Successful Globeducate British International Schools Literacy Meet

Last week, literacy leaders from Globeducate British International Schools gathered at the Almancil campus of Nobel Algarve British International School to participate in an intensive two-day workshop aimed at deepening their knowledge of techniques and strategies that will enable them to further improve reading, speaking and literacy at all educational stages at Globeducate British International Schools. It was a professional development opportunity dedicated to supporting leadership and educational excellence in Globeducate's network of British schools in Europe.

Fundamentals and frameworks

The event began with a deep dive into strategies for incorporating reading into the daily school, with a whole-school approach and the use of data to support reading development. The session offered an in-depth look at the Talk4Writing strategy, including observation of its practical use, text modelling and active participation in the imitation and innovation stages. By experiencing the full cycle first-hand, participants gained a solid understanding of how to guide students towards independent and innovative writing. Michelle Grainger and the teachers at the host school were open and proud to share the school's literacy practices and journey with Talk4Writing.

Peer-to-Peer Learning

It also took place a powerful session of peer-to-peer learning, with our Literacy Leads sharing practical and relevant strategies. Topics presented included Reading Interventions, Effective EAL Strategies, Marking and Feedback, Developing Critical Literacy, Reciprocal Reading, Disciplinary & Content Area Literacy, Phonics & Handwriting Development, and Strategies for Secondary students.

Collaboration and Next Steps

The Literacy Meet concluded with a collaborative Problem-Solving session, allowing participants to share their current challenges and develop actionable next steps for literacy improvement in their respective schools.

“I had the privilege of attending the Literacy event in the Algarve to connect with colleagues who share the same goal: developing our students’ literacy skills and fostering a genuine love of reading.

It was a pleasure to be welcomed to Nobel Almancil where we spent time sharing expertise, discussing challenges and exploring how best to use data to support teaching. Having the opportunity to share approaches and reflect on how we can strengthen our own school’s literacy practice is extremely valuable, and working with such a passionate group of teachers makes it all the better.

As the latest National Literacy Trust report shows, only around one third of children and young people say they enjoy reading in their free time, and only one in five read daily. The benefits of reading are many, but we also know that children who enjoy reading and who read regularly tend to have higher standardised reading scores. This makes our collective efforts to promote reading even more important.

I left the event excited and inspired to take the insights and ideas from our discussions back to CBIS as we continue to build a culture where every student can thrive through reading”. Katrina Walker, Literacy Lead de Coruña British International School

In the following article, you can read more about how we are tackling the decline in reading among young people in our schools, while promoting a love of reading.