Welcome to the Literacy Leap certification framework!

This framework incorporates Bronze, Silver and Gold Levels, and is designed to encourage and celebrate best practice in identifying and supporting children who may be at risk of dyslexia and other SpLD, and helping them to achieve their potential. The framework is informed by the SEND Code of Practice and aims to support schools in meeting its requirements.Particular emphasis has been placed on enabling class teachers to identify and support the needs of children at risk of dyslexia and other SpLD and embedding this support within Quality First Teaching.

The criteria for the framework were developed by a steering committee comprising teachers and head teachers;local authority representatives; parents and grandparents of dyslexic children; and representatives of the British Dyslexia Association, Dyslexia Action, and Springboard for Children. The criteria were piloted in 40 primary schools in England as part of a Department for Education funded projectduring 2015-16; feedback from participating schools have been used to shape the final version of the framework presented here.

Each of the three levels has a particular focus.

  • Bronze Level: Awareness for all teaching and support staff.
  • Silver Level: Identification of Dyslexia and other SpLD.
  • Gold Level: Successful interventions and leadership.

Within each level, criteria are divided into five areas:

  • School commitment;
  • Continuing Professional Development and Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD;
  • Pupil and Parent Voice;
  • Identification;
  • Support and Intervention.

The framework is designed to be cumulative and progressive; this means thatall Bronze Level requirements must be met before moving on to Silver, and, in the same way, criteria from these two levels must be completed before progressing to Gold Level. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to apply for each award in turn. If, for example, your school has already met each requirement for Bronze Level and you would like to apply for the Silver award straight away, you can do so.

You should begin by matching your school against the certification framework. You’ll probably find that you can tick a number of boxes in each level. This will help you to decide where your starting point should be.

Certification Framework

Bronze
Awareness for all teaching & support staff / Silver
Identification of Dyslexia and other SpLD / Gold
Successful interventions & leadership
School Commitment / B1. Our Board of Governors has been informed of the certification process and supports us in achieving its aims. A named Governor has been given responsibility for reporting on the progress of the award.
B2. Our head teacher and senior management team have met with all teachers + support staff to explain how the certification process will benefit pupils and staff alike.
B3. We have appointed two leads (one of whom is a member of the SMT) who have overall responsibility for the certification process and for collating evidence required for certification.
B4. Our school is aware of appropriate external agencies; information on appropriate signposting is included in school policy documents. / / S1. Our school is committed to identification, including early identification, of Dyslexia and other SpLD; this is reflected in the School Development Plan.
S2. The Board of Governors is regularly updated and informedof progress towards certification. / / G1. Our school is a champion of Dyslexia Friendly policies and is committed to helping other schools to adopt Dyslexia Friendly practices.
CPD and Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD / B5. All teachers and support staff have attended a training session on Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD which conforms to Bronze Level requirements. / / S3. A minimum of any two members of staff have completed CPD related to Dyslexia and other SpLD, in addition to the Awareness and Assessment training undertaken as a compulsory part of the Bronze and Silver Levels, equivalent to a minimum of 1 hour of study per person. / G2. Our school is committed to awareness training in Dyslexia and other SpLD as part of the induction process for new members of staff.
G3. Our school promotes Good Practice in awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD.
G4. A minimum of four members of staff have completed CPD related to Dyslexia and other SpLD, equivalent to a minimum of 1 hour of study per person, in addition to the CPD cited at Silver Level.
Pupil and Parent Voice / B6. Our school promotes a positive ethos towards dyslexia and other SpLD and encourages awareness of learning differences amongst pupils.
B7. Our school has run (or timetabled) a Parent/Carer Workshop to ensure parents’ awareness of basic phonics and literacy development and/or dyslexia and other SpLD. / S4. Teachers using the Dyslexia Checklist include, as standard, a simple questionnaire for children. The responses to this questionnaire are reflected upon & actioned appropriately.
S5. Our school’s ‘at risk’ identification process includes, as standard, liaison with parents and questions about e.g. family and developmental history. / G5. Our school has procedures in place to seek pupil feedback on classroom and/or intervention strategies and to make appropriate adjustments.
G6. Our school has systems in place to involve parents in the process of supporting their children.
Identification / B8. Following Awareness training, each member of staff has used the Primary Dyslexia Checklist or Early Years ‘At Risk’ Checklist with a minimum of one child. / S6. Our screening process includes holistic pupil profiling.
S7. Staff members (minimum 2 in total) representing each school phase have attended the Building an Identification Toolkit training session (minimum 2.5 hours).
S8. A lead person (normally the SENCo) has been appointed to co-ordinate and oversee screening processes within the school.
S9. Following the Building an Identification Toolkit training session, our school has selected appropriate tools for use in the school. / / G7. Our school has access to, and makes use of, the skills of a dyslexia specialist teacher (trained to a minimum of BDA Approved Teacher Status or equivalent) or other appropriate external agencies, to help withthe further development of screening processes and interpretation of results.
Support and Intervention / B9. All teachers and support staff have trialled and reflected on three Dyslexia Friendly strategies selected from the Awareness training. / / S10. All teachers in our school have implemented a further 2 dyslexia friendly strategies in their classrooms, building on those introduced at Bronze Level.
S11. We have built Good Practice sharing opportunities into our staff meetings. / / G8. Our school has in place effective, appropriately selected, evidence-based interventions informed by primary need,which are tied to SMART outcomes, and are subject to regular review processes.

