This paper arises from research into inclusive literacy for pupils with severe learning difficulties who do not learn to read and write conventionally. The ultimate aim of the study was to seek out examples of good practice in teaching and learning literacy that includes students with severe learning difficulties and disseminate them as widely as possible. Thirty‐five schools were visited and observations made in 122 lessons. Sixty‐one teachers were interviewed and their paperwork examined. Ten focus groups and five ‘expert witnesses’ were consulted, alongside desk‐based research designed to locate ‘good practice’. Teachers used a mixture of conventional (e.g., texts) and non‐conventional (e.g., pictures, film and oral) media, although more observations were made of conventional literacy teaching (e.g., phonic work) than of non‐conventional (e.g., filmmaking). Results from the research suggest that few students with severe learning difficulties are likely to learn to read and write conventionally (i.e., read for pleasure, work and study) and teachers may be relying too much on teaching traditional literacy to them. It may be useful to explore teaching and learning around alternative media such as still and moving images, live theatre and storytelling, digital technology and the arts. Although some teachers are making good use of these media, the potential of these media for providing inclusive literacy experiences could be further developed.

Literacy is traditionally narrowly conceptualised as a set of skills related to accessing and generating written or printed text. For children designated as having severe learning difficulties (SLD), who are unlikely to develop these ‘conventional’ literacy skills, such a conception implies their semi‐literacy or nonliteracy. Although conceptions of multimodal literacy and multiliteracies have rarely been applied to this group, broader understandings of literacy that include a range of activities, modes and media provide greater opportunities for including these learners in literacy practices. Drawing upon our research with teachers of this group of children and young people, we illustrate these literacy practices. We note, however, that such practices are often haphazard, not coherently thought through, and that there is much confusion regarding any distinction between communication and literacy. We argue for literacy as a specific form of communication, but conclude that broader models of literacies should be utilised to guide and support practitioners in developing interactive practice and in making reasoned and principled approaches and decisions about literacy practices, routes and progression for children with SLD.

An earlier paper published in this journal described the pilot study and first two phases of a longitudinal study that examined the possibility of preventing the emergence of written language difficulties, by addressing the ability of pre-schoolers to make phonological judgements (Layton, Deeny, Upton and Tall, 1996). The literacy development of the children involved in the study was assessed when they had been in mainstream education for approximately two years. It was discovered that there were no significant differences, in terms of written language achievement, between the children who had received phonological training while in nursery school and their peers in a control group whose training programme had not featured phonological awareness activities. These findings challenge the view that training pre-schoolers to attend to the sound structure of words promotes later literacy development. The results are considered in the context of other research findings, and then the study is discussed in both quantitative and qualitative terms, with some comment on the feasibility of identifying pre-schoolers at risk for literacy failure on the basis of poor phonological awareness. RE  SUME ÂUn programme d'entraõà nement preÂscolaire d'enfants ayant une faible conscience phonologique: effets sur la lecture et l'eÂcritureDe nombreuses recherches ont confirme l'importance de la conscience phonologique pre coce pour le de veloppement du savoir-lire e crire alphabe tique, en particulier l'association entre une faible conscience de la rime chez des pre -lecteurs non-lecteurs et des difficulte s ulte rieures en lecture-e criture. Cette investigation a e te re alise e pour explorer la possibilite de pre venir l'e mergence de probleÁ mes en langue e crite en s'inte ressant aÁ la conscience phonologique de 240 enfants aà ge s de 4 ans et 5 mois, dans des classes de maternelle de 22 e coles des Midlands Occidentales en Angleterre. (La population totale a e te divise e en deux groupes, et les phases d'intervention et d'e valuation de l'e tude ont eu lieu en deux temps, avec un e cart de six mois.) L'e valuation a e te effectue e apreÁs que les enfants aient e te engage s dans des activite s scolaires quotidiennes concË ues de facË on aÁ leur fournir une pratique de centration de l'attention sur les proprie te s structurales des mots. On a identifie quarante et un enfants avant une faible conscience de la rime pour participer par la suite aÁ l'investigation et les assigner aÁ un groupe expe rimental ou controà le. Chaque enfant a recË u un enseignement individuel fourni par un enseignant d'e cole maternelle implantant un programme d'activite s de 30 jours. Dans le groupe expe rimental elles ont e te dirige es pour promouvoir une me morisation phonologique et renforcer les compe tences en rime. Les activite s du groupe te moin ont vise des compe tences de cate gorisation sans re fe rence particulieÁ re aÁ des facteurs phonologiques.Les compe tences en lecture-e criture de tous...

