Although Uni Connect programmes normally run to an annual schedule due to funding restrictions, the literacy programme was unusual as it spanned two academic years, commencing in April 2024 with the Strategic Literacy Leads session, and continuing until January 2025. This enabled the development and delivery of a sustained programme, whereby staff could build up and consolidate knowledge progressively, as well as implement changes to teaching and learning strategies and then assess and measure impact. Park Community School evidenced the success of this programme structure, explaining how by the end of the programme, their students were confidently applying vocabulary across different curriculum subjects and had become more confident in asking for help and de-coding words. The school are also planning to expand this best practice into Maths and Science curriculums, as well as capturing examples of student voice as their next steps.
The convenience of running the programme online must be balanced against the challenge of collecting detailed evaluation through online sessions. Despite the rich and insightful feedback collected from Park Community School via SUN, and from Leigh Academies Trust and Queen Katharine Academy via KMPF and NEACO respectively, the surveys circulated by the NLT to the other participating schools did not generate responses. This means evaluation data represents a small pool of participants, rather than all participating schools.
On the other hand, although we were unable to gather meaningful evaluative comments from the other three SUN schools, their continued participation in the programme and training across 2024-25 suggests the training was useful and impactful. Many of these schools also attend the regional Havant Literacy Federation and so they will continue to develop their literacy practice and share best practice through representation at this network. Reflecting on two of the original aims for the programme- to create a community of practice for literacy, and a sustainable model for the leadership and teaching of literacy- the Havant Literacy Federation outcome highlights the achievement of these objectives and the programme’ s legacy, as literacy discussions and developments will continue beyond this programme’ s lifecycle.
Finance / Cost
The programme cost £ 3,500, as this was the fee for the NLT to develop and deliver the programme to the SUN schools. As 23 school staff members took part in the programme, this calculates at approximately £ 152 per person.
Summary – What have we learnt
This was a highly successful targeted pilot programme, involving a small cluster of schools and facilitating a new and beneficial partnership between the SUN and the NLT. The corresponding programmes run by KMPF and NEACO, and the showcase event run at the Uni Connect Literacy Network in June 2025, also highlight the value of having a shared focus across Uni Connect partners. Although SUN, KMPF and NEACO all delivered literacy CPD programmes with the NLT, each programme differed to suit regional school needs, so more could be learned by sharing on the individual programme specifics and considering adaptations to suit other regions. Park Community School evidenced the significant impact the training had on their teaching and learning strategies, with plans to develop this further and the ongoing Havant Literacy Federation meetings highlight the legacy of this literacy programme.
A core challenge of this programme is the difficulty in evidencing the direct impact of teacher CPD on student outcomes or attainment. This is a perpetual challenge for any CPD programme and is not unique to
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