I am delighted to welcome another member in the Literacy Development Team.

Is mise Alison Nicleòid agus tha mi toiseachadh mar Oifigear Leasachaidh Litearrachd na Gàidhlig aig Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd.  Bidh mi ag’ obair san dreuchd seo gach Diardaoin agus Dihaoine gu deireadh an t- seisean seo.  Mar pàirt den obair seo bidh mi a cruthachadh agus a leasachadh goireasan Gàidhlig a tha leanntainn Proiseact Litearrachd na Gàidhealtachd.  Bidh cothroman ann dhiubh tighinn gu trèanadh air loidhne ‘s sinn a coimhead air goireasan ùr a th’ againn.  Bidh fàilte chridheil oirbh uile tighinn chun a chiad trèanadh air loidhne air Diardaoin 18 an Giblean.

Ma tha ceistean sam bith agaibh cuir fios thugam aig alison.macleod5@highland.gov.uk

I would like to introduce myself as I begin my secondment as Gaelic Literacy Development Officer for The Highland Council.  My name is Alison Macleod and I will be working in this position on a Thursday and Friday until the end of this current session.  As part of this role I will be creating and developing resources in Gaelic that follow the Highland Literacy Project.  There will be opportunities for online training throughout the session as we introduce the new resources and offer training on how they can be used.  You are all welcome to come to the first online training which will be held on Thursday 18^th of April. 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at alison.macleod5@highland.gov.uk.

Alison and I will aim to develop things side-by-side and have the Gaelic Medium Resources and the English Medium resources sitting together on our literacy pages.

The first two dates for the GM trainings before the summer holidays are as follows:

18^TH April –  This session is for Gaelic Medium practitioners to discuss literacy resources available in GME through Highland Literacy.  Throughout this session we will be discussing the key priorities for development of literacy resources for GME.

Meet code for joining: https://meet.google.com/jyq-freu-kmb

16^th May-

This session is for Gaelic Medium practitioners to share resources for literacy in GME.  Throughout this session we will be discussing the use of Gaelic literacy interventions to support pupils in reading.

Meet code for joining: https://meet.google.com/jyq-freu-kmb

Nationally Approved, Top Literacy Interventions

Not every intervention that you come across has been researched, so it is good to check that there is evidence that your money will be money well spent to support targeted learning and teaching for the child.

It is important that we are clear on why an intervention is required and what means of measuring progress you can use.

There are a few things that we should think about before buying an intervention:

• Are we clear on why an intervention is required and what means of measuring progress you can use?
• Is the intervention taking the place of quality adult/child experiences and instructions.
• Does the intervention provide repeated opportunities for over-learning, and applying new skills to other contexts?
• Is there a multi-sensory component to the intervention?
• Is the intervention a tool that the teacher can use to help support the child, rather than a tool that releases the teacher to be able to do something else?
• Are we able to use the intervention in the way that it was created to be used?  If not, you are unlikely to reap the expected outcomes.

We now have a new tab on Sharepoint where you will be able to see a variety of Commercially produced literacy interventions as well as our Highland Council ones.

Coming Soon!

Interventions for Gaelic Medium.

Our next Emerging Literacy network will be on Thursday 29th February from 3:45 to 5:00 pm.

Our topic for discussion and sharing with be on writing at early level, so come armed with your questions and your success stories. If you haven’t signed up yet but would like to join this network, please send an email to jenny.wilson@highland.gov.uk.

Talk for Writing – Non-Fiction

Wednesday 21st February 09:15 to 15:15

If you are in Highland Council and interested in this, please contact jenny.wilson@highland.gov.uk for information around access codes and costs.

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Teaching Creative Learning and Revision Skills through Ltd Video Courses

Wednesday 21st February  13:30 to 14:30

Please sign up through Highland Council’s CPD calendar, where you will get the google code for joining the session.

Dekko Comics Ltd have partnered with the Highland Local Authority to offer a 6-month FREE trial period for this resource – where any Highland School can gain free access to use these resources between the 1st of February and the 1st of September 2024.

As a resource that seeks to help close the attainment gap, we invite you to sign up to gain your free access to this exciting new digital learning-support resource and write it into your School Improvement Plan. Dekko Video Courses for Schools is an engaging educational resource that teaches learners how to turn information into comics, pictures, puzzles and other formats through the Dekko Technique; a method for turning wordy information into forms of entertainment. Our aim is to make learning fun and accessible for a wide variety of learners while boosting attainment and confidence, especially for neurodivergent learners.

The courses are aimed at late primary/early secondary school pupils and explore how creativity and entertainment can be used to enhance independent study skills and revision techniques beyond traditional methods. This prepares pupils so that they know how best to revise when they have to sit their first serious exam. Dekko Video Courses for Schools equip pupils with creative strategies that can help them to pass their exams in a way that works for them; helping to boost their confidence while also providing a lifelong skill set.

Training Sessions available

Wednesday 7^th February 2024 15:45 to 17:00

Encouraging reading for pleasure in your school is an important way to drive improvement. There is strong evidence linking reading and educational outcomes, as well as other benefits such as positive impacts on wellbeing. Reading can be a great strategy for recovery and is a proven way of reducing stress, as well as encouraging creativity across the curriculum. Creating a reading culture is a keyway of reaping these benefits for you and your pupils.

