Case Studies – RWMP

Cargill Open Plan School, Tokoroa

Untitled Document

This is an account from one of the schools, or clusters of schools, that have received funding from the Reading, Writing and Mathematics Proposals Pool (RWMP) to support programmes in reading, writing and mathematics for students years 1 to 6.

Tokoroa, a rural South Waikato town, has a diverse population, including a number of immigrant groups. There is a considerable level of transience arising from unsettled industry conditions. As its name suggest, Cargill School is designed as an open-plan facility, with three pods of three classes each. This environment supports children's total development, and enables them to progress at their own pace while maintaining friendships and continuing relationships with the teachers. To keep class sizes small in the early years, an additional class is created during the year to cater for new entrants.

The issues

Screening of new entrants, and observation over the years, demonstrated that many children were arriving at school ill-equipped to settle into a classroom or participate in literacy activities. They were often restless, were unable to formulate or answer questions, found it difficult to focus on a task, and were not familiar with books or print. Some needed support to improve their motor skill development. Without a sound foundation of pre-literacy language skills and improvement in social and self-management skills, these children were at risk of losing heart and jeopardising their whole school experience.

The planning

Cargill aimed to develop a programme which would establish "Sound Beginnings" – a name they adopted as a descriptor. With the help of the Specialist Education Services (SES), they sought specific tests and observation tools to identify children whose lack of listening strategies, story experience, and phonemic awareness meant they made a slow start. They planned to appoint a highly experienced teacher to establish a specialist class, where children would have an intensive, structured programme tailored to their individual needs. This teacher would also manage inservice training with all staff, and help the school develop ways of involving parents and whānau as partners. The schools also planned liaison with the range of early childhood education providers – kohanga reo, Pasifika centres, kindergartens, and playcentres – to share ideas and strategies to support early development for literacy.

The actions

With input from a speech language therapist from SES, the school agreed on a number of testing and observation procedures. The School Entry Assessment (SEA) tasks are useful to identify particular areas of knowledge, and also reveal children's ease in a learning situation. Other procedures include Junior Oral Language Screening Test (JOST) where appropriate, and two tasks from the SES "Communicate to Participate" programme to assess phonemic awareness and listening behaviours. This last task involves the use of a checklist of behaviours for the teacher to note in the classroom context, such as constant attention-seeking, lack of focus, and inability to follow routines.

A withdrawal room was set up, and a variety of resources purchased including wall charts, video equipment, and shared books. The SES "Talk to Learn" resource was a basis for further selections to stimulate discussion. Children at risk are grouped according to their needs – sometimes a group of one, others of up to five – for intensive sessions on four days each week. Progress is carefully monitored and assessments are followed up after discontinuing. Each session is specific to those individuals, with attention to their social interactions, general demeanour, and literacy skill development, as well as linking with the classroom programme. Small groups are vital for these children to build confidence in participation.

Links with the early childhood centres started from the premise that literacy behaviours do not imply changes for the centres: rather, by being aware of the focus in the schools, early childhood educators are able to take back into their work a clearer focus on strategies such as story listening, turn-taking, and questioning which lay a strong foundation. This initiative has been welcomed by the early childhood community, and all schools in the area are benefiting from Cargill's initiative.

Parents have been involved from the outset. When their child is selected for the programme, the school contacts parents and reinforces their significant roles as "first teachers". They maintain a lot of communication through discussions on topics such one led by the town's children's librarian, sending home small tasks for the child and family to do, and affirming the partnership. Many of these parents did not have happy experiences in their own schooling, so appreciate the respect and support they are given.

The results

The most exciting result for the school has been seeing individual children demonstrating constructive, focused behaviours that show they are ready to participate, concentrate, and make real progress. All teachers have participated in professional development and are fully on board with "Sound Beginnings". They have refined aspects of their programmes to reinforce the children's learning. Good communication and shared understandings mean that both teachers and children are able to accommodate the movements in and out of the classroom.

The school has noticed that the children who make the most progress are those whose parents are most responsive. As they see their children developing, parents are affirmed and grow in confidence themselves. The whole family is affected, with younger siblings also benefiting from the close links with the school and shared understandings of how to sustain progress.

The school appreciates that the key to literacy progress lies not in detailed reading strategies, but in children's readiness to learn, and their developmental and social skills. Reading Recovery tutors find that children are able to make faster progress and are ready to move forward. The integrated approach, involving all teachers, the home, and early childhood educators, is making a real difference.

Contact:

Cargill Open Plan School, Grampian Street, Tokoroa
Tel (07)886 7973

2002

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