According to a recent OFSTED report (December 2007), the teaching of poetry leaves much to be desired. Specifically, the report highlights primary teachers lack of knowledge about poetry and the quality of feedback given to pupils. It acknowedges that the lack of attention given to poetry in the end of key stage tests does little to enhance the status of poetry teaching.

The current Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen explained to the BBC his concern over current practice:“The effect of SATS and indeed the whole literacy strategy, have to my mind, been disastrous for poetry. Poetry is either sidelined or subjected to pointless questioning on the supposed 'facts' of a poem and children spend their time counting metaphors and proving what that this or that makes a poem effective. Effective for who? The children aren't asked. I welcome the fact that this report goes some of the way.

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Michael Rosen talks to the BBC

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Read Michael Rosen's interview on the Write Away website.

Michael Rosen will be speaking at the Write Away Conference at the London Institute of Education on 22nd May.

KEY FINDINGS:

• Provision for poetry was at least satisfactory in all the schools visited and good or very good in around two thirds. However, it was weaker than the other aspects of English inspected, suggesting that poetry remains an area for development in many of the survey schools.
• The National Curriculum and the national strategies have confirmed the place of poetry as a core experience for pupils. As a result, all pupils in the survey read and wrote poetry, although the quality of provision varied greatly in the schools visited. Most of the pupils enjoyed poetry. Teachers’ good use of active approaches increased enjoyment and the quality of pupils’ responses to poetry.
• Many teachers, especially in the primary schools visited, did not know enough about poetry and this was reflected in the limited range of poems studied. Classic poems and poems from other cultures were rarely studied and too many of the poems chosen lacked sufficient challenge. Weaknesses in subject knowledge also reduced the quality of teachers’ feedback to pupils on the poetry they had written.
• At GCSE level, the amount of poetry to be studied often had a negative impact on teachers’ approaches and pupils’ responses. Very few pupils wrote poems in English lessons during their GCSE course. In general, pupils’ experience of poetry did not prepare them well for A-level study in English literature.
• The lack of focus on poetry in the end-of–key-stage national tests limited the range of the curriculum in Years 6 and 9 in the schools visited.
• It was common for pupils to write poetry in imitation of specific genres or particular poems but they had insufficient opportunities to write independently. Planning poetry teaching around the needs of writing also limited the range of poems pupils read.
• The best schools visited worked effectively with poets and encouraged pupils to contribute to competitions, local festivals and school reading groups to extend good quality work. They used poetry successfully across the curriculum.
• Effective subject leadership in the schools visited had a significant impact on the quality of pupils’ experience of poetry, particularly in the primary schools where many teachers were not English specialists.