Report of the Literacy Taskforce
As a key input into the development of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, in 1999 the Government established the Literacy Taskforce to provide advice on how the goal should be defined, how progress towards it should be measured, and the ways in which literacy learning could best be supported. The taskforce was asked to make specific recommendations to improve teaching and learning for children in their first four years at school, to identify those aspects of current practice that need affirming or reinforcing, and to indicate programmes or practices that need reviewing. This Literacy and Numeracy Strategy is no longer an active strategy.
Parents and the Community
Learning is enhanced when teachers know something of children’s home language experiences. Partnerships between school and home are not one-way, and schools should be seeking information from children’s homes as well as providing parents and whānau with information. The taskforce acknowledged that getting parents involved in school activities is a priority, although it can also be a challenge, particularly if parents are not successful readers and writers themselves, their experiences at schools have been mostly negative, or their home language is different from the language of instruction for their children.
Helping parents to gain confidence in their own abilities to help their children’s literacy is important. However, the school is not necessarily the best environment in which to do this. For this reason, the taskforce supported the proposed public information campaign and was pleased to contribute to the development of its themes and messages.
The Literacy Taskforce was also concerned about the impact of such social conditions as health and housing on children’s learning. The ability of many children to learn is affected because they are hungry or sick, have conditions such as glue ear, or are not regularly attending the same school. The taskforce therefore supported the alignment of broader social policy and better co-ordination between the social agencies supporting the families most at risk.
The Literacy Taskforce also affirmed those schools that are facilitating links with the early childhood services in their areas so that children's transition to school is as smooth as possible.