Primary Schools
Using the Framework in Primary Schools:
NB: For additional information on structuring CPD (continuing professional development) in schools, please see the section on Teacher Training. For guidance on how to introduce the Framework to colleagues or other professionals, see The Training Manual: available to download here.
Be sure to check out the Primary Schools Toolkit,. under the Toolkits tab at the top of the page.
Using the Framework as an individual
The Framework is a ‘road map’ of the skills and knowledge required for teaching those who struggle with literacy and/or have Dyslexia. You can use it in three ways:
- As a self-assessment tool to identify areas for professional development; improve your knowledge and build up a Portfolio of Professional Development Certificates in Literacy and Dyslexia-SpLD.
- As a resource base that can suggest materials most relevant to you or your educational setting.
- To help you to structure in-school professional development such as INSETs and Action Research.
Downloading the Certificate of Professional Development:
Framework Users who take a self-assessment strand will receive a personalised print out with recommended professional development resources, including videos, in-school professional development activities and online materials. After using these resources to support learning, retake the strand to measure your improvement in knowledge of how to support learners with Literacy difficulties and Dyslexia-SpLD. This will entitle the Framework User to download a Certificate of Professional Development showing increase in professional knowledge.
Self Assessment Tool:
There are six strands for self-assessment shown on the Home Page:
- Language and Literacy
- Theories of Dyslexia
- Identification and Assessment
- Teaching and Learning
- Working and Communicating with Others
- Professional Development.
You can take each strand separately, which will give you a personalised report based on your responses and a list of recommended resources.
You can use the Framework to:
- assess yourself and your own knowledge and skills
- mentor a colleague or NQT
- appraise a whole department’s capacity to support those struggling with literacy
- evaluate a school in respect of provision for the Dyslexic learner
For examples of how some schools have used the Framework, click here.
For a step-by-step video of how to do a self assessment, click here
Designing an INSET
The Framework can help you create a tailor-made INSET. For more information on structuring an INSET using the Framework, see below.
- Identifying areas of need:
The Framework can be used by all members of staff to benchmark their current skills and knowledge in teaching those with literacy difficulties or Dyslexia. Each assessment will result in a personalised report, summarising the results of the self-assessment for each of the six key strands of knowledge. The SENCo or Professional Development Lead can use these reports to identify specific gaps in knowledge, so that training can be tailored to the needs of the individual educational setting.
Each report also includes a list of recommended resources, based on the responses to the self assessment. These resources can be used to inform a training presentation and to structure workplace activities.
- Using filtered resources:
You may decide to filter the resources without taking the self assessment activity (see below). You can select a strand, such as ‘Theories of Dyslexia’ or ‘Language and Literacy’, and choose all types of resource. You could also select a type of resource, such as online only, or workplace activities.
Once you have chosen the most appropriate resources, these can structure an INSET or Twilight session. Two Power-Point presentations developed from the Framework are available as examples, below:
The following Power Point presentations developed from the Framework are available to download:
Supporting teachers using The Phonics Screening Check
This presentation begins with a discussion of The Phonics Screening Check, plus a brief overview of the Framework. This is followed by a selection of resources recommended by the Framework. The resources cover specific information on Phonics teaching plus additional materials to ensure a broader approach to supporting literacy learning and the Dyslexic learner.
Using the Framework for Personalised CPD: Introduction to theories of Dyslexia
This presentation provides further information about the Framework. It includes examples of resources recommended when the user takes the strand ‘Theories of Dyslexia’.
For more detailed ways of using the Framework, see ‘The Framework User’s Guide’ and ‘Teacher Training’.
Resource Base:
There are two ways to find the Resources to suit your needs. The first is to take one or more self-assessment strands (see above); the second is to go to the filter Resources page and choose your resources by strand, level and resource type.
In this screenshot, the user has selected Stage 1, Theories of Dyslexia, Any resource type.
This will then provide you with all the online resources listed at Stage 1 for ‘Theories of dyslexia/SpLD’. The full, unfiltered resource list can also be seen, by selecting ‘All’ in each category.
- Toolkit for Primary Teachers coming soon
- Toolkit for SENCos coming soon
- Case studies of how the Framework has been used in Primary Schools coming soon