Like all educational organisations we closed our physical doors on Monday 16th March and opened a new chapter in our own adventure.
Literacy Pirates is a programme delivered face-to-face by specialized professionals and volunteer adult support. Our work is vital in ensuring that the children we support can continue to raise their educational attainment and access the same opportunities as their more privileged peers. We remain committed to supporting the children we have worked with since September, through the next few months, and the next cohort of children from this Sept.
As the EEF has recently highlighted, ‘we should be under no illusions about the potentially devastating impact that the combination of economic hardship and school closures will have on the poorest children and young people in our society.’ It is certain that our work will be needed more than ever when schools open again.
So the team has devised the virtual ship – name by the children The Home Away Ship – giving a set of weekly activities delivered online. It transposes our face to face programme from the pirate-themed learning centres, to the children’s home. It follows best practice on digital learning too: regular tasks that are easy to digest, continual feedback from our teaching staff built into the programme; and all delivered using low tech, so as to include as many families as possible.
We are committed to:
1. Continue to help the children achieve 16 months progress in their reading age
2. Accessibility for those with minimal tech/computers
3. Continue to promote reading for pleasure
4. Give children the chance to do real life writing, with the redrafting process embedded
5. Uses feedback loop from teachers or volunteers to motivate and support reading and writing
6. Continues to publish and celebrate children’s work and achievements
7. Personal contact with families at home, to support and advice
8. Not to burden parents and to be sure to compliment work set by school.
Writing Challenge
We have created 4 to 6 week long writing projects. These are delivered in weekly chucks through videos that give the Young Pirates a chance to splurge, draft, refine and redraft a story to be publish online. Young Pirates submit their weekly work via the website or sending us a photo.
Diary of an Extraordinary Spring
We have sent each Young Pirate a special diary to record their thoughts of this truly historical event. Diary entries can be seen on our social media channels and in an upcoming e-book.
Reading Adventures
We want to encourage daily reading and keep the Young Pirates motivated through weekly reading challenges. We have sent them book review forms that the Young Pirates submit on the website or by photo too.
