusions from a range of sources of evidence. One way to identify this could be ensuring that teachers ask open-ended questions, as the answers that children arrive at depend largely on questions asked.
I try to implement these open-ended questions in lessons, particularly across Key Stage 2. One approach which has worked particularly well came to light in a Year 3 lesson on “What did the diet of a typical Stone Age person encompass in prehistoric Britain?” This lesson relied on enquiry-based learning, which, although sometimes more difficult to deliver, lent itself well to inputting open-ended questions and highlighted the investigative nature of history. The children were given ‘organic evidence’ (pretend human waste), which pivoted around unpicking evidence and how historians use different types of evidence to find out about the past.
From this lesson, after unpicking our evidence, all of the children were able to deduce that prehistoric people ate nuts, seeds and berries. Pupils with a more advanced understanding were able to conclude that prehistoric inhabitants had to find food for themselves and that this is one of the reasons people from that time are called ‘hunter-gatherers’, because they had to hunt and gather their food.
For the children who had already come to the conclusions about hunter-gatherers, I asked more open-ended questions, which required them to draw their own conclusions, using the evidence that had been assessed, including “What about the meat?”, “Why haven’t we found meat in the organic evidence?” Some of these children were able to utilise their knowledge from previous lessons on Stone Age Britain and concluded that there were certain dangers in finding meat. They explained that people had to kill the animal and prepare it themselves, which was dangerous. One child even went on to say that meat also rots and that may have been why there was no surviving meat within the evidence. Although these open-ended questions help to stretch the more able learners, it does require teachers to direct the more challenging questions to the correct pupils, which relies on teachers knowing which of the pupils are excelling in history.
Making links: developing historical enquiry skills
I often find that historical enquiry skills are the hardest to master. From teaching this within lessons, it seems the key component to identifying the more able learners in history is to identify whether the pupils can link history together. Can they use their knowledge to comment on how the lives of people from the past have changed over time? Can they identify trends and commonalities between contemporary cultures? Do they notice how key changes transformed the lives and the culture of a particular civilisation? Perhaps most essentially, can the more able children use their historical knowledge and understanding to draw conclusions on events, people and places from the past? This relies on a pupil being able to problem-solve and reason with evidence, and apply this knowledge in order to evaluate the evidence in question.
Below is an example of a child’s work. The lesson was titled “What was bronze used for?”
I have chosen this example because this pupil was able to link their knowledge together, to form their own conclusions, which were based on key factual knowledge. For example, this child independently came to the conclusion that because their weapons were better, their quality of life improved. Amazingly, this pupil also commented on the fact that people from the Bronze Age in Britain no longer had to kill animals to make clothes, which meant that their lives really changed. Below is another example of a pupil drawing from their accumulated knowledge, in order to compare and contrast civilisations:
This is another example of a greater-depth learner in action. They had knowledge of Greece and Rome, and a battle that took place. Already, it is clear that they have an understanding of the cross-over and interaction between these two civilisations. Not only this, but they also know that trade took place between the two civilisations. Finally, they have commented on how this trade is clear from primary evidence. This pupil has not only demonstrated that they hold a secure knowledge of the Battle of Corinth, but they have also highlighted their ability to use evidence to draw their own historically valid conclusions.
To support and enable pupils to draw conclusions and analogies from historical sources, it is vital for the teacher to model how to do this (Runeckles, 2018:52). In mathematics, for example, you would not expect children to solve a worded problem on multiplication, which required reasoning, without first teaching them the basic skills of multiplication. How often do you model being a historian to your class?
For example, imagine you are teaching your class about the Spartans. The written sources on Sparta derive largely from sources written at a much later date, and not composed by Spartans. One could take an example from a Roman scholar (Aristotle or Plato) on the Spartan education system, the Agoge, and explain that these individuals were Roman and lived two hundred years after Classical Greece had ended. One could then ask, “How might that affect their account?” This sort of task could be implemented within a range of topics and encourages a dialogue between teachers and pupils. If these enquiry-based examples and questions are built into lessons, across modules, pupils are provided with opportunities to enhance their ability to analyse evidence and draw conclusions from a vast amount of evidence.
And finally…
Although I have separated the teaching of history into historical knowledge, historical understanding and historical enquiry, ultimately each of these elements is best taught concurrently. It is possible to include each of these aspects within one lesson, particularly as they are inextricably linked.
Perhaps most importantly, it is crucial to ensure that teachers are ambitious, not only with curriculum coverage, but also with regards to their expectations of pupils. Regardless of whether pupils have demonstrated that they are more able, children of all abilities thrive on high expectations and on knowing their teacher believes they can and will accomplish great things. So get your young historians thinking!
Dawn Woods, Member Development Librarian, and Hannah Groves, Marketing and Communications Officer, School Library Association
If there is one subject a librarian can help teaching colleagues with, it is definitely history. From providing engaging reads for primary pupils to assisting with A-Level research for the curriculum or supporting EPQ projects, the school library is home to a wealth of resources.
