Success stories

Tasmanian Literacy Summit

The Tasmanian Literacy Summit was held in Hobart on 1 June 2007, with the aim of bringing people together to discuss ideas on how to improve Tasmania's literacy rates.

The summit was enthusiastically attended, and several areas of concern were addressed for action. Feedback from workshops was assembled into a communiqué for further consideration by the Minister for Education.

Participants identified the need for an explicit literacy strategy, teaching practice informed by current research, an instructional leadership role for principals and the use of data to monitor and measure literacy skills to ensure accountability. The importance of creating a literacy-rich environment in the formative years from birth to four was also identified as being crucial.

Additionally, it was recognised that all teachers are literacy teachers and require appropriate training, resources, ongoing professional development and support through the sharing of best practice and an active collaboration between schools and the community. It was agreed that close links must also be forged with the University of Tasmania to ensure initial teacher training supports the literacy strategy.

It is envisaged that the outcomes from the Tasmanian Literacy Summit will help lift literacy achievement and benchmark performance of Tasmania students.

top

Read at Home Kit

Launched in September 2006, the Read at Home Kit was developed by the Department of Education to enable parents to further assist their children become better readers and encourage a passion for reading. The kit provides parents with reading ideas, a library registration form and a bookmark with reading prompts for parents and children.

Research shows that children who come from language-rich homes have an easier time learning to read and write at school. There are many ways that parents can help their children improve their literacy and numeracy skills. The kit will assist parents introduce more literacy practices in the home, with tips for shared reading and other learning possibilities.

The Read at Home Kit was distributed to the parents and carers of all children enrolled in Years 3 to 6 in government schools, reaching approximately 19,000 families. The kit reinforces that the core business of education in Tasmania is literacy and numeracy.

Schools urged parents to take the opportunity to give their children a helping hand in literacy so they could become more successful and effective readers, writers, speakers, viewers and listeners.

top

National Literacy and Numeracy Week

National Literacy and Numeracy Week was held in the week beginning 3 September 2006. This event celebrated and acknowledged the progress Australian schools, teachers, parents, individuals and the community have made towards raising literacy and numeracy performance. This year's theme was 'Learning Together', which recognised the achievements and opportunities that are possible when we learn with others.

Six Tasmanian schools won National Literacy and Numeracy Week achievement awards in recognition of their achievement and innovation in the areas of literacy and numeracy. Forty-three of the state's schools received celebration grants to conduct special literacy and numeracy activities.

Two Tasmanian ambassadors for National Literacy and Numeracy Week were champion cricketer Jamie Cox and author Sally Odgers. Jamie was pleased to have the opportunity to speak with students at Lindisfarne North Primary School about the importance of having good literacy and numeracy skills. Sally took part in literacy activities in the Meander Valley Cluster celebrations. She assisted teachers to facilitate writing workshops and spoke to students about books and the life of a writer.

Spreyton Primary School embraced the National Literacy and Numeracy Week philosophy by inviting grandparents to share their favourite texts from their youth in their grandchildren's classrooms. Comparing past and present standards was the aim of the day and the level of participation in this educational exchange was very high.

top

New Town High School Literacy Skills

New Town High School was awarded $10,000 for their whole-of-school approach to literacy during National Literacy and Numeracy Week 2006. The school impressed the judging panel with their ongoing innovative program, in which literacy skills are taught in all subjects, not just English. They have created a school culture where literacy is highly valued and supported.

After monitoring the school's performance in literacy and numeracy, strong progress with students' numeracy outcomes was noted, but literacy was highlighted as being an area of concern. The program, introduced four years ago, provides all teachers with professional development in teaching literacy skills within their own subjects. This year, staff have been focussing on vocabulary and spelling in the literacy program and have increased literacy support resources for students and the intervention program for students at risk.

Mentoring has been a key feature of the literacy program. Senior students at the school work with students from neighbouring primary schools in a friendly and supportive environment. This peer mentoring program has enabled younger students to develop their self-confidence and to improve their literacy skills.

top