Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support (MYLNS) initiative

For information about 2023 MYLNS funding, please refer to the 2023 Student Resource Package guide, available at Student Resource Package – Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support Initiative.

Policy

This policy supports schools in implementing the Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support (MYLNS) initiative.

Summary

• The MYLNS initiative provides intensive teaching support to government secondary school students in Year 10 who are at risk of finishing school without the literacy and numeracy skills they need for future work and study.
• This initiative seeks to support and build on the work that schools are already doing to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students, by providing additional teaching support to prioritised students as part of a whole-school approach.
• Funding is provided for schools to release teachers as numeracy and/or literacy improvement teachers to work directly with Year 10 students prioritised for support.
• Funding is available to all government schools with Year 10 secondary students, except for select entry, camp, language, and specialist schools.
• Detailed implementation guidance for schools is available on the Guidance tab.
• The published MYLNS implementation guide is available on the Resources tab.

Details

The MYLNS initiative provides intensive teaching support to Year 10 students in government secondary schools who are at risk of finishing school without the literacy and numeracy skills they need for future work, education and training.

This initiative gives students additional teaching support to improve their literacy and numeracy. The funding is for secondary schools to release experienced teachers as numeracy and/or literacy improvement teachers to work directly with Year 10 students prioritised for support.

Funding allocation

Schools do not have to apply for MYLNS funding. Funding is determined using NAPLAN literacy and numeracy data and included in the Student Resource Package (SRP). For more information on funding allocation, refer to: Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives (Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support Initiative).

Funding is allocated to schools based on the number of eligible students. Funding for 2023 is based on the number of Year 10 students in the school who were identified as achieving below the National Minimum Standard (NMS) or were exempt in Reading and/or Numeracy as per their 2022 Year 9 NAPLAN results.

Funding is available to all government schools with Year 10 secondary students, except for select entry, camp, language, and specialist schools. Funding amounts are expressed as FTE time release and funded at Classroom Teacher 2.5 level.

Schools will receive funding for both literacy and numeracy improvement teachers at 0.4 FTE (minimum) for direct teaching support. Funding for additional time release is provided to schools with higher numbers of prioritised students. Schools with Flexible Learning Option (FLO) programs or campuses will receive an additional 0.2 FTE to support students in FLO settings.

Funding allocations are included in the indicative Student Resource Package in Term 3 to support planning for the next year.

Funding is not re-allocated between schools if students transfer in or out during the school year.

Definitions

Prioritised students
For 2023, students in Year 10 who were below NMS or exempt in Reading and/or Numeracy as per 2022 NAPLAN results should receive direct teaching support in Literacy and/or Numeracy. If there is capacity, schools should identify additional Year 10 students based on a combination of data including school-based assessments, teacher judgement data, and behavioural and attendance records.

More information about student selection is available in the Guidance tab.

Improvement teachers
Schools release teachers within their school to undertake the role of a literacy or numeracy improvement teacher. Improvement teachers deliver literacy or numeracy direct teaching support to prioritised students.

Student achievement managers
Student achievement managers (SAMs) are located in the department’s regional offices. Their role is to support improvement teachers and school leaders in the day-to-day running of the MYLNS initiative. SAMs work with schools to develop strategies and approaches to ensure that the work of improvement teachers has the greatest impact for all MYLNS students and support the collection of data to monitor and evaluate the success of the initiative.

Related policies

• Annual Implementation Plan (AIP)
• Assessment of Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10
• EAL Support and Funding
• Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0)
• Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
• Koorie Education
• Literacy and numeracy strategy
• Re-engagement Programs
• Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10
• Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives

Relevant legislation

• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic)

MYLNS Implementation Guide

This guidance contains the following chapters:

• Overview
• The role of improvement teachers
• Information for improvement teachers

Overview

Literacy and numeracy are foundational skills for lifelong learning and a proportion of Victorian students are not meeting national minimum standards. Evidence demonstrates that students who are significantly behind in literacy and numeracy often have complex learning needs.

The Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support (MYLNS) initiative provides funding to government secondary schools to help improve outcomes for students who are at risk of finishing school without the literacy or numeracy skills they need for future work, education and training.

This funding is for schools to release teachers as literacy improvement teachers and/or numeracy improvement teachers. Their role is to work directly with prioritised Year 10 students.

Student achievement managers

Student achievement managers (SAMs) are located in the department's regional offices. Their role is to support improvement teachers and school leaders in the day-to-day running of the MYLNS initiative.

