Reading Development

From the Director of Studies, Adrian Cotterell

Over the past few months there has been considerable media interest on a recent report

 from the Grattan Institute, “The Reading Guarantee: How to give every child the best chance of success”.  

The report points to the unfortunate reality that currently one in three Australian students are not mastering the reading skills they will need for modern society. The authors call for Australian schools and systems to commit to a ‘Reading Guarantee’ strategy, which includes adopting research-informed approaches to literacy and reading instruction across all primary schools. Some of these recommendations include:

• Adopting a Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) approach to early reading instruction.
• Utilising literacy intervention programs for students identified in needing further intensive literacy instruction.
• Using universal screeners that assess key reading skills to ensure early identification of ‘at risk’ students.

At Emmaus, we welcome the recommendations included in this report. This is further validation regarding the approach we have been actively moving towards in literacy instruction and assessment in recent years. A key example was in 2022; the Brooklyn Park campus trialled a new SSP program in Foundation to Year 2 called InitiaLit. Starting last year, South Plympton also adopted this program. 

InitiaLit is a holistic literacy program, grounded in research-driven approaches from the organisation MultiLit, a research initiative of Macquarie University. It encompasses Systematic Synthetic Phonics alongside a systematic approach to spelling and grammar instruction. It also enriches literacy through Foundation to Year 2 Storybook lessons that build vocabulary and comprehension with quality children's picture books. The program integrates closely with our College's targeted reading interventions and is complemented by a suite of literacy assessments to monitor key skills.

Emmaus has also adopted a robust suite of assessments called Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). These are used in Year 3 to 6 to assess phonic knowledge; the ability to fluently decode and reading comprehension. The implementation of an Explicit-Direct Instruction program called ‘Spelling Mastery’ across Years 3 to 6 has also consolidated our ability to systematically develop spelling and morphology knowledge and application in our students, which further supports reading and comprehension skills.

At Emmaus, we strive to equip our teachers with relevant, additional background knowledge to enable them to effectively implement some of these commercial programs. In recent years, we have provided professional development on the cognitive processes and phases of development required for students to become successfully literate. We have engaged the expertise of our learning support coordinators, Kate McGee (Brooklyn Park) and Sarah Bell (South Plympton) to guide us through the ‘Science of Reading’ and in 2023, we had literacy consultant, Felicity Clark, train our Year 3-6 teachers on researched informed spelling instruction. 

We endeavour to build upon these successful initiatives to ensure that all Emmaus students across both campuses have a consistent, high level of instruction, informed by science, to give them every opportunity to become life-long lovers of reading.

To find out more about our Literacy Program, specifically InitiaLit: 

You can access the recent Grattan Report here: 

Adrian Cotterell

Director of Studies