A Focus on Bridging the Word Gap

As part of supporting the seamless transition between primary and secondary school, and building key academic language across the curriculum, HHA has been working on a specialist programme. As educationalists we know that repeated exposure and explicit teaching of new vocabulary is necessary across the spoken language, reading and writing. Subject specialist teachers will be using the ‘Speak like a pro’ strategy, thereby introducing and bridging words gap.

Research over recent years regarding the gap in vocabulary that many children face shows that this particularly effects children from lower income families and those with English as an additional language. The gap has been widened further by the lockdown due to Covid-19. Most of HHA’s SEND/EAL pupils would be anxious about transition to secondary school more now than ever, and this strategy will help alleviate those anxieties.

The academy has identified 16 SEND/EALY6 pupils and they have been receiving 1-2 sessions a week from secondary school subject specialist teachers. The feedback from staff and pupils has been overwhelmingly positive and the information gathered from these sessions will be used to inform the SEND/ EAL curriculum provision for September 2022. A timetable on a rotation will be put in place involving these subjects: Food Technology; ICT; Geography; History; Art; PE and PSHE.