Literacy hour threat

12th June 1998, 1:00am

Share

Literacy hour threat

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/literacy-hour-threat
The national literacy hour could make it harder for schools to “fit in” volunteers prepared to work with struggling readers.

According to VRH, timetable demands are forcing schools to reconsider how they organise other literacy support work.

Melissa Drayson, VRH’s southern co-ordinator, said feedback from its survey (see above) had raised the issue. She is confident schools will continue to make time available for one-to-one work.

But she noted: “With timetables being squeezed, schools are saying that it’s going to be more difficult to fit in volunteers, because it doesn’t fit in with the literacy hour.”

Another concern is the withdrawal of struggling pupils from classes, an aspect of other literacy support programmes.

Angela Hosbaum, of the Reading Recovery National Network at the University of London’s Institute of Education, said: “These kind of withdrawal activities are going to be problematic. But I don’t think it is that much harder than it always was to make these tricky decisions.”

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared