Strengths and areas for improvement in literacy and English

This thematic inspection of literacy and English identified both significant strengths and areas for improvement.

Listening and talking

In most settings, practitioners have a strong focus on developing children’s listening and talking skills. Some practitioners hold high-quality interactions that support children to take turns in conversations and explain their experiences, thoughts and feelings. However, the quality of interactions is inconsistent across and within settings. Practitioners need to improve the quality of all interactions they have with children. They need to ensure that they ask questions and make comments in all interactions that develop children’s thinking and extend their learning. In many settings, practitioners support children well to develop their vocabulary through ‘word of the week’ initiatives. A few settings share this learning with families. This supports families, including those with English as an additional language, in learning alongside their child.

Across schools, staff support children to develop listening and talking skills through pupil voice groups, debates, presentations and collaborative learning. Practitioners and primary teachers use dialogic teaching and structured talk programmes to build vocabulary, confidence and communication skills. These skills are often developed through interdisciplinary learning (IDL) and leadership roles, helping children connect their learning to real-life contexts. English teachers plan group and individual talk activities well. There are inconsistencies in the ways other secondary teachers plan listening and talking activities progressively across the curriculum. Across schools and settings, listening and talking skills are assessed less consistently than reading and writing. Staff need to strengthen planning, assessment and moderation in this area, and provide more opportunities for reflection and skill development, ensuring that children understand their progress.

In special schools, teachers have a strong focus on supporting children and young people’s communication skills. Many teachers plan clear communication targets for children and young people in individual learning plans. Staff support children and young people to develop vocabulary and sentence structure to help them communicate with others. For children with more complex needs, many staff make effective use of signing, visual prompts and assistive technology.

Reading

Across sectors, reading is well-integrated into curriculum planning through structured progression pathways aligned with CfE experiences and outcomes.

In ELC settings, practitioners help children develop a love of reading. They provide attractive book areas which contain a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. Young children enjoy engaging with books, listening to stories read to them by adults and retelling familiar stories in their play. In many settings, practitioners encourage family engagement in reading by providing story sacks containing books and related resources for families to use at home.

Teachers in primary schools use phonics programmes, reflective reading strategies and thematic approaches like ‘Book of the Week’ to build comprehension and engagement. They plan novel studies, group reading sessions and comprehension tasks to develop children’s reading skills. Reading is often embedded in IDL and linked effectively with writing activities. This allows children to apply reading skills in real-life contexts, such as research projects and presentations. Children in primary schools have regular opportunities to read for pleasure in inviting library spaces. Staff use digital tools and libraries to support access and motivation.

In secondary schools, reading for pleasure is an area identified as needing an increased focus. English teachers encourage young people to engage with a variety of texts. In a few schools, English teachers work well with school librarians to develop creative and interesting ways to engage young people in reading. There is an increasing number of schools where librarians have been moved from schools to community libraries. It is important that more English departments consider how to develop young people’s love of reading and embed reading for pleasure as a lifelong habit. Some schools and settings need to ensure diversity in texts.

In special schools, teachers embed reading skills into daily routines, such as lunch menus and self-registration, to support children and young people in making the link between reading and life skills.

Writing

In the strongest settings, practitioners provide children with resources to develop mark-making and emergent writing in all areas of the playroom and outdoor environment. However, in many settings, practitioners need to ensure that they provide a wider range of resources and opportunities for children to use for mark-making and emerging writing in a wide range of relevant and meaningful contexts. Practitioners and teachers in early stages increasingly provide literacy-rich environments with examples of the written word, such as clear labels for resources. They support young children well in making connections between the written word and reading, such as reading shop names when out in the community. Many children develop their skills when they ‘write’ during their play, for example writing labels for their construction or lists of items that float and sink.

In primary schools, teachers plan learning through structured programmes that support progression in grammar, punctuation and genre.

In secondary schools, the development of writing skills is often an integral part of thematic study in English lessons. Teachers in other subjects do not typically include planning for writing as part of their curriculum.

Many primary and secondary teachers use collaboratively developed genre grids and planning frameworks to ensure that children and young people experience a variety of writing styles. They model high-quality writing. This supports children in improving the quality of their writing. Teachers plan writing activities through real-life contexts, such as letters to local businesses or reports on community events, which enhances relevance and engagement.

Teachers across all sectors engage in moderation activities. This improves consistency and teacher confidence.

In primary schools, teachers need to ensure that children consistently transfer their technical writing skills into their extended writing. Children show high levels of engagement in writing when they have the chance to influence how and what they learn. They particularly value activities such as ‘free writing’.

