Sharing the experiences of young children as they develop their relationship with reading and writing is both joyful and a privilege. Being present the first time they see a story brought to life from the pages of a book, when they discover that the written words around them are full of meaning and when they tentatively place their own marks onto paper and realise that someone else understands – these are all powerful, magical moments.
However, with this also comes responsibility. As we help our children to navigate what at times can be a complex, challenging and arguably baffling code, we need to ensure that our own understanding of early literacy is strong, deep and evolving. In doing so, we need to look closely at how the different aspects of literacy not only connect with each other, but critically also with broader aspects of learning and child development, so that our teaching, guidance and support truly meet our children's needs.
As explored in previous articles, concerns persist in relation to the revised Early Years Foundation Stage framework. While acknowledging that this is not a Prime Area with regards to the Early Learning Programme and Goals for Literacy, there is a perception that the programme reads the most like one for older children. It has also been argued that it lacks real power, depth and recognition of the critical role of communication and language within early literacy.
Sadly, reading beyond the classroom has not been mentioned, and yet we know that we need to strengthen the home learning environment if we are to help close the attainment gap. Parental involvement in their child's literacy positively affects children's academic performance and is possibly a more powerful force for long-term success than other family background variables (McCoy and Cole 2011, Taggart et al2015).
Disappointingly, little reference is made to the early stages of mark-making, or any recognition of the critical relationship between overall physical development, apart from fine-motor skills, and writing. This is a missed opportunity.
These points aside, we need to remain aware that the EYFS is only providing us with a skeleton upon which we can build a rich curriculum that is unique and meaningful for our children.
EXPLORING THE EVIDENCE
‘Reading and writing float on a sea of talk’ – James Britton (1983).
Our understanding of how children develop both confidence and competence across the different elements of literacy continues to grow and impact our practice. However, what remains consistent is the message that we need to ensure that children's communication and language skills are secure, building a firm foundation for learning. This is emphasised within Getting it right in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Pascal et al2019):
‘Promoting higher order literacy skills before the child has secure development in oral language will lead to problems for these children.
‘The evidence indicates that literacy learning should be a key element in the EYFS from birth, but that it is fundamentally linked to language development and relies on the secure development of language skills and understanding.’
The debate about approaches to early reading and in particular the use of synthetic phonics as the predominant strategy is one too large to explore in this article.
What examples of evidence suggest is that when taught, modelled, and embedded well, synthetic phonics instruction can strengthen reading skills (Education Endowment Foundation 2018, Pascal et al 2017). However, we need to remain mindful as to how particular reading schemes and interventions may impact on how children perceive themselves as readers, and the wider consequences this may have on their sense of self as a learner and attitudes to reading long-term (Levy 2009).
When exploring early writing development, evidence reminds us that this is a complex interwoven relationship between physical and cognitive processes, again with the ‘spoken word’ at the heart (Education Endowment Foundation 2018, Pascal et al2017). Each building block of learning is crucial in supporting the others, something that perhaps we still need to help others fully appreciate.
The conclusion this is all leading us towards clearly connects with the statement from James Britton (1983). However, how calm that ‘sea’ is and the journey across it will be relies upon our expertise and understanding. As always, we need to remain alert against over-generalising research findings, and carefully evaluate the value and impact of any suggested programmes or interventions on the needs of our children.
A LOVE OF READING
‘It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading’ – EYFS 2021.
A powerful message and a challenging aspiration. Those of us who have had the opportunity to support members of our local communities with adult literacy skills have seen first-hand the impact that limited reading skills have had on their day-to-day life.
So where does the love start? For many children it is in the home before they join our settings and schools. For others this may be more challenging, and that is why we know community and national projects related to children's access to books are so valuable. But we also know that within our learning environments and through our interactions that the doors of the rich world of children's literature can be opened widely!
We therefore need to be constantly mindful of how we provide opportunities for reading, the content on offer and how we, too, demonstrate a love of reading.
Many early childhood environments feature a book or reading area, with other texts placed within the provision to enrich learning. Often these book areas have been developed into inspiring spaces for children to explore a range of texts. From our own adult experiences, we know that finding somewhere cosy and peaceful to dive into a book is often invaluable. However, perhaps we need to take a fresh look at our book areas and evaluate our ability to bring them fully to life.
If we are looking to support our children with learning related to blocks or water play, we do this usually where those resources are accessible to the children. But do we do the same in our book corners?
As we pick up a book to share, we need to consider:
- The ages of the children we are sharing a book with.
- The number of children participating.
- Is the experience going to be accessible for all the children?
- How will the children connect with the text and/or images?
- How familiar are we with the book?
What we need to be wary of is turning these experiences into a ‘timetabled routine’.
A LOVE OF WRITING
‘Writing is … communication. It is also a way for individuals to share their identity with others. … any piece of writing should be exclusive to the individual, to show that the writer has a unique voice’ – Helen Bromley (2006).
Ask any adult to describe what is writing and after a few moments of head-scratching and furrowed brows, a long list starts to develop. The way we mainly write may have changed as our lives have become increasingly digital, but the foundations, purposes and cognitive processes involved have largely stayed the same.
Within Birth to 5 Matters (2021), the rich and evolving diversity of literacy is emphasised, in relation to both reading and writing. As is also stressed within Development Matters and the EYFS, communication lies at the heart.
So, as we support children from those first marks to capturing their own growing understanding and imagination in scribed words and phrases, what is it that we need to put in place, nurture, model and teach that will create a springboard for writing?
Before writing, children need experiences of:
- Developing the confidence and competence with oral language.
