Let’s Talk
Literacy
First Stage Progress
A 45 minute summary of the first stage of the Reading Theme
A live document outlining the findings so far on the theme of reading.
Progress Report - Week 1 - General Questions
Progress Report - Week 2 - Reading Recovery and UFLI
Progress Report - Week 3 - Dyslexia
Podcast: Interview with Dee O'Toole
Missing Links
1️⃣ Irish Research on Reading Recovery
We’ve heard teachers defending Reading Recovery, but not necessarily people currently delivering it, training others in it, researching it in Ireland, or managing it nationally. The strongest criticism has come from outside Reading Recovery. The strongest defence has largely come from former users.
2️⃣ Teacher Educators
Several contributors have effectively said: “College didn’t teach me how to teach reading.” That’s a significant claim. What is taught in Initial Teacher Education?
3️⃣ Parents of Struggling Readers
We’ve had some references to parents, but not many direct voices. What support did they receive? What worked? What didn’t? How difficult was it to access assessments? The discussion is currently very school-centred.
4️⃣ People who disagree with the premise that schools have a literacy problem.
Almost everyone contributing so far starts from the assumption that something is wrong. Maybe we’re being too negative!
5 Big Questions
1️⃣ What is Ireland’s plan to ensure every child becomes a successful reader?
We seem to have a collection of programmes, interventions, philosophies and initiatives that don’t always connect into a coherent national vision. We need to ask questions about this. What outcomes are we trying to achieve? How will we measure success? What role should phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension play? What interventions should exist when children struggle?
2️⃣ Are we giving reading enough time and priority?
Everyone says reading is the foundation of learning. But are we behaving as though it is? If reading is the gateway to all learning, should it dominate the early years curriculum? What should be removed if more literacy time is needed? Are schools trying to do too much?
3️⃣ What matters more: programmes or expertise?
Reading Recovery. UFLI. Jolly Phonics. Science of Reading. Again and again contributors came back to the same conclusion: Good teachers seem to get good results regardless of programme.
So perhaps the question isn’t which programme is best. Are we searching for silver bullets? Should we invest more in teacher knowledge than programmes?
4️⃣. How should we support children who struggle most?
The dyslexia discussion exposed this question very clearly. Should support come through: Better classroom teaching? SET support? Dyslexia specialists? Reading classes? Reading schools? A combination of all of these?
5️⃣ How much of literacy is a school problem and how much is a societal problem?
Schools teach reading but schools do not raise children alone. What role should parents play? How much can schools realistically achieve on their own? Are literacy outcomes shaped more by home than school? What supports should exist beyond the classroom?
🙋🏻♂️ What exactly are we going to do differently about reading in the next 5 years?
🙋🏻♂️ Why are many children still leaving primary school unable to read fluently after 8 years in the system?
Because many children’s needs are not being met, there is almost no training in SEND, and it blocks access to learning even when their impairment is not cognitive. This is exactly why so many parents deregister their children and their children get much better results outside of school.
Time allocations in the PCF are the elephant in the room for literacy instruction. 39 minutes a day at infant level, rising to 57 mins for stage 2, then dropping sharply back down to 45 mins at stages 3 & 4. This was not thought through. Most teachers spend more time than this, which shows a real disconnect between policy and practice.
We need to ensure all children have access to structured literacy based in the science of reading . Without that chikdren are being failed . We need a prioper evaluation of why we are still throwing so much money and resourcing into reading recovery in irish classrooms
Teachers are overwhelmed with needs in their classrooms. Up to parents to advocate for their children and sadly some children don’t have this.
We definitely need more reading classes. Our school is one of three reading schools in Dublin.We have had to refuse admission to over 200 children for the past number of years due to oversubscription. The department have said they are not opening new reading schools or classes.