Summary of the Bronze Award Criteria

School commitment / B1. Our Board of Governors has been informed of the certification process and supports us in achieving its aims. A named Governor has been given responsibility for reporting on the progress of the award.
B2. Our head teacher and senior management team have met with all teachers + support staff to explain how the certification process will benefit pupils and staff alike.
B3. We have appointed two leads (one of whom is a member of the SMT) who have overall responsibility for the certification process and for collating evidence required for certification.
B4. Our school is aware of appropriate external agencies; information on appropriate signposting is included in school policy documents.
Continuing Professional Development and Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD / B5. All teachers and support staff have attended a training session on Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD which conforms to Bronze Level requirements.
Pupil and Parent voice / B6. Our school promotes a positive ethos towards dyslexia and other SpLD and encourages awareness of learning differences amongst pupils.
B7. Our school runs Parent/Carer Workshops to ensure parents’ awareness of basic phonics and literacy development and/or dyslexia and other SpLD.
Identification / B8. Following Awareness training, each member of staff has used the Literacy Leap Dyslexia Checklist with a minimum of one child.
Support and Intervention / B9. All teachers and support staff have trialled and reflected on three Dyslexia Friendly strategies selected from the Awareness training.

Bronze Level Guidance

  • School commitment

B1. Our Board of Governors has been informed of the certification process and supports us in achieving its aims. A named Governor has been given responsibility for reporting on the progress of the award.

The Board of Governors will be given full details of the certification framework and should be fully supportive of the school’s involvement. A named governor, possibly the SEND governor, will be given responsibility for overseeing and reporting on the school’s progress in achieving the award.

B1evidence required:
  • minutes of the meeting show that the Board has been informed of the award scheme and that a named governor has been given responsibility for overseeing progress and reporting back to the Board on a regular basis.

B2. Our head teacher and senior management team have met with all teachers + support staff to explain how the certification process will benefit pupils and staff alike.

Success at Bronze Level relies on all staff being committed to the aims of the certification framework. As all teachers and support staff will be involved in meeting the criteria to achieve the award, whole staff ‘buy-in’ is crucial. If support staff are unable to attend the meeting, it should be cascaded to them by teachers.

Senior managers should use this opportunity to promote the benefits to individual staff of the award scheme. These include CPD, delivered through the Awareness of Dyslexia training session, which is designed to help teachers achieve the requirements of the SEND Code of Practice. Feedback from teachers who took part in the pilot year included reports that the training sessions made teachers’ lives easier as it helped them to meet their responsibilities.Teaching Assistants stressed how they felt more valued as a result of the training and were able to take greater ownership of their teaching.

This meeting can also be used to encourage an ethos which promotes the strengths and mitigates the difficulties of learners with SpLD + SEN. All teachers and support staff should acknowledge the difficulties experienced by many children in areas such as literacy, numeracy, and personal organisation and the resultant impact on behaviour and self-esteem. It is essential that all teachers strive to achieve an encouraging learning environment in which fear of failure is avoided and a ‘can do’ attitude is fostered.

Tip:

The first few slides of the Awareness of Dyslexia presentation provide an overview of the certification framework and can be a useful starting point for this meeting.

B2evidence required:
  • minutes of the meeting or materials used (e.g. Powerpoint slides/handouts)or statement from lead teacher to confirm areas covered in the meeting;
  • attendance registeror statement from the project lead to confirm that all staff have received information about the certification process.

B3. We have appointed two leads (one of whom is a member of the SMT) who have overall responsibility for the certification process and for collating evidence required for certification.

To ensure that the school keeps on track in completing the criteria required by the Bronze Level framework, two nominated individuals, one of whom must be a member of the Senior Management Team, should have responsibility for gathering and collating evidence.

B3evidence required:
  • names and contact details of two lead members of staff.

B4. Our school is aware of appropriate external agencies; information on appropriate signposting is included in school policy documents.

