Importance of Literacy

At Springwell we take literacy seriously, with the aim of equipping students with the skills they require to be successful in college and life beyond. Therefore, literacy is an integral part to life at Springwell, both within lessons and the during the college day as a whole.

Literacy involves four key aspects: reading, writing, speaking and listening.  In all areas of college life, we aim to support students to build and develop all four of their literacy skills. These skills are required to engage with the written words used in everyday life, as well as allowing students to understand, analyse and evaluate the vast amount of information they are presented with every single day of their lives. Staff at Springwell receive training, based on accredited research to support the delivery of literacy within college.

A three-strand approach is followed – the universal offer for all students, the wider offer and targeted support.

The Universal Offer: Provision to Support all Students

Word of the Week

Each week, students will be introduced to a high-level ‘new word’ they will be provided with the definition, then an opportunity to practise the words in a range of contexts. Exploring ‘new words’ through writing and speaking will allow students to access a wider vocabulary pool. Doug Lemov’s ‘Reading Reconsidered’ has informed our approach to delivering this session and our students are taught a specific model of vocabulary instruction. Students are provided with the definition of the word initially, then the word is provided in a variety of contexts with an opportunity to discuss and apply their understanding of the tier 2 word.

Afternoon Reading

Teri Lesense’s article ‘Reading Aloud: A Worthwhile Investment’ expresses that reading to children should continue throughout their schooling, no matter the child’s age. As a secondary school, Springwell has dedicated time within the curriculum for fast-paced reading out loud to students during a focused afternoon registration session. This reading includes both novels and short stories.

Jo Westbrook’s ‘Just Reading: the impact of a faster pace of reading narratives’ shows an average of 8.5 months accelerated progress, and 16 months for weaker readers therefore we aim to ensure all students can partake in this social activity with their peers.

Embedding Tier 2 and Tier 3 Vocabulary Across All Subjects

Tier 2 vocabulary are high frequency words that students will come across in written texts, but aren’t necessarily commonly used on oral language, therefore presenting a challenge to students when they come across them. Tier 3 vocabulary is the subject-specific language that allows students to write and speak like a scientist, musician, historian etc.

Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary is embedded in all of our medium-term plans and 100% sheets. This is tiered approach is based on Alex Quigley’s ‘Closing the Vocabulary Gap’ with the aim of assisting in the development of language and promoting a strong foundation for literacy.

Transition Literacy

Year 6 students, from all primary feeder schools, received a free book to read over their summer break, together with an activity pack to support their literacy memory recall and comprehension. This book then feeds into the English opening activities in the first weeks of Year 7.

Oracy Expectations

In lessons, we expect students to speak in full sentences to ensure that they are expressing themselves and articulating clearly while developing their understanding of new content and ideas. We aim to support students in what they want to say and allow them to have the ability to structure thoughts, so that they make sense verbally to others. By expressing themselves in detail verbally, this will then enable students to express themselves, in greater detail, during their written work as well.

Control the Game

When we read in class we use Control the Game (FASE reading) as informed by Doug Lemov’s Teach like a Champion. Students are expected to track and follow the text using their ruler.  Students are then carefully chosen by the teacher to read out loud parts of the text. This shared, whole-class reading, in combination with independent reading and the teacher reading aloud, enables students to access rigorous texts and helps ensure students are reading both accurately and deeply, improving their reading ability and fluency.

Reading Age Test for All Students in KS3 & KS4.

Understanding each individual student’s reading ability allows staff to both support and challenge them in their literacy development. All students from years 7 -10 have their reading ability assessed via the NGRT reading tests. This allows us to ensure that students are progressing in their reading as well as for staff to provide the scaffolding and support required to ensure students can effectively access the curriculum.

Library Lessons

Students at KS3 undertake a library lesson per week. This gives the students the opportunity to have another opportunity to develop their literacy skills, which includes reading to an adult, giving the opportunity to address any misconceptions or mispronunciation of words. Students always have a reading book with them and they can change this in their library lesson.

