Summary

Here we follow Broadmead Infants School's approach to literacy over a week long period, and gain an insight into the strategies they use to encourage enthusiasm about the subject in their pupils.
The school based in Croydon has a very mixed intake of pupils, many of the whom have little experience of books.
Teachers emphasise the importance of guided speaking and listening from Reception onwards, in an effort to get children organising and vocalising their thoughts. Role play, freeze-framing and the dramatising of stories and characters from books all help prepare children for ambitious writing.
Later, Headteacher Alex Lundie reflects on the pupils' achievements. She believes that children with lower levels of experience deserve to have high expectations made of them, so long as the right support is in place.