Principal Rebecca Webster said she knew something had to change and the western Sydney school embarked on a new literacy program which focused on the explicit teaching of phonics.
Minchinbury Public School principal Rebecca Webster with students Nevaeh Kake and James Aoun.Steven Siewert
The final piece of the puzzle,Ms Webster said,was strategic support provided by the Education Department last year to improve comprehension and vocabulary.
The results have been “through the roof”,with NAPLAN results showing 75.58 per cent of year 5 students made expected growth in reading between year 3 and year 5 in 2021,up from just 46.77 per cent in 2019.
In that same period,there was a 13 per cent increase in students achieving the top two bands in reading.
Ms Webster said it became clear in 2019 the school’s previous methods of teaching literacy were leaving some students behind and not providing a good enough grounding in phonics.
Debate has raged for decades about whether children learn best by focussing on phonics – letter-sound combinations which involves sounding out words – or by being exposed to words through text.
Ms Webster said previously that her school was asking students learning how to read to think about what they were reading before they had any decoding skills.
“We were just seeing that our year 1 students didn’t have[phonics] under their belts,so because they didn’t have that grounding they were still guessing at words,trying to get it right for the teacher,as opposed to them knowing that it’s right ... or that doesn’t sound right let me try again,” she said.
“It’s that self-correcting that’s really important when someone’s learning because otherwise they’re just rote learning.
“After we saw that we thought ‘we can’t go on like this’.”
Ms Webster said the school first targeted its kindergarten classes,making sure teachers were being explicit with phonics instruction and that students could do it.
“Then we started to spill that over into year 1 and 2,and then we started talking to the staff about the science of reading ... and the way that comprehension,phonics and word knowledge are completely interwoven,” she said.
Initially,not all teachers were convinced,but Ms Webster said the results made it clear it worked.
“Looking at that evidence we were able to say this is the way to go for our students because it is sticking,” she said.
A new government initiative will invest in phonics-based reading programs for disadvantaged schools. Chelsea Primary has already had success with the program.
Last year,the school was offered strategic support as part of the Education Department’s School Success Model.
Teacher quality advisers worked with the school to determine that it needed support in improving students’ comprehension and vocabulary skills
One of the key new methods introduced across all year levels to boost comprehension was the “think aloud” method,which involves teachers reading a text and talking about what they’re thinking as they are reading. Students then go into groups and use the method themselves.
“I’ve had more kids come to me with ideas than ever before. With effective teaching of literacy we’re giving students an active voice and we’re also giving them more choice for later on,” Ms Webster said.
The school is among more than 1000 NSW schools receiving targeted support to improve student
reading and numeracy results.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said it meant schools received high-impact programs and resources tailored to their unique needs.
“Ultimately the model holds every level of the department,from the Secretary to
executives to directors and principals,accountable and responsible for each and every
one of our NSW public school students receiving the best educational outcomes possible,” she said.
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