Staff observations how do I improve spelling & grammar?

[princess78]

Hi there, i took over as manager a few weeks ago and i have noticed that staff spelling and grammer is awful! I have been checking and correcting their obs before parents see them. At supervisions i spoke to them about it and they said they would ensure it wouldnt happen again. When i looked this morning they are still awful even after they have checked them!! What should i do??

[Ruthierhyme]

Hi to help explain this have you checked everyone's qualifications and English language grades?

Of course there will be training opportunities around and also in-house opportunities where practical resources such as worksheets can be used to drive up the motivation for individuals to self-correct.

It is a tough one though, spellings and grammar become habitual so finding enjoyable ways to encourage members to review & assess what they've written can be as important as any other activity planning.

It could be helpful to identify which words individuals feel they misspell the most often and then if they spell them correctly when they're paying a little more attention. This can be enlightening, I discovered that even after many years of knowing the i before e rule & its exceptions I still falter on receive and def-in-i-tely is a continual bugbear :/

Fostering a love of spelling - maybe put aside 15 minutes of a staff meeting and ask everyone to write honestly about their secondary school English language & literacy experience - benefits on rcpsych this will be good for seeing what you're up against.

To help with costs https://howtospell.co.uk/ is a useful read. About Joanne Rudling on amazon.co.uk & on YouTube

Have you found that the observations collect data and wording that is somewhat repetitive? Would supporting staff & assisting with an expanding vocabulary help, maybe through an expressive writing course or even by bringing the children's storybooks to a meeting. For reluctant, self conscious readers have everyone else lay with their eyes shut to potentially level the 'I feel silly' feeling.

Instal the grammarly app or recommend spell checkers if observations are carried out on devices that the setting owns, auto correct won't help the individual as much as physically correcting their composition but they do help to produce content of an acceptable standard.

Let us know what you decide and any information that you find out xx

Very best wishes