We use a wide range of strategies to ensure that any barriers are addressed and removed to support students’ progress in reading, their ability to access the curriculum and  develop a love  of reading. These include:

NGRT data used to set students in KS3 English and communication lessons. Students will be set appropriately according to their standard scale score (SAS). All students that scored 88 and below will be either be:

1. Placed within ‘step up provision’ and receive an additional three English lessons (with focus on reading) per week and will receive Read, Write, Inc intervention. All students in step up provision will receive a bespoke curriculum in English, highly differentiated for their needs and designed specifically to target their challenges with reading.
2. Set in a group with at least one additional timetabled English lesson per week to focus on reading.

Students who are have an SAS score below 88 and did not qualify for the Read, Write, Inc intervention will receive a tutor time intervention on comprehension of extended extracts. These sessions work on decoding more difficult vocabulary and working on fluency when reading aloud. This will be scheduled within the academic year for target groups and years.

One English lesson a week is dedicated to reading a range of text types in KS3. Each half term has a text focus, e.g. news articles, speeches, letters. Focus is on non-fiction to develop cultural capital. The reading lessons are differentiated and planned around the reciprocal reading strategies. More independence is encouraged and fostered depending on ability. Students are in ability sets. This is further supported by KS3 homework that is focused on reading and comprehension activities.

Reading intervention for those students who have specific reading challenges which are highlighted on their IEP will receive one to one reading interventions from the SEND team. The Neale analysis test is currently being used as a diagnostic test to assess comprehension, accuracy and reading rate. From this, interventions are selected that are appropriate from: Toe to Toe, Alpha to Omega and Stairway To Heaven.

Our sixth form students (Year 12 and Year 13) can apply to be ‘reading mentors’ for students in Y7 and Y8. They will complete paired reading with students who are below 100 but above 88 in their SAS scores. Year 12/13 will model the fluency required and students will read to their mentor, help to decoding challenging words and ask questions to develop students’ comprehension of text. All Y12 and Y13 students are trained by Miss Majer.

All teaching staff receive regular training in the teaching of reading through our comprehensive professional development programme. Staff engage with current literature with regards to reading through our annual teaching and learning text and our internal Teaching and Learning bulletins. All staff can access SAS scores for all students and can track the intervention strategies in place for all students.

We have staff reading champions in each department area who continually raise the profile of reading in all curriculum areas and who promote reading strategies and vocabulary in each subject.