The significance of tending to pupils on the transition between main and secondary college is well-established. The apparent focus, understandably, attends to the pastoral wants of pupils: making them really feel protected and safe of their new ‘large college’ environment. Crucially, there may be additionally an rising recognition that making curriculum connections and charting the ‘language leap’ at transition will even matter to pupil success at secondary college.
Within the Sunday Instances final week, an rising “illiteracy surge” on the transition was recognized. Sustained help has been mooted to try to handle this subject.
For varsity lecturers and leaders, this acute subject on the transition gained’t be a shock. The ‘language leap’ between yr 6 and yr 7 just isn’t a brand new phenomenon. Again in 2017, a difficulty with literacy and studying on the transition was recognized. Of the 165,000 pupils from the 2016 GCSE cohort who didn’t get a degree 4 of their SATs (equal to not meet ‘anticipated normal’ for studying), solely 11% went onto obtain a C in English and Maths at GCSE
Indications that the pandemic might have worsened the problem – seeing the studying wealthy get richer and the studying poor get poorer in yr 7 – would show sadly predictable.
Extra not too long ago, in a report by OUP and the Centre for Schooling and Youth (CfEY), on ‘Bridging the Phrase Hole at Transition’, it helpfully recognized facets of the ‘language leap’ at transition. In rising analysis, shared by Professor Alice Deignan, from Leeds College, they recognized:
“In a mean day at secondary college, pupils are uncovered to a few or 4 instances as a lot language as at main college, purely when it comes to amount. With such an enormous enhance within the amount of language, the variety of unknown phrases fired at pupils throughout a lesson will increase equally. These attain a degree the place pupils can’t use regular methods to work out their which means, resembling utilizing general context. Pupils are being pushed far out of their consolation zone academically.”
At first look, these language variations replicate the sheer breadth of language and topics in secondary college, quite than the depth and complexity of the KS2 curriculum.
There may be a substantial amount of subtle language being learnt in key stage two. One in every of my memorable skilled experiences, as an English Topic Chief in secondary, was analysing the work books of yr 6 pupils. As a division, we recognised that the vocabulary the attending language, and significantly grammar evaluation, was extra subtle than what we delivered in yr 7. In consequence, we endeavoured to extend the problem within the KS3 English curriculum.
Crucially although, when in comparison with the language use science in yr 6 after which in yr 7, for instance, I doubt there may be the equal match up with curriculum problem throughout the transition.
A key distinction then between main and secondary college is the sheer vary of advanced educational domains. Pupils can go from finding out laptop science, to physics, to German, to Geography, and extra, in a single day. On this context, they will discover they will depend on little or no prior information of the subject and the language they’re anticipated to learn and perceive.
Connecting the curriculum throughout the transition is troublesome and lecturers seldom have the time and prepare to help, and even discover, the language leap that pupils expertise. That is then a problem for pupils and lecturers.
Supporting the ‘language leap’
One useful resolution is to coach all secondary college lecturers in studying, writing and language growth. For a busy biology or trainer, it could appear extraneous that the explicitly educate studying or writing of their classroom, however for the numerous pupils with poor literacy ranges, this will likely show important for them to entry the college curriculum when the attain secondary.
Nice instructing, with the ‘language leap’ in thoughts, bolstered by focused educational help for these pupils with weak literacy in yr 7 who want it to entry the curriculum, is the advanced however compelling reply to any “illiteracy surge”. No quantity of GCSE interventions afterward will compensate for his or her early key stage 3 expertise. Secondary college success in nationwide exams at 16 and 18 relies on pupils accessing the important thing stage 3 curriculum greater than it’s intensive GCSE interventions with recycled examination papers. This was true earlier than the pandemic and can proceed to be the case lengthy after.
Coaching secondary college lecturers in instructing studying, writing, educational speak, and extra, with the precise consideration to their topic – named as ‘disciplinary literacy’ – might probably show an accessible and engaging place to begin. Within the aforementioned report on the ‘phrase hole at transition’, Dr Jessie Ricketts reported how secondary college lecturers felt ill-equipped with language growth coaching.
(Disciplinary Literacy – Fig 1 – from ‘Bettering Literacy in Secondary Faculties Steerage Report’)
Given the probably influence of the pandemic, making apt curriculum diversifications, while paying shut consideration to how properly pupils entry the language of secondary college, must be on the forefront of secondary college lecturers’ minds.
In fact, efficient diagnostic evaluation to guage pupils’ language strengths and gaps will probably show necessary. This can be figuring out baseline language information with topic particular vocabulary quizzes, or for some, it could be starting with a standardised studying age take a look at, earlier than digging into any particular literacy points (e.g. decoding, fluency, phrase information, background information gaps and so on.). It might see a extra concerted consideration on disciplinary studying, the foregrounding of the educational vocabulary that garments the curriculum at KS3, or the embedding extra significant studying alternatives into the construction of the college day.
Faculties are confronted with an amazing array of challenges within the coming yr and in the long term. Focused consideration on the very important level of transition – from lecturers, college leaders, and coverage makers – might show one of many key factors to focus on is the months and years forward. ‘Illiteracy surge’ or not – the ‘language leap’ at transition has been an amazing problem to for a lot of pupils for too lengthy.