ABSTRACT

Since the 1988 Education Reform Act, there have been many government initiatives to help improve the teaching and learning of language and literacy. Even since the first edition of this book, the changes have been considerable, and it is relevant to describe the main ones here. This is intended to help you understand the terminology and background rather than provide full descriptions. However, it is strongly recommended that you look at copies of all the documents relating to the initiatives described in order to understand more of the detail. Publications are listed at the end of the chapter if you wish to order your own copies (some are available free from the DfEE), find them in the library or ask for them in school. Relevant website addresses are also provided.