Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades
Instructional Materials
There are no centrally approved or recommended materials for reading instruction; instead, schools are free to choose the materials they use. The choice of particular schemes normally is made by the literacy coordinator or a member of the school leadership team.
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations, and Assessment provides curriculum resources and guidance to support teaching and learning that teachers may use if they wish. These include:31
- Nonstatutory guidance on the levels of progression
- Tasks and samples of student work that exemplify the levels of progression
- Online courses on assessing cross-curricular skills
- Face to face training events (e.g., on standard setting support in Communication)
Use of Technology
In addition to communication and using mathematics, using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is embedded in the Northern Ireland Curriculum as an essential cross-curricular skill.32 The skill became mandatory for reporting purposes in the 2016–2017 school year.
All grant aided schools are provided with computer hardware, management information systems, and network services through C2K, a program managed by the Education Authority on behalf of the Department of Education, which invests in and regularly celebrates the use of ICT in schools.33 For example, the Digital Schools of Distinction initiative was launched in November 2015 to recognize and encourage best practices for the use of technology in primary schools.34
Role of Reading Specialists
In primary schools, the class teacher is responsible for raising standards in literacy with appropriate support. This support might be from the school’s literacy coordinator (i.e., a classroom teacher within the school who has additional responsibility for this subject area) and/or from the school leadership team (i.e., the principal, vice principal, and other senior staff members depending on the size of the school).35
Current practice assumes that improvements in literacy and numeracy instruction are delivered through the work of the classroom teachers. Literacy and numeracy instruction planning should be based on structured programs that meet the overall requirements of each class and the needs of individual students. Teachers may be supported by volunteer mentors who support specialists by giving additional attention to some students. The Time to Read program, run by Business in the Community, a business-led charitable foundation, involves a business volunteer spending one hour of company time each week working on a one on one basis with one or two 9‑year‑old children with the aim of improving their reading skills. In the 2015–2016 school year, 584 Time to Read volunteers supported 616 students from 86 primary schools across Northern Ireland.36
Second Language Instruction
The term “newcomer” refers to a student who does not have satisfactory language skills to participate fully in the school curriculum and/or does not have a language in common with the teacher.37 In the 2016–2017 school year, 5.7 percent of primary school students were designated as newcomer students.38 Normal practice in Northern Ireland schools involves providing for newcomer students by integrating them into mainstream education. The designation of students as newcomers attracts additional funding for the school through the Common Funding Scheme. Many schools have used this funding to appoint a coordinator or identify a teacher who is responsible for newcomer students. In some cases, bilingual classroom assistants have been employed in schools with a large number of newcomer students. The focus of any additional support is on securing access to the curriculum.
In accordance with its Every School a Good School—Supporting Newcomer Pupils policy statement, the Department of Education funds the Inclusion and Diversity Service, which provides schools with support and specialized advice to enable them to strengthen their support of newcomer students.39
Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Testing
With regard to accommodation policies for instruction, the Northern Ireland Curriculum aims to help all students reach their full potential. Curriculum resources are available to support teachers in meeting the diverse requirements of students with special education needs.40
With regard to accommodation policies for students taking assessment tasks at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2, schools may give additional support and make flexible arrangements to ensure that they are able to access the task requirements, as long as these do not affect the essential nature and level of the work being assessed or provide an unfair advantage.
The Prerequisite Skills, more commonly known as “Q Skills,” are an assessment resource to support teachers and classroom assistants in mainstream schools, learning support units, and special schools working with students below Level 1 of the mainstream Levels of Progression. The Q Skills provide a broad and inclusive framework for assessing students with mild, moderate, severe, or profound learning difficulties.41
Students with statements of special education needs who have been found as having severe learning difficulties or profound and multiple learning difficulties are exempt from statutory assessment.42