Join Scottish Book Trust at a session on how to take the first steps towards building a reading culture in your setting and the importance of reading for pleasure. Find out about the theory behind reading for pleasure, how to start your reading journey and hear about the resources and programmes at Scottish Book Trust which will support you, including an introduction to our ‘Reading Schools’ accreditation programme. We will be joined by a guest presenter from Lybster Primary School who are a Silver Level Reading School, to share with you their enthusiasm for and experience of their reading journey with Scottish Book Trust.

This session will be on Wednesday 7^th February 2024 16:00 to 17:00

If you are interested in joining, please contact Jenny.wilson@highland.gov.uk

The code to access this session is: https://meet.google.com/jyq-freu-kmb

Teacher Survey

This survey is about the Read, Write, Count bags provided free to every Primary 2 and 3 pupil in Scotland in autumn/winter 2023. We are asking teachers for their views to help us improve the bag and our learning resources in the future. 

Your feedback is very much appreciated and, as a thank you for taking part, we are offering you the chance to win a Read, Write, Count Superbox with lots of games, books and resources

This survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RWCLP2324

Parent Survey

We are asking parents and carers of children who received the bags for their views to help us improve them in the future.   

As a thank you for taking part, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a collection of books for your child.

This survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/LPZ3TD2

Teaching Creative Learning and Revision Skills through Ltd Video Courses

Wednesday 21st February

13:30 to 14:30

If wishing to attend this session, please sign up through Highland Council’s CPD calendar, where you will get the google code.

Dekko Comics Ltd have partnered with the Highland Local Authority to offer a 6-month FREE trial period for this resource – where any Highland School can gain free access to use these resources between the 1st of February and the 1st of September 2024.

As a resource that seeks to help close the attainment gap, we invite you to sign up to gain your free access to this exciting new digital learning-support resource and write it into your School Improvement Plan. Dekko Video Courses for Schools is an engaging educational resource that teaches learners how to turn information into comics, pictures, puzzles and other formats through the Dekko Technique; a method for turning wordy information into forms of entertainment. Our aim is to make learning fun and accessible for a wide variety of learners while boosting attainment and confidence, especially for neurodivergent learners.

The courses are aimed at late primary/early secondary school pupils and explore how creativity and entertainment can be used to enhance independent study skills and revision techniques beyond traditional methods. This prepares pupils so that they know how best to revise when they have to sit their first serious exam. Dekko Video Courses for Schools equip pupils with creative strategies that can help them to pass their exams in a way that works for them; helping to boost their confidence while also providing a lifelong skill set.

Are you looking for some quick winter writing ideas?

If so, take a look at these links.  There may be something that you could use with your class.

We’re Going on a Bear Baby Hunt  Early to First Level

A Christmas Adventure  First Level

Do you Want to Build a Snowman? First Level to Second Level

Journey for Survival First to Second Level

Are you working with children and young people who have English as an additional language and would like to know more about how you can support them?

Why not come along to this session which will be run by the EAL support team on the 21st November in Inverness High School. We will cover how to use key translation tools which are accessible to pupils on their Chromebooks. To join this session, please register to secure a place through the CPD calendar.

Target Group – Upper Primary & Secondary PSAs, ASNTs and Class Teachers

Maximum Participants – 30

Sectors – Upper Primary & Secondary

Cutoff date for signing up – 21/11/23

Subject – Literacy

Date: Tuesday 28^th November, 4-5.30pm

Venue: Inverness High School (You must sign up through CPD calendar before attending)

HGIOS – 2.3 – Learning, teaching and assessment

HGIOS – 3.2 – Raising attainment and achievement

Aim – To upskill staff in digital translation tools to then support EAL pupils.

Content – During this training we will cover how to use key translation tools which are accessible to pupils on their Chromebooks such as Google Translate, Read & Write and OrbitNote.  There will be opportunities to practise using these tools during the session.

Notes: If possible, could attendees bring a Highland Council laptop or Chromebook to the training. Tea and coffee will be available.

Literacy for All Day Two – Full day training

On Monday 30^th October and Tuesday 31^st October, there will be a whole day of training in Literacy for All for those working in primary schools.  This session is designed for people who have attended Day One or Twilight Sessions One and Two. 

On Wednesday 1^st November, there will be a whole day training in Literacy for All for those working in secondary schools.

During this session, we will do a brief recap of the assessment process for identifying dyslexia, but will focus on assessments and interventions to aid targeted learning and teaching.  There will be time to discuss individual children and to try to tease out what might be holding them back and how to help move them forward in their learning.

If you are able to join us, please let jenny Wilson know at Jenny.wilson@highland.gov.uk. 

The code for the training is: https://meet.google.com/czr-xqsg-xip

• 30/10/23            LfA ASL Full Day Two Primary                                                9:00 – 15:00      
• 31/10/23            LfA ASL Full Day Two Primary                                                9:00 – 15:00
• 1/11/23              LfA ASL Full Day Two Secondary                                           9:00 – 15:00