All teachers and support staff should be aware of appropriate signposting processes and the school’s graduated response to meeting the needs of pupils with dyslexia and other SpLD. School policy documents will set out these processes clearly and will include a list of agencies used by the school, including through the Local Authority or school cluster/alliance, or as named in the Local Offer (please note, reference to unnamed ‘appropriate agencies’ is inadequate for this requirement).

B4 evidence required:
  • Copy of relevant section of the school policy document.

  • Continuing Professional Development and Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD

B5. All teachers and support staff have attended a training session on Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD which conforms to Bronze Level requirements.

The Awareness training should include the following key points:

  • How to identify Dyslexia and other SpLD

What is an SpLD?

The co-occurring nature of SpLD

What is dyslexia?

Using a checklist to identify children at risk of Dyslexia and other SpLD

  • How to teach in a dyslexia friendly way

Strategies for supporting pupils with Dyslexia and other SpLD

Working towards a dyslexia friendly classroom

  • When to signpost for further assessment / intervention.
  • Continuing Professional Development

Further reading

Available courses

Tip:

We would strongly recommend that staff are asked to complete training evaluation forms which include pre and post-training self-evaluations. These will be useful for senior managers in identifying areas which need further support. Sample forms are available on the Literacy Leap web-pages.

B5evidence required:
  • attendance register;
  • where training materials differ from those available on the Literacy Leap webpages,an overview of the content of the training session should be provided as evidence that the key areas outlined above have been included.

  • Pupil and Parent Voice

B6. Our school promotes a positive ethos towards dyslexia and other SpLD and encourages awareness of learning differences amongst pupils.

The school should be able to show how pupil awareness of learning differences is fostered. This may be through class projects, wall displays, etc.

Tip:

Try helping your dyslexic pupils to put together a presentation to explain what it’s like to be dyslexic. Not only will this will foster their self-esteem, but it will also help to create a positive ethos within the school.

Put together a wall display showing pictures of famous dyslexic people from all different walks of life. Pupils may be surprised to discover that so many successful celebrities are dyslexic!

The BDA website contains useful materials and resources for promoting the positive aspects of dyslexia. See

B6evidence required:
  • photos of poster displays or materials produced by pupils or materials from school assemblies.

B7. Our school runs Parent/Carer Workshops to ensure parents’ awareness of basic phonics and literacy development and/or dyslexia and other SpLD.

Many schools invite parents/carers of children in reception and Year 1 classes to meetings to explain how phonics will be taught in the school and how parents can help at home. We would encourage schools to extend these meetings to parents of children who struggle to acquire literacy. Materials developed by Springboard for Children for phonics workshops for parents are available on the Literacy Leap webpages, should you wish to use them.

Schools should organise workshops to which all parents are invited, but should especially encourage the attendance of parents of children receiving additional support and interventions. The aim will be to increase parents’ and carers’ understanding of what is taught in the classroom and to provide them with ideas and tools to help support their child at home.

Tip:

You may find it useful to ask parents to complete evaluation forms after these workshops so that you know which ideas have been most popular.

In addition to the Parent/Carer Workshop materials, afree booklet of activities for parents to use with their children to improve their literacy skills is available on the Literacy Leap webpages.

B7evidence required:
  • attendance register;
  • copies of materials used.

  • Identification

B8. Following Awareness training, each member of staff has used aLiteracy Leap Dyslexia Checklist with a minimum of one child.

To gain familiarity with, and confidence in, using the checklist, each member of staff should do at least one ‘trial check’. This need not involve looking for a child who is known to be dyslexic; working through the checklist with a particular child in mind is, in itself, a useful activity and helps to familiarise staff members with the behaviours listed in the checklist.

Tip:

Teachers working in Early Years can use the Early Years Checklist.

It may be helpful for staff to work with a colleaguein order to discuss and compare conclusions, particularly with regard to recommendations for further action.

B8evidence required:
  • Statement from project lead to confirm that the activity has been completed by all members of staff;
  • three completed checklists, including recommendations for follow-up.

  • Support and Intervention

B9. All teachers and support staff have trialled and reflected on three Dyslexia Friendly strategies selected from the Awareness training.

Using SMART measures, teachers should use the supplied template to reflect on the effectiveness of the ideas they chose to put in place following the Awareness training. For each idea, teachers should record:

  • Why the idea was selected
  • When and how the idea was implemented
  • What (s)he hoped to achieve by introducing this idea
  • How children responded
  • Whether the children’s response was as expected
  • What was encouraging and/or disappointing
  • Why the idea worked/didn’t work
  • What modifications, if any, are required
  • How this idea can be developed in future

Tips:

A buddy scheme involving observation, if possible, could be put in place to help teachers and support staff reflect on and share ideas and experiences.