- Exploring and experiencing a wide variety of stories and texts.
- Opportunities to develop fine and gross motor skills – the ‘physical journey’ of writing.
This emphasises once again the interconnectivity of early childhood learning and our need to not only recognise this but champion it.
As they first begin to make their own marks, children will need opportunities to develop and deepen their understanding of:
- what writing looks like
- how to make letters and symbols
- that writing is used for a whole range of purposes in real life; for thinking, communicating, sharing and celebrating.
While being mindful of the range of opportunities for mark-making and writing we provide, we also need to think carefully about the tools we offer, both indoors and outdoors. We need to consider what might work best where and why, how accessible resources are, and how meaningful and engaging these experiences will be.
Crucially, just as seeing adults reading sends a powerful message about how reading is valued, we need to ensure that children see us writing for a range of purposes, demonstrating how we learn to be writers and that we love it too!
FIRST STEPS
These aspects of early childhood learning and development remind us of the critical role of the adult in sensitively and effectively guiding children on their unique journey through literacy. Each day we are making choices linked to what we value in relation to children's learning. These values shape the environments we create, our interactions, the evidence we capture and the messages that we communicate.
We need to be mindful about not only the provision and teaching experiences we offer in relation to writing and reading but also the opportunities for children to make choices, what marks to make or words to read, where to write or read, how and when to share writing or reading. These are all powerful and empowering decisions for children to make and strongly linked to an individual's development as a life-long learner.
Development Matters (2020) states that ‘It (literacy) only develops when adults talk with children about the world.’ Perhaps most important is that if we are to enable children to see reading and writing as powerful conduits for communication, we need to once again ensure that adults are also really listening to and valuing the meaning of the many messages children want to share.
Phil Armstrong is head of regional development, south & international at Early Excellence
ABOUT THIS SERIES
This series on the seven areas of learning aims to help you prepare for the introduction of the revised EYFS in September this year by:
- comparing the 2017 and 2021 educational programmes and Early Learning Goals
- highlighting the significant changes, and
- exploring key aspects of practice.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER INFORMATION
- Bromley H (2006) Making My Own Mark. The British Association of Early Childhood Education
- Education Endowment Foundation (2018) Preparing for Literacy: Improving Communication, Language and Literacy in the Early Years. Education Endowment Foundation
- Levy R (2009) ‘Children's perceptions of reading and the use of reading scheme texts’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 39 (3)
- McCoy E and Cole J (2011). A Snapshot of Local Support for Literacy: 2010 survey. National Literacy Trust
- Pascal C, Bertram T and Cole-Albäck A (2017) The Hundred Review: What Research Tells Us About Effective Pedagogic Practice and Children's Outcomes in the Reception Year. Early Excellence
- Pascal C and Bertram T (2019) Getting it right in the Early Years Foundation Stage: a review of the evidence. Early Education
- Sim M et al (2018) Teaching, pedagogy and practice in early years childcare: An evidence review. Early Intervention Foundation
- Sylva K et al(2004) The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education [EPPE] Project. Institute of Education
- Taggart B et al (2015) Effective pre-school, primary and secondary education project (EPPSE 3-16+): How pre-school influences children and young people's attainment and developmental outcomes over time. Research Brief. Department for Education
Other sources
- Development Matters: Non statutory guidance for the early years foundation stage, https://bit.ly/3hrVAl0
- Birth to 5 Matters(2021), www.birthto5matters.org.uk
- Working with Parents to Support Children's Learning: Guidance Report. Education Endowment Foundation, https://bit.ly/3nXo72X
Literacy before and after: the changes in close-up
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
EYFS 2017
Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.
EYFS 2021
It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together.
Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words.
Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).
The changes in close-up
Positives
- The much broader scope of the 2021 version, which includes reference to the adult role.
- There is some reference to the role of talk and its connection to reading and writing.
- There is increased recognition of the role of language comprehension for both reading and writing.
Negatives
- Although it states that word reading should be something taught later, there is a missed opportunity to acknowledge the broader foundations of phonological awareness.
- There is a missed opportunity to identify the child as the reader or writer, with no clear reference to adults supporting them with making their own choices of what books to access or writing to communicate, despite the powerful aspiration at the start of the description.
- There is a sense that the programme is more applicable to older children, with little reference to how very young children develop early literacy skills.
- There is no specific reference to the critical role the family home plays in supporting early literacy and the impact this has.
EARLY LEARNING GOALS: EYFS 2017
Reading
- Children read and understand simple sentences.
- They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately.
- They also read some common irregular words.
- They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.
Writing
- Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds.
- They also write some irregular common words.
- They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.
EYFS 2021
ELG: Comprehension
Children at the expected level of development will:
- demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary
- anticipate – where appropriate – key events in stories
- use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role play.
ELG: Word reading
Children at the expected level of development will:
- say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least ten digraphs
- read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending
- read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.
ELG: Writing
Children at the expected level of development will:
- write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed
- spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters
- write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.
The changes in close-up
Positives
- The focus on developing comprehension as part of reading is specifically highlighted.
- The embedding of new vocabulary through play reminds us of the need to provide opportunities for children to connect and revisit learning.
Negatives
- It could be argued that the ELG for comprehension would sit more appropriately within the Communication and Language strand of the EYFS.
- There is a possibility that using vocabulary as a criterion could result in children being able to recall ‘new words’ but not truly understand them.
- The dominant focus on phonics as the only feature of the ELG for word reading precludes other strategies that some children may also be using successfully to support them with their reading.
- The ELG for writing makes no reference to children using writing for a range of purposes or to communicate meaning.
