Reading

Reading is at the heart of our culture and curriculum here at All Saints. Our whole school reading strategy is based on the recommendations from the Education Endowment Foundation’s report about improving literacy in secondary schools.

We have successfully implemented and embedded each strand of this EEF strategy to ensure that our pupils are able to access our rigorous curriculum and become fluent and confident readers.

We have a three pronged approach to reading; support for struggling readers, reading subject specific materials in every curriculum area and an enrichment programme that puts reading for pleasure at its core.

Intervention

At All Saints we use the GL Assessments twice yearly to reliably assess our pupils. These tests provide invaluable information about word recognition, sentence completion and passage comprehension. It therefore tests not just the ability of pupils to decode what they read, but whether they also comprehend and apply meaning. It is also used to measure phonemic awareness in developing readers.

These GL assessments allow us to quickly identify where intervention is needed. The GL assessments generate a reliable reading age as well as targeted intervention and a detailed report about the strengths and weaknesses for each pupil.  

Phase 1 - Red Readers - Phonics Intervention

If a pupil has been identified as not being able to confidently decode words, we deliver a secondary systematic, synthetics phonics programme called Fresh Start (Read Write Inc - Ruth Miskin). 

Read Write Inc uses a proven phonics-based approach and engages students with high interest and age-appropriate reading materials. Pupils are taught at their challenge point, so they learn to read/decode accurately and fluently. 

Phase 2 - Amber Readers - Developing Prosody, Fluency and Comprehension

Amber readers can decode successfully but may have some issues with fluency and comprehension. This means that they read at a slower pace than some of their peers, or struggle to understand words. At All Saints we use the Liverpool School Improvement Programme (developed by Laura Kay) which is a “Reading Development Course” designed for amber readers to improve automaticity, vocabulary, pronunciation, reading speed and confidence of readers not yet at expected reading age. It is effective for pupils who are making progress quickly and do not need such intensive work on phonics. 

Reading in Subject Areas

Every department has their own reading strategy. Giving staff this ownership of creating and sourcing materials relative to their curriculums was both motivational and effective. Below are some examples of how reading is incorporated into every subject area:

  • In RE year 9 pupils are enjoying the biography From Gangland to Promised Land, about a gangster who was saved by religion and who in fact is visiting school shortly.
  • The art department purchased dictionaries of artistic terms, artists and movements, to complement their GCSE course.
  • Pupils in Y10 are reading Legacy in PE, an inspirational book about leadership and specifically the all blacks rugby team.
  • Science have focused on word etymology to help pupils link the origin of words to their meaning, as well as using guided reads at the start of every topic.
  • Vocabulary booklets are used in Spanish to aid pupil’s retention of new words
  • In maths pupils read all questions aloud, pupils write down and read out the methods they have used when problem solving and pupils read about maths in practice to contextualise their learning.

Reading Enrichment

Reading for pleasure, enrichment and academic success is a massive part of our culture in school. Pupils across KS3 and KS4 are given opportunities to read for pleasure in lessons, during tutor time and in after-school activities. 

Every tutor group has designated reading time throughout the school week, in the form of non-fiction reading booklets, fiction class readers and form-time poetry readings. In our library, we hold an after school book club for our KS3 pupils, during which pupils meet with our reading enrichment coordinators to read and discuss contemporary fiction. 

Our pupils are actively encouraged to take part in reading and writing competitions, such as Poetry By Heart, Young Writers and our in-school competition, Bookflix. Every year we celebrate National Poetry Day and World Book Day with a variety of activities throughout the day and in enrichment sessions. 

It is really important for us to break the stigma around reading and show our pupils that reading is not just for the classroom. Reading is a fundamental part of everything we do here at All Saints and we have worked tirelessly to create a culture whereby our students regularly borrow books from us or come to us to talk about the books they love. Every child is given the opportunity to read and, most importantly, enjoy reading. 

Parents and Carers

A workshop/coffee morning with parents of red and amber readers further supports reading at home. This is typically held in the first term of the academic year for Year 7s and Year 8s.

Useful Links

Impact

We are seeing the impact of our reading strategy on a daily basis. Pupils are enjoying reading their chosen books during form time and breaks, they are reviewing, swapping and recommending books to their peers. In student council meetings, pupils speak confidently about what they are reading across the curriculum and about our whole school vocabulary focus. We have been able to make changes to intervention cohorts as students move through the sessions and have every confidence that our end of term assessment data will continue to evidence improved reading progress for all.