The Hub focuses on three crucial priority areas:
Early Language Development
Providing evidence-based approaches to early language development and closing the word gap in school-based early years settings, including appropriate use of formative assessment. Building children’s speaking and listening skills in a language rich provision that are well matched to the children’s individual abilities. This allows for planning for progression and preparing children to learn to read
Age Appropriate Phonics Provision
Encouraging best practice in systematic synthetic phonics teaching from school based early years provision to the end of key stage 1 and as the primary reading strategy throughout the school. This includes:
- Encouraging fidelity to a single systematic synthetic phonics programme
- Supporting effective use of decodable books in the early stages of learning to read to establish phonic decoding
- Supporting effective practice in formative assessment in relation to phonics / early reading.
For further information about Phonics, please click here
Promoting a Love of Reading
Encouraging reading for enjoyment; supporting whole school reading approaches, reading to children at least once a day and encouraging reading at home as well as developing teachers’ knowledge of appropriate children’s literature. Ensuring that reading and language is embedded across the curriculum and is taught in a purposeful way. Children are confident presenting their work and using different types of texts to achieve their goals. Developing reflective practitioners who can talk confidently about books and use this creativity in their own work.
Support
As the English Hub Programme grows, we offer different levels of support for school. The support will allow schools to find out the most up to date information on the three aims of the hub and an opportunity to evaluate their own school practice.
As an English Hub, we have to prioritise the support that we offer based on the below criteria:
- Below national Phonics screening check results (79% met the expected standard in 2023)
- Lower than average PSC scores for disadvantaged pupils
- Schools with the lowest phonics scores for disadvantaged pupils
- Primary schools where the bottom 20% of children are not on course to reach the expected standard
- Primary schools with a higher than average proportion of children eligible for pupil premium (2022/23 the pupil premium national average is 24.3%)
- Primary schools with a high proportion of groups considered hard to reach such as EAL, FSM, travellers. • Schools referred by local partners (e.g. NLEs, RSCs, LAs)
- Ofsted rating of Requires Improvement or Inadequate
- Primary schools where standards in phonics are identified as areas for development through Ofsted inspection findings
- Primary schools that sit in an education investment area (PEIAs/EIAs).
- Wave 1 and Wave 2 partner schools in PEIAs who have experienced significant systemic change since leaving the programme and who have failed to realise and/or maintain improvement in SSP scores.
- Primary schools where there is a risk of declining standards in phonics.
The schools that hit these criteria are eligible for more intensive support. If your school doesn’t meet this criteria, you can still complete a self-referral form to show an interest in the hub. We can support via the medium level support.
Self- Referral
If you would like to see what support the English Hub can offer you, please click here to complete the self-referral form. This will allow us to look at individual schools and offer them support in different areas.
Open Events
We are running a series of free Open Events at St. Michael’s C of E Primary School which will include observations of Phonics teaching, CPD on the three areas of the Hub, time for reflection and information on what support the English Hub can offer schools.
To find out more information click here
Medium Level Support
As an English hub, we run free CPD based on the three aims. This CPD is based around the latest training and information available. We also have free, engage events for people to attend. To find out more click here.
Audits
As part of the English Hub programme, we carry out audits on schools. This audit allows us to support schools to reflect on practice, look at their phonics provision and give them advice on next steps. From the audits, we will identify Partner Schools that we work with.
Literacy Specialists
Our Literacy Specialists support our Partner Schools to help embed Phonics. The Literacy Specialists have had training from the English Hub Training Centre, the DfE and official training from any programme we support. To find out more information about our team, click here.
Partner Schools
From the audit, we will choose schools to become a Partner School. This is a school that is committed to embedding a Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme in their school. They will receive 6 days worth of support during the first year and 3 days worth of support in the second year.
Currently, we are working with 4 Wave 3 Partner Schools and 20 wave 4 Partner Schools. Across the year, our Literacy Specialists will carry out 120 days worth of support.
