[senco-forum] Separate forum for the teaching of reading/literacy

Hi eddie

  Speaking as someone who has found your contributions very helpful, I am sorry that you have unsubscribed.  And I agree wholeheartedly that prevention is better than cure.
  And I do think that you are right up to a point about SENCOs.  I do spend hours on the paperwork I have to do to generate the funds and advice I need to support the pupils who need extra help.  
  Now, if improvements in the teaching of reading gradually do me out of a job, I'll be delighted.  That will leave me with only those who find school difficult because of physical, sensory, behaviour and cognitative problems to cater for and not those who are the victims of inefficient teaching methods.
  So I'm not interested in a Forum for initial literacy only but I'd welcome it as a valuable opportunity for those who are.

  Amanda
  Secondary SENCO
  Cornwall

eddiecarron <eddiecarron at btconnect.com> wrote:
  I have re- subscribed only to post this one message.

I unsubscribed some months ago because I felt that Senco-forum members were
no longer interested in my own special area which is the promotion of
literacy and the initial teaching of reading. I take the view that a
resolution of the initial teaching of reading issue would remove many of the
''special needs' which later emerge on the basis of the idea that prevention
is always better than cure and since we are obviously not very good at
delivering 'cures' anyway. Even a cursory examination of the topics
discussed on the Senco forum shows that SENCo are now more concerned with
the administration of illiteracy than with its remediation. Since I have no
interest in its administration, I simply unsubscribed. This is not to
denigrate these causes or issues - I know they are of great interest to
SENCo and others but they are of no interest to me personally. I felt that
by unsubscribing that would be the end of the matter.

I have recently been emailed by someone who had I believe also circulated
others, on the subject of the poor representation on literacy topics on the
forum. This person indicated an interest in anther forum lwhich would be
ring-fenced for literacy issues only and in particular, for the intitial
teaching of reading to the exclusion of all else.

I wondered if there would be others interested in pressing BECTa for the
establishment of such a limited forum since some very interesting things are
currently happening this field in which our performance is presently so
abysmal compared to that of many other countries who appear to take 98%
literacy as the norm whilst we have bumbled along for decades with a
miserable 81%. We really do continue to allow about one child in five to
leave school at sixteen, less than functionally literate. Surely this is
worthy of its own debating forum?

Eddie Carron 

Amanda
Secondary SENCO
Cornwall