South Tyneside teachers to speak at national conference

Marine Park Primary School's Jane Kysow, left, and Alison Burden

Headteacher at Marine Park Primary Alison Burden and the school’s Intervention manager Jane Kysow have been lined up as guest speakers at a conference being held in Birmingham, on Friday.

The Early years Conference will see the two women talk about the school’s success following the adoption of the REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) project.

The programme aims to support children’s early literacy and development using a framework based on four main ways - Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction and Model - that parents can support their children’s literacy development from an early age.

Mrs Burden said: “The project is really about sharing with the parents the ways they can support their children with their literacy skills.

“Teachers will visit the parents at their home and talk them through the various ways they can help their child.

“For some parents, especially where English is their second language, coming into school can be quite scary so this is a way of helping to build their confidence in regards to their children’s learning. From home visits, they are then invited into school in small groups to take part in workshops.

“Parents don’t have to be the best readers it’s about sitting down with their child, sharing books, talking about the pictures etc...

“For those parents who have taken part in the project they have found it very useful and has helped to integrate some of the parents into the school environment where they can share their experiences and tips.”

It is the second year the school in Hadfield Square, South Shields has carried out the project.

Mrs Burden added: “The REAL project is a national project with many other schools in South Tyneside also having successes in their programmes.

“It’s something we wanted to take part in to help further our children’s education as we have a lot of pupils where at home English is a second language.

“The staff work extremely hard to make the project work and you can see the benefits both for the children and the parents.”