Excellence Awards

4th December 2013 - Catch Up® Excellence Awards: Trelewis Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil - BRONZE award winner (Catch Up® Literacy)

Organisation: Trelewis Primary School
Intervention: Catch Up® Literacy
Submitted by: Sian Shankland

Background
Trelewis Primary School is in the Merthyr Tydfil local authority area, South East Wales.

There are 205 pupils aged three to eleven years on roll, nearly all from the local area. Approximately 18% of pupils have additional learning needs but none have a statement of special educational needs.

The school is very efficient in analysing pupil need and providing appropriate support at an early stage for the most vulnerable pupils. The November 2012 Estyn Inspection report highlighted that provision as a strength of the school. As a result, these pupils receive a very good range of effective support.

Implementation
The Catch Up® Literacy intervention programme has proven to be very successful in our school and we have been following it at Trelewis for a number of years. Selected staff were trained and, as we value parental support, we invited parents whose children were selected to part take on the programme, to attend an informal Catch Up® workshop to discuss how it would benefit their children.

We identify children who have poor reading strategies, ignore punctuation frequently or are hesitant and have a robotic reading style. We use the Salford reading test and the formative assessments to determine what the learners can do and where their needs lie. Continual monitoring and evaluation of the pupil’s response to learning activities, through observational recording of achievements against learning objectives, are paramount in order to set long-/short-term planning of work for pupils.

We liaise effectively with relevant class teachers to discuss children’s progress and ensure open communication is upheld to evaluate/review Catch Up® Literacy in our school. Catch Up® staff are supported to make sure that high quality sessions are maintained, through regular monitoring by the Catch Up® Coordinator.

Case Study 1 - Catch Up® Literacy
While Pupils B’s progress in reading is very satisfying (a reading age gain of 30 months after 9 months of intervention), the statistic itself does not show the whole story. She was a very shy pupil who wouldn’t read in class or put up her hand to answer a question.

She has benefited greatly from the one-to-one focused attention that the intervention has provided. She is now a more confident child who does not appear so nervous and is willing to converse much more than she previously did. Her class teacher feels that she is now more confident about speaking and reading in class.

She is very pleased with her reading progress and has become a far more confident reader throughout the year. She quoted, “Catch Up is fantastic! I’m not shy anymore when I’m reading.”

Case Study 2 - Catch Up® Literacy
Pupil C started Catch Up® Literacy with a gap of more than 20 months between his chronological age and his reading age. He was a struggling reader who was reluctant to read at all. He was a learner who found it difficult to comprehend texts at the literal and inferential levels – he was focused on just getting the word right without any attempt to understand what he had read.

After 9 months of Catch Up® intervention, he made 2 years progress in his reading age and gained in confidence and self-esteem. He has become a confident reader who has acquired strategies to enable him to tackle unfamiliar words. He now takes time to break down difficult words. His teacher reported that, since attending the Catch Up® Literacy intervention, there is a significant shift from a negative, indifferent and even ‘can’t do’ or ‘won’t do’ attitude towards ‘wanting to read’. He is now much happier about reading and enjoys it more.

Aims
To create an ethos of high standards and expectations throughout the school.

To provide high quality teaching and learning experiences to enable all children to achieve the highest standards of which they are capable in all areas of the curriculum.

To give all our pupils access to a broad and balanced curriculum to enable them achieve their full potential.

To secure a meaningful partnership between home, school and the wider community.