Parent Helper sessions were recently held for the Prep to Year 2 parents on the topic of our new Literacy Program.
Holy Family utilises a Structured Literacy Approach, informed by a vast body of research known as the Science of Reading and Learning. First stage implementation has seen the adoption of a systematic, synthetic phonics program (UFLI) supported by the use of decodable texts and resources. UFLI is utilised daily across the junior levels, with interleaved practice and opportunities to retrieve previously taught information embedded in the program to support memory retention. Next steps will include the Language Comprehension strand of the Reading Rope with a particular focus on explicitly teaching high impact vocabulary, known as Tier 2 Vocabulary, and syntax knowledge to support comprehension of texts.
These sessions were well attended and positive feedback was received. Natalie Dib, Holy Family Literacy Leader, will be hosting a session at the end of August or early September, open to all parents to discuss the changing approach to teaching reading. This will be an opportunity to discuss the new program and discover how it is improving students' reading skills. In the weeks following this session there will be opportunities for parents to attend ‘learning walkthroughs’ where they can see how the program works, firsthand in the classroom.