UKLA is proud to announce that there are joint winners of our prestigious award for schools.
The winners of the 2018-19 UKLA Literacy School of the Year: A school where literacy thrives are:
Humberstone Junior Academy, Leicester and
Linton Mead Primary School, Greenwich.
UKLA President, Tracy Parvin said: “This is the first time that the decision has been made to offer the award to two schools. This is a positive message, that in these difficult, constrained times, we have two schools that have the “wow” factor. So much so, it would have been completely unjust to select one school and not the other.
These are two schools which put their pupils and community first. It seems to be a common feature that our Schools of the Year are able to achieve outstanding outcomes from their unique and innovative curriculum choices in areas of educational need and social deprivation.
In both schools the assessors found teachers who take their inspiration from their extensive knowledge of children’s literature and create joyful and stimulating environments for learning.”
The UKLA is excited by the possibilities offered by a close partnership with Humberstone Junior Academy and Linton Mead Primary, to share their excellent practice with each other and the wider school community. Both schools will be offering a workshop on Saturday 13th July at the UKLA International Conference, Sheffield Hallam University.
Headteacher of Linton Mead, Lucy Timmons, said, “Winning the UKLA literacy School of the Year award has transformed our school community. We have a fervent belief in our approach to designing teaching and learning opportunities in English, and for our school this award has only served to secure that belief and inspire us to continue on our journey. The United Kingdom Literacy Association is a great resource for the leadership and direction of not only English, but our pedagogy, and it is truly an honour to have won this award alongside such a great school as Humberstone Junior Academy.”
Headteacher of Humberstone Junior Academy, Annemarie Williams, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be named as UKLAS Literacy School of the Year. The award is a huge honour for the school and is recognition for all the excellent, creative work undertaken by the staff team. We look forward to sharing our curriculum and practice with our teaching colleagues in other schools.”
UKLA would also like to celebrate the work of Cogan Primary School, in Penarth, which has been placed on the Roll of Honour for the UKLA Literacy School of the Year. This reflects the unique work carried out in the school to create their own Diversity Book Award, which has engaged staff, parents and the wider school community.
In all three of the schools, the UKLA assessors found a determination to promote children’s oracy, to enable a culture of Reading for Pleasure, based on teachers’ and children’s deep engagement with texts, and to provide real audiences for writing of a consistently high quality.