SAMs work with schools to:

• develop strategies and approaches to ensure that the work of improvement teachers has the greatest impact for all MYLNS students
• develop strategies and approaches to build the capability of other teachers across the school to differentiate their teaching practice
• support the collection of data to monitor and evaluate the success of the initiative

Funding

Funding will be provided to schools at Classroom Teacher Range 2.5 and will be received through the Student Resource Package (SRP) each year through cash and credit funding.

Funding allocations are included in the indicative SRP in Term 3 to support planning for the next year.

Each year, schools must advise the department's MYLNS Implementation Team of their nominated improvement teacher/s via the teacher nomination form before funding can be confirmed. For more information on funding allocation, refer to: Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives (Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support Initiative).

The role of improvement teachers

Improvement teachers are experienced teachers within a school who are provided with time release to deliver literacy or numeracy direct teaching support to prioritised students.

Each year, schools must advise the department’s MYLNS Implementation Team of their nominated improvement teacher/s via the teacher nomination form.

Schools will be allocated a minimum of 0.2 FTE for direct student support in literacy and 0.2 FTE for direct support in numeracy. This allocation increases based on the number of prioritised students.

Improvement teachers directly support Year 10 students who are falling behind and are below year level expectations in literacy and numeracy.

Improvement teachers have the flexibility to support all prioritised students through:

• in class co-teaching, such as:
  • teaching a segment of the lesson
  • providing in-class support for prioritised students
• small group work
• individual student support.

Support for students can include:

• establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with students, parents and other teaching staff to focus on student learning, wellbeing and engagement
• identifying the education requirements of students with complex learning needs
• monitoring and analysing student data to inform teaching for improved student learning
• differentiating teaching practice to meet the students at their point of need
• implementing high impact teaching strategies (HITS) which enable prioritised students to achieve their full potential
• tracking and monitoring student progress
• providing student learning outcomes data to classroom teachers to support differentiation and inform the reporting cycle, as appropriate.

Who can be appointed to the role?

Improvement teachers are required to be qualified, effective and experienced classroom teachers. This role requires expert curriculum and pedagogical knowledge and should not be filled by less-experienced teachers or education support staff.

It is an individual school’s decision as to which teacher is appointed to the improvement teacher role and how this will fit with their current responsibilities.

To ensure continuity for students and for the initiative, it is recommended that schools continue to keep the same improvement teacher for a minimum of 2 years (unless they do not meet the requirements of the role). Evidence shows that at least 2 years is necessary to have maximum impact in the role.

Lessons learnt from MYLNS implementation so far show that effective improvement teachers demonstrate:

• a growth mindset
• curriculum and pedagogical knowledge to target students’ learning needs and differentiate teaching to support students at their point of need
• the ability to build positive learning relationships with students and colleagues.

A school may choose to appoint their existing learning specialist, literacy leader or numeracy leader as their improvement teacher. Other schools will choose to allocate these roles to different staff members to build an integrated team approach and to champion literacy and numeracy improvement across their school.

If a learning specialist is appointed to the role, they will be required to manage their improvement teacher responsibilities (including by an increased focus on prioritised students) as well as their responsibilities as a learning specialist. This is part of their obligation under the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022.

Improvement teachers have access to an extensive professional development suite to support them in the role.

Information for improvement teachers

By integrating and aligning the Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support (MYLNS) initiative with the initiatives and supports already in place in schools, improvement teachers will help individual students and schools to meet their goals to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes.

What does a literacy or numeracy intervention look like?

Improvement teachers form a crucial part of implementing the school’s overall improvement plan by working in collaboration with the leadership team, including curriculum leaders, literacy and numeracy leaders, learning specialists and classroom teachers, to develop a whole-school approach to implement student support.

When considering how support may be provided for prioritised Year 10 students, improvement teachers should keep in mind:

• the particular learning needs of the prioritised students
• the evidence with respect to interventions that could be implemented
• the time allocation to work with students
• each prioritised student’s timetable and the classes they are enrolled in.

The suite of MYLNS Case Studies can be used by improvement teachers when deciding on an intervention approach.

Response to Intervention framework

The Response to Intervention (RTI) framework is helpful for thinking about how to implement the MYLNS initiative. The RTI is a framework of academic support that is often embedded within a school-wide Multi-tiered System of Support, alongside School-wide positive behaviour support (SWPBS). Improvement teachers can use the RTI framework as a way for thinking about their work.

The core assumption behind the model is that in every school, some students will need extra support in order to learn at a high level. The RTI provides a framework for staff to consider how they can best work together to provide that support.