The paper summarises the pilot study and the first two phases of a longitudinal study which set out to prevent the emergence of written language difficulties, by addressing the ability of pre-schoolers to make phonological judgements. It describes the assessment procedure which was used with 240 nursery-class children, aged 4 years 5 months, and the activities which were designed to give these children experience in attending to the sound structure of language before the assessment was carried out. Following assessment 41 children were identified as having poor rhyme awareness and were targeted for one-to-one training. In the second phase of the study, also discussed here, 21 were given training in the skills supporting phonological awareness and the remainder were assigned to a control group for equivalent training in categorisation skills. It is intended that the literacy skills of both groups will be assessed when the children are 7 years old. L 'application dans la classe maternelle de la recherche concernant la conscience phonologiqueLe dheloppement du savoir liretcrire alphabetique est intimement lie & une conscience Claire de la structure sonore des mots parlb. On croit, plus prtciskment, que la conscience de la rime au niveau prescolaire est predictive d'une bonne lecture. Inversement, on a trouvk qu'une faible conscience de la rime est associke & des difficult& ultkrieures de lecture. Dans la recherche que l'on prCsente ici, les auteurs ont entrepris de prkvenir l'apparition de difficultes en langue kcrite en examinant la conscience phonique de 240 enfants dgCs de 4 ans et 5 mois, dans des classes maternelles de 22 ecoles des West Midlands, en Angleterre; identification de ceux 0 United Kingdom Reading Association 1996. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 2 LAYTON, DEENY, TALL AND UPTON qui ont une faible conscience de la structure sonore des mots et implantation de programmes d'entrainement pour promouvoir cette conscience. Les auteurs ont crtk un mattriel resource d utiliser en maternelle et, tenant compte d'une ttude pilote prtcedente, ont dtcrit de quelles faGon ce mattriel avait t t t produit. Les activitts 51 faire en classe avaient pour but de fournir aw enfants l'occasion d'acckder aux proprittts formelles des mots avant d'etre tvaluts sur leur capacitt A faire des jugements sur les mots parlts, de telle sorte qu'une mediocre performance au moment du test ne soit pas du a un manque d'exptrience. Aprb avoir participt aux activitts, les enfants ont ttk tvaluts, avec des indicateurs de maternelle, sur leur connaissance de la rime, et leur capacitk A dttecter rime et allittration. On dtcrit la proctdure d'tvaluation et on presente les rksultats des tests. On a ciblt pour l'intervention cinquante et un enfants ayant eu des resultats mtdiocres en dktection de rime. Les enseignants ont introduit un programme de 30 jours d'activitts avec ces enfants, chacun d'eux recevant un enseignement individuel. On a attribut la moitit des enfants B un groupe exptrimental et l'autre moitit d un groupe temoin. Pour les...

IntroductionThe National Literacy Strategy (NLS) was launched in September 1998 with the aim that:'By 2002 80% of 11 year olds should reach the standard expected for their age in English (i.e. Level 4) in the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests.' (Literacy Task Force, 1997) In setting these parameters to signify how the success of the Strategy would be evaluated, the Task Force effectively excluded 20% of 11-year-olds from the group targeted by the initiative. It is argued that the Strategy is therefore driven by aims that are incompatible with the Government's policy on including pupils with special educational needs (SEN) (DfEE, 1997). The tensions between these two contemporaneous policies are explored in the research reported in this paper which examines how teachers are attempting to make appropriate provision for children with SEN in the Literacy Hour. Background and literatureIn order to explore the background against which the current study can be understood, three questions that underpinned the literature review are posed.