Drive for Literacy

Up to 10% of pupils will find it difficult to read and spell accurately because they have dyslexia. This affects not just their academic achievement, but also their confidence and self-esteem. We partner with the Driver Youth Trust to deliver the Drive for Literacy programme, which screens pupils for literacy difficulties and identifies those  who need extra support. The programme also provides training for teachers, helping them to support children in the right way.

Drive for Literacy website

       

Drive for Literacy

The majority of Ark pupils will learn to read and spell through the Read Write Inc Phonics programme, however, there is a proportion of pupils (nationally up to 10%) for whom reading and spelling accurately and fluently poses a problem - those with dyslexia. Ark partners with the Driver Youth Trust to deliver the Drive for Literacy programme and ensure that dyslexia screening and identification of literacy difficulties takes place as soon as possible. HRH Princess Beatrice, who is dyslexic herself, recently visited two Ark schools to see the work of the Drive for Literacy programme. 

Take some time to look at the resources, advice and evaluation of the programme which are freely available on driveforliteracy.co.uk. Dyslexia Awareness Week is now a regular feature across the network with a host of ideas shared with schools every Autumn.

How the programme works

The Drive for Literacy provides teaching and school staff with training, resources and equipment, and a dedicated dyslexia lead teacher to offer support and guidance. In particular, the programmes aims to ensure schools working with the Drive for Literacy can:      
  • Identify persistent literacy difficulties, such as dyslexia, through a comprehensive process. Screening is undertaken both in Years 1 and 3 in a cost effective way by screening whole classes at the same time, ensuring minimal disruption to planned lessons.
  • Adapt classroom practice. The knowledge and skills imparted to teaching staff are used to ensure good classroom practice that is aimed at benefiting every child in a class, not just a select few. Creative use of technology, managing classroom resources and working in partnership with other staff, such as teaching assistants, are all examples of this.
  • Develop a whole school approach in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. The Drive for Literacy strongly believes that everyone, especially Senior Leadership Teams, need to support this work and the involvement of their staff. This can be achieved by demonstrating evidence-based practice and tangible results to literacy attainment.