Getting started for improvement teachers

Improvement teachers can use the following suggestions to get started with implementing the MYLNS initiative:

• talk with the school leader/s to obtain a list of prioritised Year 10 students
• identify any additional capacity to support additional Year 10 students
• engage with students’ regular classroom teachers and, if applicable, health and wellbeing professionals to identify individual learning needs of each student
• begin to build relationships with prioritised students and their parents/carers
• access the LMS. If you require access to the LMS email mylns@education.vic.gov.au
• check your @education email daily as that will be the conduit for communication from the MYLNS Implementation team
• decide who to work with and what channels may be available
• use the Improvement Cycle to:
  • identify the learning needs of students
  • diagnose the learning needs of students
  • implement literacy or numeracy intervention using differentiated and targeted teaching
  • measure the impact of the literacy and/or numeracy intervention on student learning progress
  • work with school leaders to join the School Improvement Team
  • attend relevant PLC meetings.

Resources

The following are essential resources that school leaders and Improvement Teachers can use to support the implementation of the Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support (MYLNS) initiative.

Student achievement managers

Schools will be supported by student achievement managers (SAMs) who will work with school leadership to ensure that the initiative has the greatest impact for all eligible students and that capability is built across the whole school.

To find out who is your school’s assigned SAM, email: mylns@education.vic.gov.au

Video case studies

The MYLNS case studies highlight professional practice and successful literacy and numeracy implementation in secondary and primary/secondary schools.

MYLNS case studies are available on the department's website, visit: MYLNS Case Studies

Professional learning

Improvement Teachers can access the MYLNS professional learning program, which is:

• designed to build proficiency across relevant AITSL standards and to develop skills and strategies to build the capability of others
• grounded in international and national best practice in literacy and numeracy teaching
• focused on understanding adolescent engagement in learning and teaching
• secondary school students who are behind in literacy and numeracy
• aligned with the professional learning provided through state-wide expert-led workshops for secondary Literacy Leaders and Numeracy Leaders (part of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy)

Each workshop in the professional learning program is delivered in a blended learning mode through:

• face-to-face workshops and/or webinars
• online learning via a dedicated Learning Management System (LMS)
• hosted discussion boards
• supported small group collaborations
• individualised coaching programs
• printed resources
• supported in-school application and experience

Literacy and mathematics teaching toolkits

Literacy and mathematics teaching toolkits provide practical advice and high impact teaching practices that improve outcomes in numeracy and mathematics, reading, writing, and speaking and listening.

The toolkits are available on the department’s website, visit : Literacy Teaching Toolkit and Mathematics Teaching Toolkit

Learning difficulties information guides

The learning difficulties information guides are a foundation for understanding learning difficulties in numeracy and literacy. These guides can assist school leaders and teachers to understand more about the needs of students with learning difficulties.

To access the learning difficulties information guides, visit: Learning difficulties

Literacy and numeracy for Koorie students

The department provides a range of resources to support literacy and English for Koorie students. These include:

• Koorie English online
• school leadership guides
• the Koorie Literacy and Numeracy Program
• teaching and learning videos to improve Koorie students’ reading comprehension

For more information, visit: Literacy and English for Koorie students and/or access the MYLNS LMS and undertake the professional learning on supporting Koorie students.

English as an additional language

English as an additional language (EAL) resources are available to support teachers with students of EAL background develop proficiency in English and/or access the MYLNS LMS and undertake the professional learning on supporting CALD students.

For more information, visit: English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Digital Assessment Library

The Digital Assessment Library (DAL) is an online and on demand student learning assessment tool that is freely available from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). It provides timely and detailed information on individual student performance. The DAL contains assessments that are aligned to the Victorian Curriculum and include English, Mathematics and Critical and Creative Thinking strands.

For more information, visit: Digital Assessment Library (DAL)

Other relevant resources

• Literacy and Numeracy Strategy Phase 2 (PDF)
• Literacy learning progressions
• MYLNS assessment tool 2023 (DOCX)
• Student engagement tool (SET) 2023 (DOCX)
• MYLNS Learning Management System (LMS)
• Numeracy learning progressions
• Parents and carers as partners
• Professional learning communities (PLCs)
• Professional practice notes
• Attendance
• Student Engagement
• Student health and wellbeing
• Student mapping tool
• Student voice practice guide (Amplify)
• Victorian Curriculum F-10
• Victorian Literacy Portal
• Victorian Numeracy Portal
• Victorian Teaching and Learning Model
• Whole-School Guide to Curriculum Planning