The first thing educators at Bishop Lavis Primary did when they got wind of the Western Cape education department’s literacy and numeracy strategy was discuss what they could do with the few material resources they had.
They shared the department’s concern about learners who came through the foundation phase – grade R to three – without basic reading, writing and numeracy skills. The school educates grade four to seven pupils and can see the gaps in their earlier learning.
“We got together and decided that each teacher had to identify his or her favourite key learning area. If you have a passion for Afrikaans you will probably teach it well. We did the same with English and mathematics,” said principal Steven Less.
Less said it was easier for the two subject teachers in grades four and five (instead of all eight teachers in these two grades) to map out how they can work together to bring learners up to the right level for grade six in the learning areas (languages and maths) necessary for success in literacy and numeracy.
Less said allowing teachers to teach subjects they are the best at was an important starting point to improve learners’ reading, writing and numeracy skills. The teachers had to work hard to help learners catch up on skills they did not master in their earlier grades.
These efforts are starting to pay off. In May the education department awarded the school R15 000 for its performance in literacy and numeracy tests conducted in 2007. The tests assessed the skills of 71 874 grade six learners from 1 034 schools in the Western Cape.
Bishop Lavis Primary’s test results detailed how in 2003 23,1% of grade six learners were at the required level for numeracy and 41% for literacy. In 2005 this dropped to 10,3% and 28,2% respectively. In 2007 21,3% were at the required level for numeracy and 46,5% for literacy – an improvement from the 2005 results.
Developing literacy and numeracy skills in primary schools has been a stated priority of the Western Cape education department. When launching its literacy and numeracy strategy in 2006, then-education minister Cameron Dugmore noted that although 2005 test results for the province had shown an increase from 2003, only 42% of learners scored at the required level for literacy and 17% for numeracy, illustrating that there was “a long way to go”. In 2007 the provincial figures for literacy were 44,8%, with numeracy declining to 14%.
At the 2006 launch, the department outlined three areas key to addressing backlogs: developing and supporting teachers, dealing with questions around mother-tongue learning and advocacy around community and family literacy.
The 10-year strategy included pre-school programmes, changes to classroom practice, provision of learning and teaching support material, research, monitoring and support and coordination. Bishop Lavis focused on these areas in its quest to up literacy and numeracy skills.
Changes to classroom practice included sticking to the compulsory daily reading period the department introduced. To make the most of this time, the school divides the learners into groups based on their level of reading competency. Every strong reader has a few weaker ones in his or her group. “They learn a lot from each other,” said Less.
Educators make reading fun through the use of rhymes, poetry and songs. Variety is key. “We know if the children cannot read, they can not learn – not maths, not social sciences, nothing,” Less said.
the Teacher will be publishing more success stories of schools that have improved their literacy and numeracy rates in the next few editions