Case Studies – RWMP

Linwood Avenue School, Christchurch

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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.

Linwood Avenue School is in a decile 2 area, with around 23 percent of its roll being Māori and 13 percent drawn from Samoan and other Pacific Island families. School entry assessment information showed a disturbingly high proportion of children who were "novice" readers, and after a year at school there were a high number who still needed a lot of reinforcement of core strategies in order to make progress.

Headstart

Before the literacy funding pool was available, Linwood Avenue had begun a "Headstart" programme for parents whose children were due to start school. With the help of the RTLB, the programme was designed to enable parents gain a better understanding of the issues that confront children at the time of transition to school – the sorts of behaviours, attitudes of respect for others, and acceptance of authority that are necessary for children to learn in a classroom environment.

Parents were supported in establishing routines at home that would support their children's learning. The parents in the area are interested in their children and willing to help, but their commitments to work (often at irregular and night hours), lack of wider family support, younger children, and personal problems often overwhelm them and make it difficult for them to be actively involved with the school. Support for home is therefore vital.

Headstart also assists the parents with their children's learning by modelling the teaching strategies, questioning techniques and learning activities that their children will be involved in at school. Thus a home/school understanding of expectations for learning is established early.

Goal setting

The school decided to focus on the personal growth of children. The children are encouraged to take control of their own learning and achieve success. Staff developed benchmarks of achievement and the children are working towards achieving these. By building on information from SEA, running records, six-year observational survey and classroom data, the teachers were able to develop an intervention model that would work in the classroom. This is a flexible and innovative use of the concept of IEPs. By carefully monitoring children to establish what they know, teachers use a goal setting process with all children, using very small, achievable steps within a framework of achievement levels that the school has developed. These goals are shared with parents by sending details home in a notebook, and each successful step is celebrated before the next goal is set.

Goal setting, using "goal cards", has become a way of helping all children take responsibility for their own learning – letting them know what they can do, and talking with each child about how reaching a goal makes them feel. The aim is to have them understand that success is not dependent on fate or chance or magic, but on using skills and strategies that can be learned and so making it happen for themselves. Close monitoring of individual progress is integral to the goal setting process. This adaptation of IEPs helps teachers support each child into new knowledge, and motivates children to build work and study skills, while developing their sense of self and worth.

Intensive oral language

Linwood Avenue School has continued to fund a teacher to operate an intensive oral language programme. This has been established to give at risk children a boost within a small group who are assisted through the "best practice" model of New Zealand reading and writing programmes, with the focus on careful monitoring and goal setting as described above. In order to reinforce the new strategies they learn during instructional reading in small groups, each child is asked to re-read the new "harder" text to a listener. This listener may be a teacher, classroom assistant, parent helper, another child or most often, a soft toy. The soft toys are very warmly welcomed and their role as listeners is proving highly successful. Most of the soft toys are bears, and children are encouraged to read with pace, flow, and expression, so as not to bore the bear! The child is reminded that the bear can whisper to the teacher good things that it noticed during the reading – self correction, clear speech, stopping at the full stops and so on. This strategy gives children a purpose and opportunity for practising their new reading – something that cannot realistically be expected in every home.

Linwood Avenue teachers, too, are able to celebrate success through these innovations. They have seen a shift in the percentage of children in years 0 / 1 / 2 who are reading at or above their chronological age from 30 percent of the total to 70 percent since the literacy focus and funding pool programmes have been established.

Contact:

Carol Halpin
Senior Teacher
Responsibility for childrens' learning in the first year at school

Chris Reece
Principal

Martin Van der Kley
RTLB
Developed the Headstart programme with Carol Halpin
Copies of the Headstart programme are available through the school at a cost of $15 (to cover costs)

Linwood Avenue School
260 Linwood Ave
Linwood
Christchurch 6

Ph: 03 3899 256
Fax: 03 3893 865

Email:linwood.ave.office@xtra.co.nz

2001

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