Leading Sydney Girls’ School Upskills Teachers and Develops New Programs to Combat Decline in Literacy Rates
Commentary on the Grattan Institute Reading Report: February 2024
Leading Sydney-based Girls’ School, Loreto Normanhurst is committed to staying on top of the declining literacy rates by upskilling teachers saying the latest Grattan Report recommendations on reading are timely.
Loreto Normanhurst’s Head of English, Ellen Lincoln said setting their students up for success and helping them achieve advanced reading skills is high on the agenda.
“Loreto Normanhurst is taking extra measures to ensure our teachers stay on top of our students’ ability to access more complicated texts and make inferences about what they are reading.” Lincoln explained.
New programs are being rolled out in line with reforms to the New South Wales English syllabus this year, which are premised on the need for explicit teaching of reading and writing.
“We are still in the process refining our approach - it isn’t something that is adequately covered in pre-service teacher education, so it is really up to us to upskill ourselves and our team in this area and develop our faculty wide approach,” Lincoln said.
Loreto Normanhurst is currently implementing innovative programs to ensure its students are exposed to a wide range of skills including reading and thinking aloud with texts and deliberately building vocabulary with a focus on building comprehension skills.
“In addition, new initiatives such as fortnightly literacy lessons for Year 7 and 8 students aimed at building core and common literacy skills are providing great outcomes,” Lincoln explained.
“Reading and writing is not only essential but is a key part of young people’s development.”
The process of engaging with texts is vital to developing critical thinking skills in connection with fostering an appreciation of real-world issues affecting them.
A whole school approach is underway to solidify the school’s integrative approach. It’s clear the Grattan Report serves as a timely reminder for all schools to upskill their teachers in the explicit skills of reading and writing.
Shannon Muscolino