For primary pupils, a history topic may start with a novel set during the period to be studied. Historical novels take the reader back to explore how life was during that time and can help explain the historical context. Library staff will be able to suggest a range of suitable titles to help with this, whatever the period.
GCSE-level students will be expected to read around the subject to complete their homework, and so the librarian will introduce pupils to the library catalogue to help them locate the resources available to them. As well as hardcopy books, e-books and online journals will be catalogued under subject headings, so students searching for their history topic are alerted to what the library holds on that subject, whatever the media format. By the time students are on their A-Level course, they will be using these to research curriculum topics and, in the case of the EPQ, on topics of their own choice.
Here are three key ways your school library can support the teaching of history:
1. Use the library catalogue as a research tool
School library staff will teach students that the library catalogue is a gateway to resources in many formats, all grouped under keyword headings, preparing our young people for independent learning. Once students go on to university they will require this very skill, so they will be well prepared for further study.
2. Share curated content and resources
Some libraries may present students with resources as a reading list, some may have Padlets or other online presentations. The value of these online presentations is that they take pupils directly to the sites librarians have already earmarked as useful for the topic. As Padlets contain all types of content – whether that be text, documents, images, videos or weblinks – librarians can bring together a wide range of material for a particular class or year group and subject. For example, this Padlet on ‘history for all ages’ contains reading lists as well as weblinks to safe sites for primary and secondary students. This means that young people are not wasting time finding unsuitable resources, which may lead them to the wrong conclusions.
3. Subscribe to online journals
If your school offers the EPQ, where older secondary students choose their own topic, students must research this themselves. The library is integral to this and subscriptions to online journals can help enormously here. The topic students are researching may be very specific and not generally covered in published books which, by the very nature of going through the publishing process, take a long time to be available. Research written up in journals is current and academically verified, so with a subscription to a resource such as JSTOR students have access to “peer-reviewed scholarly journals, respected literary journals, academic monographs, research reports, and primary sources from libraries’ special collections and archives.” [Another example is Hodder’s Review magazines, which NACE members recently trialled.]
The school library and library staff are your friends when teaching history to learners of any age, so do make sure you use their resources to save time for all.
About the School Library Association
The School Library Association (SLA) is a charity that works towards all schools in the UK having their own (or shared) staffed library. Our vision is for all school staff and children to have access to a wide and varied range of resources and have the support of an expert guide in reading, research, media and information literacy. To find out more about what the SLA could do for you, visit our website, follow us on Twitter, or get in touch.
Hodder Education’s Review magazines provide subject-specific expertise aimed at GCSE and A-level students, featuring the latest research, thought-provoking articles, exam-style questions and discussion points to deepen learners’ subject knowledge and develop independent learning skills.
Earlier this academic year, we partnered with Hodder on a live webinar for NACE members, followed by an opportunity to undertake a free trial subscription to the Review magazines, and then reconvening for an online focus group to share experiences, ideas and feedback.
Below are 15 ways NACE members suggested this resource could be used:
Wider reading – encouraging learners to read more widely in their subjects, developing deeper and broader subject knowledge
Flipped learning – tasking students with reading an article (or articles) on a topic ahead of a lesson, so they are prepared to discuss during class time (members noted that this approach benefits from practising reading comprehension during lesson time first)
Developing cultural capital – exposure to content, contexts, vocabulary, and text formats which learners might not otherwise encounter
Independent research and project work – to support independent research and projects such as EPQs, for example by using the digital archives to search on a particular theme
Developing literacy and vocabulary – exposure to subject-specific and advanced vocabulary; this was highlighted by some schools as a particular concern post-pandemic
Shared text during lessons – used to support lessons on a particular topic, and/or to develop comprehension skills
Developing exam skills – using the magazines’ links to specific exam skills/modules, and practice exam questions at the end of articles
Examples of academic/exam skills in practice – providing examples of how a text or topic could be approached and analysed, and ways of structuring an essay/response
Library resource – signposted to students and teachers by school librarian to ensure a diverse, challenging reading menu is available to all
Linking learning to real-world contexts – providing examples of how curriculum content is being applied in current contexts around the world, helping to bring learning to life
Broadening career horizons – examples of different careers in each subject area, giving learners exposure to a range of potential future pathways
Extracurricular provision – used as a resource to support subject-specific clubs, or general research/debate clubs
Developing critical thinking and oracy skills – to support strategies such as the Harkness method, as part of a wider focus on developing critical thinking and oracy skills
Exposure to academic research – preparing students for further education and career opportunities
Fresh perspectives on curriculum content – new angles and insights on well-established modules and topics – for teachers, as well as students!
NACE members can benefit from a 25% discount on Hodder's digital and print resources, including the Review magazines (excluding student £15 subscriptions). To access this, and our full range of member offers, log in and visit our member offers page.
Does your school use the Review magazines or a similar resource? To share your experience and ideas, contact communications@nace.co.uk
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