In Primary Education, teachers are responsible for ensuring pupils reach age – related expectations which are noted in the National Curriculum (NC) (2014). The NC provides statutory and non – statutory guidance for every subject including English which assists teachers. The purpose of the programmes of study in the NC is for teachers to understand what pupils need to learn and helps teachers to plan effective lessons. The NC covers aims which include the teacher’s responsibilities to:
“Promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken word and written word, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment” (DfE, 2014: 13).
The aims also comprise conventional literacy skills which the National Early Literacy Panel …show more content…
Teaching pupils skills in these areas can also be achieved by drawing on linguistic knowledge to ensure that pupils experience high – quality discussion with the teacher and reading from a variety of genres (DfE, 2014). Even though this is a statutory requirement and pupils should be confident readers, access to a wide range of books can be limited for disadvantaged children. However, pupils who come from socio – economically stable families can have access to a range of books both in schools and at home, who can be amongst the high achievers. Beaman, Buckingham, and Wheldall (2013) state that there are several factors which can impact on literacy development and can influence the literacy gap including socio – economic status. Therefore, teacher’s responsibilities include bridging the gap in pupils’ attainment by implementing effective strategies which will make a difference to pupils’ literacy