Category: News

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Advocacy Literacy News

Primary Reading Pledge

Five From Five, AUSPELD and Learning Difficulties Australia have collaborated on an evidence-based framework for schools to dramatically reduce the number of children who finish primary school unable to read proficiently. It is vitally important that schools and teachers are provided with the support, training and resources they need to ensure that all students learn to read.
Primary Reading Pledge:
“To reduce to near zero the number of children who finish primary school unable to read by providing primary schools with the resources and training to provide effective assessment and intervention.”
Download the Primary Reading Pledge plan here: https://fivefromfive.com.au/primary-reading-pledge
Add your name to the list of people who support an evidence-based action plan to get all children reading by the end of primary school.
Go to https://fivefromfive.com.au/support_primary_reading_pledge
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Advocacy Literacy News

Launch of the Literacy Hub website and Year 1 Phonics Check

AUSPELD strongly supports evidence informed practice in the teaching of literacy. In order to read well, children need to be taught to read words accurately and fluently, and they need the knowledge and vocabulary to understand what they read.

The Phonics Check is one component of a high-quality structured literacy program. The recent announcement by the Federal Government that stage one of the Year 1 Phonics Check is now available to schools and families across Australia has been welcomed by AUSPELD. It is a simple tool which checks student progress in the second half of Year 1. The results of the Phonics Check provide teachers with a useful overview of students’ individual reading skills and assists teachers to identify students who need additional support.

The Phonics Check is available now via a new online portal for teachers, school leaders and families called the Literacy Hub. The Hub includes information on how students learn to read, as well as resources for schools and families to support literacy development. Additional resources will be added over the coming months.

Go to literacyhub.edu.au to find out more.

 

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Events Literacy News

Talking Literacy Webinar Series

AUSPELD is excited to announce an upcoming new webinar series, featuring conversations with international experts as they share some of their acquired knowledge, key discoveries and thoughts for the future. The series focuses on the acquisition of language, literacy and numeracy and includes interviews with Louisa Moats, Mark Seidenberg, Kate Nation, Carl Hendrick, Paul Kirschner, Daniel Ansari, Pie Corbett, Emily Hanford and Pamela Snow.

These interviews (conducted by AUSPELD President Mandy Nayton) will be essential viewing for teachers, administrators, speech pathologists, psychologists and parents concerned with evidence-informed practice in the fields of literacy and learning. More information about how to register for – and contribute to – these free webinars will be shared soon. Be sure to follow AUSPELD on Facebook or Twitter for updates – https://www.facebook.com/AUSPELD/  https://twitter.com/auspeld

Registrations now open

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News

Additional Updates to SPELD Services

Over the past few months, state SPELD associations have responded to the COVID-19 context by adapting their service delivery models to include online clinical services, professional development, and tutoring. As restrictions start to ease in some parts of the country, some state SPELDs have begun to return to face to face service delivery while online and tele-health options continue to be available at all state SPELDs.

To find out more about the services available at each state SPELD, please click here.

For further information, contact your local state SPELD.

Click to enlarge

 

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News Research

Emily Hanford’s exploration of the science of reading

Journalist Emily Hanford (author of Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read) recently presented an online keynote presentation as part of the PaTTAN Literacy Symposium.

The presentation focuses on Emily’s exploration of the science of reading. She shares some important take-home messages about changing the way the message of effective evidence-informed instruction is delivered.

We are looking forward to hosting Emily soon as a guest on our upcoming webinar series featuring several exciting international speakers. More news coming soon!

In the meantime, please enjoy this webinar which is highly recommended for educators, parents, and anyone concerned about how children are taught to read.

 

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Literacy News

Interview with Dr. Jack Fletcher

This video interview with esteemed child neuropsychologist Dr. Jack Fletcher is a must-watch! Dr. Fletcher is the Principal Investigator of the Texas Centre for Learning Disabilities and is a former member of the NICHD National Advisory Council and the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education.

In the video, he explains the importance of early intervention for children with dyslexia, the key characteristics of effective reading intervention, the danger of intervention fads, and more.

Dr. Fletcher advocates for “Strong core instruction for everyone, which absolutely reduces risk… in the context of universal screening and progress monitoring.”

Listen to (or read) the interview here: readingrockets.org/teaching/experts/jack-fletcher

Child Neuropsychologist Dr. Jack Fletcher
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News

Sounds-Write training is now available in an online format!

Sounds~Write is an evidence-based linguistic phonics program utilising an exciting and highly successful approach to the teaching of reading and spelling. The AUSPELD team are delighted to be offering online Sounds~Write workshops to interested teachers, tutors, parents, and allied health professionals. The first AUSPELD Sounds~Write course has gotten off to a fantastic start, and the upcoming June course is already booking up quickly. Two new start dates have also now been announced in July and August.

The online course runs for six weeks (with four weeks of content) and is monitored by experienced Sounds~Write trainers. Further information and booking details can be found by clicking on the flyer below.

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News

Updates to SPELD Services

State SPELD Associations have made a number of changes to their services in recent weeks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim is continue to support the schools, families and organisations that we currently work with (as well as those who are new to AUSPELD) in a manner that is appropriate for these rapidly changing times. To find out more about the ways we are continuing to support our communities, please go to State SPELDs – Providing essential services and support or click on the image below.

We will be adding new resources and information to the AUSPELD website and providing regular updates on our Facebook page, so make sure to follow AUSPELD at facebook.com/AUSPELD/ 

For more information, please contact your local State SPELD.

 

Click on the image below to expand.

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Advocacy Literacy News

Federal MP Highlights the Importance of Phonics

Julian Leeser MP, Member for Berowra NSW, recently raised the importance of high quality early phonics instruction in federal parliament. Mr Leeser emphasised the need for explicit literacy instruction in schools which focuses on the relationships between sounds and letter patterns in English. The CEO of SPELD NSW, Georgina Perry, provided pertinent comments regarding this matter which have been included in Hansard.

Mr Leeser also outlined the success of the year 1 phonics screening test in England and the results of the phonics check trial in South Australia. Ms Perry is quoted as saying, “The phonics check is a valuable tool as it helps teachers confirm their students are learning essential phonics skills and may help identify those students who are having difficulty learning to read.”

Mr Leeser’s speech can be found in Hansard here.

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Advocacy News

AUSPELD & LDA Submission to the 2019 Review of the Melbourne Declaration

Earlier this year, Federal Education Minister The Honourable Dan Tehan MP announced a review of the Melbourne Declaration. In 2008, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians was signed by all Australian Education Ministers at the time. It set out two main goals for education in Australia:

  • The promotion of equity and excellence in Australian schools; and,
  • That all young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.

Submissions to the review were invited from education stakeholders and community members. AUSPELD and LDA (Learning Difficulties Australia) completed a joint submission which can be viewed here.