Literacy
reading/writing/phonics
Curriculum Intent
At Cleeve Meadow School, we believe that reading is an essential life skill, and every young person should be enabled to enjoy and read with fluency, confidence and understanding. We understand that a good grasp of reading underpins access to the entire curriculum and that young people who are confident and proficient readers will be empowered to succeed in school and the wider community. We understand the vital role played by parents and carers in the development of reading and writing and the nurturing of positive habits, particularly in their attitude towards reading. We value and encourage this and work together in supporting young people to achieve their aspirations and reach their full potential.
We want our students to become:
Proficient, confident readers who enjoy reading for pleasure.
Fluent and confident in phonics and feel empowered to use the skills they have learnt from the Read Write Inc Fresh Start programme. “Fresh Start teaches older struggling readers to read accurately and fluently, with good comprehension. It is rooted in phonics and uses age-appropriate decodable texts.” Ruth Miskin
Gifted and independent writers who experience success in all areas of the curriculum. We want our students to have high expectations of themselves where they take pride in their writing ability and in everything they produce.
KS4 Goals
To obtain the maximum appropriate level of accreditation by the end of year 11. (English entry level certification at levels 1,2 or 3 and/or iGCSE.
To have the confidence to use their knowledge and skills effectively as they transition into next stages of work and further learning, education, and training.
KS5 GOALS
To obtain the next level of accreditation following on from their KS4 results.
To use their knowledge and skills for life by applying them to real life situations to prepare them for their next steps and futures.
Implementation (a programme of study)
We regularly assess students to monitor the progress of their reading ability and provide regular intervention opportunities, delivered by specialist teachers, for those young people who have been identified as requiring extra support.
The Accelerated Reader programme is used throughout Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 and certificates and rewards are handed out half termly in our celebration assembly. This programme helps to boost self-esteem and to increase their understanding of the books read. The student's progress is monitored closely throughout the term and new targets are set.
We offer grouped fluency reading sessions to provide effective and positive modelling of reading. This helps to develop expression and fluency in their reading and gives them support with the understanding of the text read. These sessions are linked closely with the Accelerated Reading Programme.
Weekly guided reading sessions, supported by an adult in small groups, enable students to analyse and explore books more closely and discuss aspects of a range of genres and text types, developing intrigue in books, understanding and comprehension skills.
We identify students for interventions through their STAR reading scores and will prioritise Pupil premium students where required. Reading age progress is tested 3x a year.
We offer 1-1 or group phonic sessions for students who have difficulty with their phonological awareness. Students participate in the Read Write Inc Fresh Start programme and are tracked weekly to address any misconceptions.
Literacy support is also offered inside English and other timetabled sessions (reading, form time.)
Pupils in KS4 and 5 have received training to become Reader Leaders. The Reader Leaders work with KS3 pupils weekly in order to support, encourage and provide role models for reading to younger pupils.
Our English curriculum has been developed to provide pupils with a broad range of challenging, diverse texts which are explored through engaging activities as a year group. The curriculum is progressive and key skills are practised and refined by working on different text types, including those needed for life skills for example, writing a Curriculum Vitae.
Impact expectations and measures
Reading assessments are carried out termly by using the Star Reading Test and the Read Write Inc Fresh Start assessment. This enables our students to have a clear idea of their targets and next steps in order to develop towards becoming proficient readers. Attainment and progress are recorded, monitored and tracked in reading ages and scaled scores through accelerated reader and interventions and actions applied in order to support all pupils to make progress in line with the targets in our school development plan.
In order to increase the pupils’ knowledge of vocabulary, vocabulary sessions are carried out weekly across the school. Staff provide pupils’ opportunities to practise and revisit words in all subject areas. Vocabulary and tricky word cards are distributed throughout the school for teachers to reinforce where appropriate. Through our Fresh Start assessments, the progress made of phonic sounds and high frequency/common exception words are monitored and recorded. Progress is then tracked and new targets set for each pupil.
Our school library provides RWI and other decodable books for students to practice the phonics they have been learning during their intervention. All pupils are provided a book at their level and have at least two reading sessions a week where they have time to visit the library, complete Accelerated Reader quizzes and change their books, if required. The Little Lunchtime Library is an initiative which promotes reading for pleasure. It is currently being supported by the Co-Op community fund and is outside during the Summer months for students who want to pick up a book and read, during unstructured times.
‘Books have an important role to play both in supporting children to become literate individuals and shaping their sense of self and their understanding of the world around them …’ Farrah Serrouukh, Reflecting Realities 2020 CLPE
We want our book offer to best represent the diversity in our school community and in the wider world. We want our young people to be able to see themselves represented in the stories and poetry they read and to see people who look like them as the writers of those books. Our classroom and library offers will be developed and extended to reflect the realities of all readers.
The pupils are able to visit the quiet area, where they can choose to read for pleasure. Students are given opportunities to talk about books, share recommendations and make informed qualitative judgements about their reading choices.
Other commentS
Literacy is prevalent throughout the whole curriculum and all teachers are teachers of literacy. Therefore, we continue to develop a whole school approach to Literacy across the curriculum which features regularly in whole school staff meetings, including phonics, reading and developing writing. We offer staff advice, support, and opportunities to share good practice through demonstrations, lesson observations and book moderation's.