Literacy K-12
Describes the objectives for ability, skills and competence of students, incorporating specific teaching practices and programs; and requirements for evaluation of effectiveness and responsibilities for K-12 teachers in reporting to parents, caregivers and communities.
Changes since previous version
2020 Jun 29 – updated contact details and made minor changes to style guide.
Document history
Policy contacts and delegations revised.
Superseded documents
Focus on literacy: A position paper on the teaching of literacy 1997.
- Policy statement
- Literacy
- Literacy is the ability to understand and evaluate meaning through reading and writing, listening and speaking, viewing and representing.
- Literacy skills need to continually expand and diversify because our rapidly changing social and economic environment requires competence in a range of new communication forms and media.
- Literacy competence is central to achievement in all areas of learning as students progress through the early, middle and later years of schooling and into the workforce and personal life.
- Literacy teaching
- Literacy teaching in NSW schools will incorporate explicit and systematic instruction in the skills, knowledge and understandings required for students to be literate. Literacy will be taught in a balanced and integrated way.
- In the early years, literacy teaching will include the explicit teaching of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary knowledge, comprehension, concepts about print, grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting.
- Literacy teaching will draw on the strengths of a comprehensive range of evidence and research-based approaches to meet the learning needs of all students.
- Teachers will ensure students are equipped with a range of literacy practices and skills that support them in code-breaking and in understanding, using, analysing and evaluating texts for a variety of purposes and audiences.
- Teachers K-12 will develop and continually refine a broad and responsive set of effective literacy teaching practices to meet the diverse learning needs of students.
- Teachers K-12, across all key learning areas, are responsible for the teaching and learning of literacy skills, knowledge and understandings.
- Teachers K-12 will allocate sufficient time to explicitly plan, program and teach literacy to ensure students’ achievement of syllabus standards.
- Literacy assessing and reporting
- Teachers K-12 will use school-based and statewide literacy assessment information to inform teaching and to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of teaching programs.
- Schools will report formally and informally to parents, caregivers and school communities on student literacy achievement using statewide and school-based assessment information.
- Literacy
- Audience and applicability
- This policy applies to all teachers, schools, regions and directorates of the NSW Department of Education.
- Context
- Initiation of this policy occurred under the Office of Schools Plan 2006-2008 and the State Literacy Plan 2006-2008.
- Under the Office of Schools Plan 2009-2011, school plans will identify:
- literacy targets that reflect system-wide targets, including those for Aboriginal students
- strategies including the professional learning necessary to achieve school literacy targets.
- This policy should be used in conjunction with:
- All NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) syllabuses
- Aboriginal Education policy
- Assisting Students with Learning Difficulties
- Professional Learning Policy for Teachers and School Staff
- Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K-12
- School Excellence policy
- Multicultural Education policy
- People with Disabilities - Statement of Commitment.
- Responsibilities and delegations
- The Director, Literacy and Numeracy as policy owner is responsible for:
- publication and currency of the policy and support material
- notification to staff of any changes to this policy.
- Policy contact person, Leader, Professional Learning, Literacy and Numeracy is responsible for:
- provision of advice on the interpretation and implementation of the policy
- monitoring, evaluating, reviewing and reporting on the implementation of this policy.
- Users are responsible for:
- verifying that this is the current and complete version of the document, located on the department's Policy library.
- The Director, Literacy and Numeracy as policy owner is responsible for:
- Monitoring and review
- The Director, Early Learning and Primary Education and the Director, Secondary Education will monitor the implementation of this policy and will report, as required, to the Executive.
- Principals are responsible for the implementation and monitoring of this policy in their schools.
- Directors, educational leadership will support principals with the implementation of this policy.
- Principals, school executive and delegated teachers will supervise the implementation of the policy in schools and report to their school education directors.
- Contact
Director, Literacy and Numeracy
02 7814 2353
Leader, Professional Learning, Literacy and Numeracy
02 7814 2684
Implementation documents