In special schools, many children and young people make effective use of assistive technology, such as speech-to-text, to support them when writing.

Strengths within the literacy and English curriculum

Positive, nurturing relationships between staff and learners play an important role in supporting literacy and English learning. Practitioners and teachers create safe, welcoming environments where children and young people feel respected and confident in expressing their ideas. In most settings and primary schools, staff create literacy-rich environments that provide children with the support they need to develop confidence in reading, writing and communication.

Across Scotland, staff are increasingly using progression pathways or developmental milestones to support literacy and English learning. Practitioners and teachers use frameworks aligned with CfE and national Benchmarks or developmental milestones well to plan learning. This ensures that learning for most children and young people builds on their prior knowledge. This supports progress from early years through to secondary education.

Staff in all sectors successfully use real-life contexts to engage children and young people in their literacy and English learning. Children and young people benefit from literacy experiences linked to their local environment and community. Activities such as writing letters to local businesses, interviewing visitors and preparing and delivering presentations motivate and engage children and young people. These activities help children and young people see the relevance of literacy and English to their daily lives.

Staff in many schools and settings provide children and young people with engaging activities linked to Scottish culture and language. These are particularly effective when planned in a progressive way and when they are relevant to how children live.

Teachers and practitioners use digital resources effectively to enhance and support literacy and English learning across all sectors. They use digital platforms and applications, such as interactive quizzes and games, to engage and motivate learners. Children and young people use a range of digital tools to improve their creativity and independence. Many children and young people, including those with specific literacy challenges, use tools such as speech-to-text and reading supports to access their literacy tasks and communicate with others successfully.

Staff engagement in professional learning is having a positive impact on literacy and English outcomes. Staff across sectors engage in training from external partners, including speech and language therapists and national programmes. This is leading to improved pedagogy, targeted interventions and increased confidence in teaching literacy.

Areas for improvement within the literacy and English curriculum

While practitioners and teachers use progression pathways or developmental milestones to plan listening and talking, most do not yet teach specific skills or assess listening and talking well enough. Practitioners and teachers need to plan explicit teaching of listening and talking skills. They need to plan assessments of children and young people’s application of these skills more regularly and robustly in a wide range of new and relevant contexts.

Across sectors, teachers and practitioners need to use a wider range of questioning when they interact with children and young people. They should ensure that they ask questions that require children and young people to use higher-order thinking skills when they respond and that develop listening and talking skills further. Although many teachers share the purpose of learning and whether they are successful with children and young people, this is not always clear enough.

Teachers need to ensure that learning intentions are specific to the literacy skills being developed to help all children and young people understand the purpose of their learning. Children and young people should also know the skills for life, learning and work which they are developing as they engage in literacy experiences. Children and young people would benefit from more regular, high-quality feedback from teachers. Teachers should ensure they provide clear, specific feedback that helps children and young people to improve their work.

In secondary schools, senior leaders need to ensure that young people have opportunities to develop and apply their literacy and English skills across the curriculum. All secondary teachers need to develop an understanding of expectations in literacy and English across all curriculum areas. There is scope for evidence of attainment in literacy to be gathered from curricular areas other than English.

While many practitioners and teachers support children and young people in developing a love of reading for enjoyment through attractive, well-stocked library spaces, many English teachers in secondary schools express concerns about young people’s engagement in reading for pleasure. All staff should continue to build on the best practice of making effective use of local and school libraries and online applications to help children and young people access a range of high-quality, relevant and diverse texts.

Challenges to system improvement

Across primary, secondary and special sectors, the number of children and young people identified in the annual pupil census (gov.scot) as having a literacy-related additional support need is increasing:

• The number of children and young people identified with a language or speech disorder rose from 2.6% in 2020 to 2.9% in 2024.

Practitioners and teachers need to continue to improve their approaches in order to appropriately and fully support children and meet their needs. 

Across all sectors, practitioners and teachers are concerned about keeping up to date with developments in technology, such as the use of artificial intelligence. There are disparities across the country regarding children and young people’s access to one-to-one devices.

In secondary schools, the number of young people who read regularly for pleasure has decreased. There are a number of societal reasons for this, including increased use of digital devices and the ease and availability of online information. This issue has been exacerbated by the reduction in the number of school librarians, the pressure on budgets to refresh book stocks and the closure of local libraries.

Across all sectors, staff report a lack of time for professional learning activities in supporting literacy and English development, including moderation. This is impacting staff’s ability to improve the curriculum, implement and embed new approaches and respond to the increase in children and young people with an additional support need. 

In some areas, staffing is a challenge. Some schools report being without teachers for extended periods due to recruitment issues and a shortage of suitably qualified temporary staff.