Check and Change

The aim across the curriculum is to allow students to recognise their own basic errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Rectifying this, in preparation for assessed pieces of work, will allow them to gain marks in these crucial areas.

The Wider Offer: Encouraging Students to Read More

Teacher fiction recommendations

Each staff member has a poster on their classroom door which recommends a book to students. These are regularly updated to ensure that students are exposed to a variety of books that they may never have discovered.

Top 50 Reads

All students have access to 50 recommended reads – ten for each year group. The recommendations have been selected to provide students with a range of age appropriate texts that are diverse and challenging reads. These books are accessible via our library, so parents don’t need to purchase a copy. Prizes are awarded for the reading of these books as an encouragement to students to read as many of them as possible.

Targeted Support: Further Support For Those Who Need More Help to Improve Their Reading

Buddy Reading

For students in Key stage 3 who the NGRT assessment indicate the need for a limited amount of support with their literacy development, the college has implemented a buddy reading program. Identified students spend a tutor time reading to a peer buddy reader from key stage 4. The aim is to boost the students reading confidence and expose them to new texts and vocabulary in a safe and supportive setting.

IDL

For students who the NGRT assessment indicate require support with their literacy development the college makes use of the IDL programme. This is an online package design to help students improve their reading and spelling ages.  The aim being to support students to move closer to their chronological reading age.

Fresh Start

For students who the NGRT assessment indicate require significant support in their literacy development, the college had embedded the Fresh Start programme within English lessons.  This is a systematic synthetic phonics programme aimed at improving each students reading accuracy, fluency and stamina. Students can access the programme in years 7 and 8 moving back to the regular English curriculum when their literacy levels improve.

Home Support

Talking to your child about the literacy they have been engaged with in College is the most important thing you can do. It is also important to encourage your child to read for 20-25 minutes per night.

Research indicates that students who read appropriately complex texts 25 minutes or more a day will grow academically at twice the rate of those reading less than 5 minutes daily Renaissance Learning (2014).

Reading

Reading for pleasure is a key way of improving literacy.  Furthermore, reading is proven to improve self-esteem, as the reader becomes more knowledgeable of the world around them. In addition, reading improves concentration,

analytical thinking and memory skills.  All of this combines to boost outcomes in all subject areas across college and therefore enhances a student’s life opportunities.

Having an established reading routine can be useful. For example, reading before bed can encourage a good nights sleep and is much healthier than screen time just before bed. If you child is a reluctant reader, then audio books, which they can listen to, are a good way for older students to get into reading.

What to read can be a barrier for some students. Choosing the right book is a challenge for some students. To aid this the college library has a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction books to choose from. Also, there is a wide range of books on the internet, many free which students can choose to read.

Writing

When your child is completing homework encourage them to check the work they have created, looking for basic literacy, such as spellings, capital letters and full stops. One technique to help with punctuation is for your child to read their work out loud, this will help identify where punctuation should go. If handwriting is clear and legible, the priority should be given to the speed of writing over neatness. Not getting enough down on the page within time limits can be a barrier to success for some of our students.

Speaking

Being a confident speaker is a key attribute for success in future life, be it for a presentation for a college interview or to come across confidently in a job interview.

Asking your child to read out loud their work to you and asking questions about the work is a good way of helping them improve their spoken commination.

GCSE Literacy

It important to note that many GCSE exams, not just English, award marks for SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar). To ensure success at GCSE, it is crucial that students can read the exam questions, understand them, and communicate clearly in their writing, often under stressful time pressures.

To maximise success at GCSE, encourage your child to keep reading fiction and non-fiction for pleasure.

Confident speaking skills are essential for learning and career development while studying GCSE. In English Language, students will have to deliver a spoken presentation to their class teacher, which may be filmed and is assessed for their GCSE Spoken Language grade. In Year 11, pupils will attend a mock interview with a local employer, as well as needing to apply for Post-16 places or partake in careers interviews. For success in all these areas, encourage your child to prepare and practise for their assessment and interviews.