New Foundational Literacy and Numeracy plan published with 0 to 16 age focus.
- New Foundational Literacy and Numeracy plan published with 0 to 16 age focus.
- Plan is first step in commitment to raising standards and responds to education workforce concerns.
- Introduction of national indicators for literacy and numeracy, and new baseline assessment for school starters.
New national indicators, a baseline assessment for when children start school and guidance for teachers on what learners should be learning and when, have been outlined in a new Foundational Literacy and Numeracy plan published today (15th September).
The plan represents an important first step in the new Welsh Government’s vision for raising standards and responds to concerns raised by teachers and the wider education workforce.
It is designed to complement the Curriculum for Wales, which will remain integral to Wales’ education system, and outlines a commitment to provide the education workforce with the tools they need to do their jobs more effectively.
The plan includes clearer expectations on the importance of Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) and sets out how schools should develop literacy and numeracy improvement targets, alongside setting individual targets for learners.
The plan takes a holistic 0 to 16 age approach, recognising that children’s literacy and numeracy development begins before school and throughout their childhood. It includes a focus on strengthening parental engagement, promoting reading and language development at home, increasing access to books through school libraries, and addressing poverty-related barriers to learning, which will in part be supported by the extended childcare offer .
The plan will help identify learners who may need further support and a focus on learners who are moving from primary to secondary school, with a baseline when starting school and year 6 indicator of progress through Personalised Assessments .
Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, Anna Brychan said:
“As a new government we have made education a key priority and we are taking decisive action to raise standards in our schools and give young people the skills they need to succeed.
“We owe it to current and future generations to get literacy and numeracy right. The Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Plan is about setting clear expectations for action and giving teachers and schools the clarity they have asked for after a long programme of reform.
“Literacy and numeracy are central to everything we aspire to achieve. They are the building blocks on which learning, work and life in general are based. Today marks a key milestone in delivering on our ambition for an effective, confident and collaborative education system that works for all learners and empowers all partners to thrive.”
