2023

We decided (collaboratively with our teachers) that all of our Year 0-2 teachers would be involved in training and implementation of BSLA in 2023. We saw great results at the end of 2023 again. We noticed accelerated progress (greater than a year's progress), and noticed that achievement was equitable across ethnicites in our school. We were able to involve more staff in Year 3 and 4 in the second part of 2023,but recognised that BSLA was not designed to support the Literacy journey of our older ākonga.

2024 and 2025 - The move to a whole school approach with Learning Matters - The 'iDeal Approach'

One of our focuses as a school is a smooth transition into our school, between year levels and to Intermediate. We believe that the smoother this transition is, the more 'continued learning' is supported. We also recognise that we have learners with a range of learning needs in all areas of our school - therefore all of our staff need to have a solid understanding of different levels.

We investigated options for Literacy which supported learning from our 5 year olds right up to our 10 and 11 year olds in Year 6. 

Structured Literacy at Onehunga Primary School

In 2024 and in 2025 our school is participating in professional learning in Structured Literacy and as a result, our teaching approaches will transition over time to align with this teaching approach in spelling, reading and writing. 

Structured Literacy is an evidence-based approach that is grounded in the 'Science of Reading'. As a school, we have partnered with Learning Matters and will be accessing the iDeaL platform to ensure our teachers are well supported with this transition and the approach becomes embedded and sustainable across our school. 

The findings from the Science of Reading have taught us some very important lessons. We are really excited to continue to make this part of learning in our Learning Communities throughout our school.

Key takeaways from the Science of Reading include the following:

• Reading is not a natural process. Previously, we believed that learning to read was as natural as learning to speak.

• We know about the skills that good readers use and the parts of the brain that are involved in the reading process.

• We know what we should assess and teach to students who are not progressing in reading and spelling.

• We know that all brains learn to read in the same way and that these areas of the brain can be trained and developed.

• A Structured Literacy approach to learning to read and spell is necessary for all ākonga and crucial for some.

• A Structured Literacy approach is the most efficient teaching and learning approach for dyslexic children and those with reading difficulties.

• The teaching of spelling in a systematic and explicit way enables students to become capable readers and writers.

In time, as we build our resources, we will use decodable texts for reading in junior classrooms and catch-up readers with older students. 

As a parent, you may wish to learn more about this approach and the Science of Reading. If you have questions, please feel free to find further information at:

• Lifting Literacy Aotearoa

• Learning MATTERS

• iDeaL Approach

• APM Reports – At a Loss for Words.

Supporting Your Child’s Literacy Learning At Home

You are an important part of your child’s literacy journey. Children’s early language and reading experiences at home help build foundations for reading success. 

Vocabulary plays a very important part in learning to read. Beginning readers must use the words they hear orally (when talking and in everyday conversations) to make sense of the words they see in print.

For whānau this might be enjoying time together with books, and looking at print around the home and when you are out and about. Talking with your children, having conversations back and forth, taking lots of turns and encouraging your children to talk and discuss things with you are some really easy activities you can do with you children that don’t involve any resources. 

Our teachers will focus on teaching your child to read, whānau can support by encouraging regular sharing of books and conversations about words, sounds and books. 

Children may bring home books which are not decodable readers. We are sending these to give whānau a range of books to read to their children and talk about.

If you are ever unsure what you can do, or the book your child is bringing home please ask your child’s teacher.

Some ideas about how whānau might support literacy learning at home:

• Continuing to read a variety of books to your child every night. Ask them questions about what you’ve read. 

• Ask about new words which come up in talking and in books - talk about what they mean

• Regularly read and recite nursery rhymes together (and rhyme found in some picture books). Talk about rhyming words in these and think of other words that may rhyme.

• Discuss what words mean in everyday talk.

• Play ‘I spy’ the sound – find objects in the environment that begin (or ends) with the sound. 

• Find known letters in print and say the sound. (sounds being used at OPS are linked below)

• Revise the sounds (using the links below)

• Encourage your child to talk about their day.

• Actively listen to your child and ask questions where appropriate.

• Tell them a personal story or a story about your whānau .

The Ministry of Education - Ideas to help with reading, writing and maths

What is a decodable text or reader?

•  The readers focus on target letters and sounds your child is learning about in class.

• It provides them with lots of opportunities to read words with the target sounds in the context of a story

At OPS we are currently using Ready to Read Phonics Plus books to support BSLA in Year 0-4

The lead researchers within BSLA Team have also developed the new Ready to Read Phonics plus series for the Ministry of Education. These new children’s readers are culturally relevant to NZ and use a systematic approach to introduce word patterns to help children decode unfamiliar words and to comprehend simple stories. The use of these new readers from the Ready to Read Phonic Plus series is embedded within the Better Start Literacy approach.

The decodable readers your child will bring home have suggestions on the front cover about how whānau can support that particular reader. Your child’s teacher may also send an information sheet about the sounds your child is focusing on that week.

Whanau Notes

Your child can read the story to you.

Help them with any words they don’t know.

After reading, talk about the story, characters, and pictures.

Key Words and Phrases - related to Structured Literacy

There are a lot of new words and phrases being used by teachers and ākonga when they talk about reading. We have included some really simple explanations…

• Blend – Two distinct sounds that merge together, e.g. bl, br, cr, sn.

• Blending – Combining individual phonemes to make a whole word. E.g., /t/ /a/ /p/ → /tap/

• Comprehension/comprehend - understanding what has been read

• Decodable readers - books using a systematic approach to introduce word patterns to help children decode unfamiliar words and to comprehend simple stories

• Phoneme – A unique sound that can be combined in different ways to make meaningful difference

• Phonics - teaching reading and spelling through sound-symbol relationships

• Phonological Awareness (PA) – knowing that words are made up of different sounds - the ability to hear, identify, make, and work with the sounds and sound patterns of spoken language.

• Phonology – The speech sounds of a language/languages and the rules that affect these sounds.

• Segmenting – Breaking a word down into their individual phonemes. E.g., /t/ /a/ /p/ or /sh/ /o/ /p/.

• Scope and Sequence - a particular sequence for introducing children to letters and sounds

• Vocabulary - (word learning) - words that we use in speaking or understand in listening (oral language), and the words we understand or use in print (reading & writing)

The Better Start Literacy Approach includes teaching letter sound knowledge skills through fun, games-based activities, activities making explicit links to reading and spelling, and small group reading sessions using the new ‘Ready to Read - Phonics Plus’ early readers series. In addition, the approach teaches vocabulary skills and builds children's listening comprehension skills through story books. We teach The Better Start Literacy Approach in whole class sessions and smaller reading groups.

Since beginning our BSLA journey, we have noticed a positive impact as students are beginning to transfer their BSLA learning to their reading and writing. Students are learning to break words into sounds and blend sounds together when attempting unknown words. `Akonga are learning that the amount of sounds in a word do not always equal the amount of letters in a word. Once teachers have completed the training, we look forward to sharing more with whānau, including ways to support your child's learning at home.

Student voice: 

“tch in itch makes the sound ch because it is a trigraph. Three letters make one sound”

“ai goes in the middle of the word but ay goes at the end”

“C-a-t, cat”

“It helps me with my reading because I can count the sounds on my fingers.”

You can find out more about Better Start Literacy here and in this newsletter from 2022