Program Description
The State Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan (2012-2016) provides $261 million to lift the literacy and numeracy outcomes Kindergarten to Year 2 (K-2) in NSW.
Early Action for Success is the Department's strategy to implement the plan. The Early Action for Success strategy aims to improve students' performance through a targeted approach in the early years.
The schools are selected from those in the lowest quartile of NAPLAN performance in literacy and numeracy, according to an index of need.
The strategy involves:
- early identification of the level of attainment in literacy and numeracy of each individual child (K-2) and tailoring a specific program of learning to that child's needs
- change in teaching practice from a focus on the whole class to a focus on the needs of the individual student
- ongoing, close monitoring of individual student progress against the Literacy and Numeracy continuums
- evidence-based use of tiered interventions in literacy or numeracy according to need. Schools are identified from an index of need.
School Selection
This process includes an analysis of the school's literacy and numeracy performance data, including Year 3 NAPLAN results and Best Start Kindergarten Assessment. The school's contextual characteristics, including the degree of disadvantage, enrolment size and student demographic data, contribute to the index of need.
Additional Resources
The allocation of the funding is to address identified literacy and numeracy need in K-2. Schools receive:
- an instructional leader, either dedicated to the individual school, or working with a small cluster of schools
- a training grant to support the professional learning needs of staff in differentiating instruction
- an Intervention support full time equivalent (FTE) allocation to provide tiered interventions in literacy and numeracy
- an establishment grant to support the establishment of an instructional leader position in the school
- an innovations grant (2015) to assist with planning local initiatives to address new ways of resourcing identified intensive student needs in literacy and numeracy in the early years.
The allocation of the funding is to address identified literacy and numeracy need in K-2. Schools are provided with an additional teacher allocation to deliver tailored interventions in literacy and numeracy as well as a training allocation for teachers to strengthen personalised learning for K-2 students.