Lingfield College is a vibrant independent prep school for children, located in the beautiful Surrey countryside. As a school, they are forward-thinking and aspirational in their learning.
When I was appointed as the English Lead at Lingfield College Prep in 2021, I introduced the Literacy Tree approach to enhance cohesion across year groups and ensure full National Curriculum coverage. Having previously used Literacy Tree in another school, I had developed a strong understanding of its teaching ethos through various training sessions.
Prior to Literacy Tree, our curriculum, while rich in cross-curricular links, engaging with genre-specific sequences and discrete grammar lessons, lacked consistency across year groups with regards to teaching through literature. My goal was to unify our curriculum with a "Teach Through Text" approach, placing high-quality literature and embedded grammar at the heart of our English teaching.
Introducing Literacy Tree at Lingfield Prep was a fun and creative process. Drawing inspiration from my training with Lynn and Anthony, I wanted teachers to experience firsthand the excitement of that first 'discovery lesson'. Donning my accessories and tea-tasting notes, I led a session from Cloud Tea Monkeys to all staff. My goal was for teachers to understand how crucial and engaging the discovery lessons can be and to establish them as a non-negotiable element when implementing Literacy Tree sequences.
To ensure ownership of the Literacy Tree journey, I provided each year group with every book suggested by the framework. Year group teams explored the texts, discussing their relevance and alignment with existing plans, using the cross-curricular coverage maps provided by Literacy Tree. We carefully selected books that either: strengthened cross-curricular links, replaced sequences with more effective or text-rich units or ensured full National Curriculum coverage.
In our first year, each year group implemented a minimum of three new teaching sequences, though teachers found the planning so engaging that many chose to adopt more. By our second year, most year groups had incorporated six books, embedding Literacy Tree throughout the curriculum. Now, in our fourth year, some year groups are teaching exclusively Literacy Tree sequences and have even started using Literacy Leaves to enhance their curriculum further.
Assessment and Impact
In our second year of using Literacy Tree, we introduced the RATE assessment criteria to assess writing. We saw this as an important addition, as Literacy Tree’s ethos is centered around creating passionate writers with a strong authorial tone. The RATE assessment framework acknowledges this while also acknowledging drafting, composition, and editing as key elements of the writing process. We have found this to be a positive shift in how we assess writing.
The impact of Literacy Tree in our school is evident in the excitement and passion that children show towards the texts they engage with. Moments like: children sneaking off to the library to read ahead because they can’t wait to find out what happens next, cheering when a new text is introduced or moaning when they hear they won’t be continuing the story that day are all moments that highlight just how effective and engaging our curriculum has become.
We are fostering a love of literature and a passion for storytelling. The writing-for-purpose element is key to Literacy Tree’s success in our school, as children take pride in seeing their work displayed and used for real-world purposes. Whether they are: delivering powerful speeches in a mock court of law, performing poetry with rhythm and emotion, or writing letters of advice with deep empathy to specific characters, the impact is clear; students at Lingfield Prep are truly hooked on books and developing a lifelong love for writing.
We are fostering a love of literature and a passion for storytelling. The writing-for-purpose element is key to Literacy Tree’s success in our school, as children take pride in seeing their work displayed and used for real-world purposes. Whether they are: delivering powerful speeches in a mock court of law, performing poetry with rhythm and emotion, or writing letters of advice with deep empathy to specific characters, the impact is clear; students at Lingfield Prep are truly hooked on books and developing a lifelong love for writing.
