Mrs Carolyn Wood
Head of English at St Joseph’s RC High School
Specialism: English and Whole School Literacy.
Why did you get involved with the Words for All Programme?
As Literacy Lead at St Joseph’s RC High School, I was excited at the prospect of working with other passionate colleagues in Bolton who were also committed to using Literacy as a vehicle to improve outcomes for all students.
What were you hoping to achieve?
My aim was to build the presence of Literacy at St Joseph’s RC High School ensuring strategies became engrained within teaching practice across all areas of the curriculum.
What has been the learning for you?
Networking with other colleagues has taught me about the wealth of talent and experience on your own doorstep. The best form of professional development has been learning from other professionals who fully understand and experience the barriers to learning so many students in our locality have to overcome.
What has been the impact on your School and the Children within it?
The strategies piloted as part of the Words for All initiative have not only had a huge impact on student outcomes but also culture capital.
If you could give one piece of advice to schools engaging in this programme, what would it be?
Start small and measure impact before trying to scale up. Staff will follow a new vision if they see clear evidence of how it will impact them and their students.
Why would you recommend this programme?
The programme has been an amazing opportunity, not only to make a huge impact on the outcomes and life chances of our students, but it has also helped me to grow as a practitioner and a leader. The support and experience we have gained as a result of participating in Words for All really has been integral to our improvement journey at St Joseph’s RC High School.
Ms Rebecca Dann
Assistant Headteacher, Sharples School
Specialism: English
Why did you get involved with the Words for All Programme?
I saw it was a fantastic opportunity to work with other school leaders to promote the best strategies for vocabulary acquisition in our schools. I believe that explicit vocabulary instruction is an important part of closing the disadvantage gap and can empower all students to succeed within and beyond school. After leading the work at Sharples on a whole school focus on vocabulary, I was keen to share my learning with colleagues from other schools and learn from their expertise.
What were you hoping to achieve?
A collaborative approach to providing all students, particularly those from a disadvantaged background, with the best literacy provision available. As this is such a complex and multi-faceted issue, I knew it would be powerful to work with other colleagues to learn about and develop the most effective strategies.
What has been the learning for you?
I have learnt about successful literacy initiatives and interventions and how best to adapt these to suit our students. The programme has provided me with training on structured project planning and the time to reflect on this in a meaningful way. Collaborating with GL Assessment has provided an incisive way to assess the impact of these strategies and working with other schools to help them implement their own initiatives has enabled me to reflect on the successes and areas for development within my own setting.
What has been the impact on your School and the children within it?
A whole school approach to vocabulary instruction has now been embedded in our practice and students are able to use high-level vocabulary in their written and verbal responses. All departments have mapped the tier 2 and 3 vocabulary they teach at each stage of their curriculum so there is a clear progression pathway for our students. Form time sessions which focus on etymology enable students to make connections between the words they learn in different subjects and empower them to work out meanings independently.
