How Ofsted Thinks About the Literature Texts in Your Curriculum
You can read the full report here.
It should be easy to plan a coherent selection of texts to read in English. But too often the selection criteria is not based on academic merit.
Whatever your real reason for choosing a text - diversity, personal pronouns, a determination to maintain the Canon, or to fire it - make sure the vocabulary and syntax have academic merit, and this increases in complexity as students move through the course.
Literature
Importance of a Literature-Rich Environment in Primary Schools
Primary school leaders emphasise the significance of a literature-rich environment to develop various aspects of English.
Many schools have a defined 'canon' of texts that they consider essential for pupils to enjoy and engage with, fostering their growth as readers and storytellers.
In Reception and beyond, familiar stories are revisited and retold to deepen understanding.
“Many schools talk about their school’s ‘canon’, the stories that they want to share with pupils, which they would enjoy.”
Challenges with Text Selection in Secondary and Primary
Despite the recognition of literature's importance, many schools do not prioritise texts for their literary merit.
Instead, they often choose books covering personal, social, and health education topics, leading to a fragmented experience of literature.
This approach can prevent students from grasping essential concepts such as narrative voice across different texts.
“In a significant number of schools, texts for study in English are not always chosen for their literary merit.”
Lack of Deliberate Sequencing in Secondary and Primary
In the majority of schools, the sequencing of literature lacks intentionality.
While texts may become progressively more challenging, there is often no coherent plan for building on previous knowledge, including themes, genres, and necessary background knowledge.
This can hinder students’ ability to connect new texts with prior readings.
“The sequencing of literature is not deliberate ... as a result, pupils are not able to understand new texts and make connections between these and the texts they have studied previously.”
Primary Case Study: Establishing a Coherent Reading Curriculum
One primary school focused on cultivating independent readers by thoughtfully designing their reading curriculum.
Leaders prioritised texts for their literary quality and established a strategy for revisiting texts to help students become familiar with them.
They aimed for pupils to encounter a rich variety of high-quality texts throughout their education.
“Leaders made deliberate choices about the reading curriculum...recognised the importance of practising reading and becoming familiar with a book.”
Case Study: Intentional Text Selection
Leaders were clear about the rationale behind their text choices, focusing on the question of 'why this? why now?'
They ensured that vocabulary, genre, and syntax were appropriate for students,
fostering their comprehension skills and preparing them for more complex texts.
Background knowledge was taught intentionally to enhance reading comprehension.
“Leaders understood that reading comprehension related to background knowledge and made sure that this was taught intentionally.”
You probably know that, once students know how to decode, reading comprehension is simply background knowledge.
If you don’t know that, you’ll want to read about the baseball study.
To read scores of ways to improve your English teaching or leadership of English, try my book: The Full English.
