ABSTRACT
Th e principle of fl exibility within a common framework is one to which we return in subsequent chapters. Th e common frameworks of targets, rationale, teaching objectives, pedagogies and the Literacy Hour provided the foundation of shared ideas and practices that drove the Strategy. Th ese ideas needed to be relatively simple and powerful and were designed in the fi rst instance to change teachers’ practices. Fidelity to the principles was essential for rapid and successful implementation. But it was also fundamental for the Strategy to exploit this common framework in diff erentiated ways. Th e principle of diff erentiation was driven by the needs of the children and, in particular, by the imperative to tackle the problem of ‘the long tail of underachievement’ that had been identifi ed in the two reports from the Literacy Task Force (see Chapter 1). Th is involved diff erentiation at every level of implementation – local authority, schools and the classroom; major refi nements in data analysis and data literacy to better target support; and a detailed programme of development to generate training and resources for use with children.
