Ramsgate Arts Primary has been selected as Kent’s only associate school by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education.
It follows RAPS demonstrating a whole-school commitment to deliver their English curriculum through the literacy charity’s flagship Power of Reading training.
The CLPE ethos is to raise the achievement of children’s reading and writing by helping schools to teach literacy creatively and effectively, putting quality children’s books at the heart of all learning.
It means that RAPS will now support the CLPE with the training of other schools online in how to best use the resources and reading schemes available – and other schools in Kent will have the chance to visit in person to see RAPS ‘best practice’ in action.
English lead is Deputy Head of School Danny Holliday, who said: “This is an important step for our school – to become the county’s sole associate school means that CLPE has evaluated how we operate and are confident that we are best placed to help improve literacy in our area.
“We have seen an improvement in the writing skills of our children since we have adopted this way of delivering literacy, particularly in use of English, grammar and punctuation.”
RAPS has gone a step further by expanding on the recommended literacy resource by creating a series of large themed panels on display around the school, artistically capturing the heart of the text being read by children of all age groups.
Mr Holliday added: “This school has always encouraged a love of reading and writing with a very comprehensive range of suggested texts among its resources – the CLPE move has helped us deliver this cornerstone of our learning in greater depth and the benefits are clear.”
Head of School Nick Budge believes the CLPE commitment to RAPS is positive for the school. He said: “It clearly demonstrates a faith in how we approach literacy and the importance that we give to it – working together with CLPE is a big endorsement of our work and our ethos.”
CLPE also conducts research into all areas of primary literacy, using the findings to inform practice and contribute to national and international perspectives on literacy.
It says: “Our mission is to improve the life chances of children by ensuring that every child has access to quality experiences of literacy and that all teachers have the knowledge and resources to support children become confident, happy and enthusiastic readers and writers, with all the benefits this brings.”
*CLPE was founded in 1972 as The Centre for Language in Primary Education and became an independent charity in 2002, changing its name to The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. During its lifetime the award-winning independent charity has built a national and international reputation for its work in the fields of language, literacy and assessment.
To find out more go online to www.clpe.org.uk
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