ABSTRACT
If children are to gain full entitlement to the National Curriculum, then their level of fluency and their confidence in literacy can be critical. The class whose work is described here is a Year 7 class in an urban special school catering for pupils with a wide range of learning needs. Most children in the class have some particular medical condition that has slowed their learning, others have quite unusual or complex emotional difficulties that affect their learning. None is a really confident reader or writer, but they represent a wide range of fluency and experience. As a staff we wanted to improve the children's literacy achievements. The pupils, too, wanted to see more progress; many expressed a wish to improve their reading and writing. These children have had six years of schooling and although most are still willing learners, they all find literacy a struggle. The effects of this struggle, combined with their other special needs meant that many had just run out of steam. We needed to get back to the basic entitlement for learning which each had a right to expect. What they needed was a 'short sharp shock' of success to boost their confidence and competence and raise their self-esteem.
