Reading Support

Reading Support 2024 started on Monday 19th February and ended for the year on Thursday 28th November.

Tutors

There was a small turnover of tutors from 2023 to 2024 which meant that I had one space unfilled at the beginning of the year. By the beginning of term two this had been filled, and although a tutor moved to Silverdale in June, a couple arrived to do the job as a team. 

Two tutors even organised their own relievers when they were away overseas! 

Currently I have 34 volunteers on the programme and it’s looking like I will have a full complement of tutors to start 2025.

Students

Fifty-one students have been on Reading Support during 2024. Of these, two left our school and 15 graduated at various times during the year. For the first time, we retained one of our 2023 year 6 students at the request of the RTLB; so this student came to reading support from the Intermediate area of our school. 

Priority has traditionally been given to year 6 students who are reading at least 12 months below chronological age, the rationale being that they will be heading off to college in a few years and require competency in reading to access higher learning. The year 5 students have a further year at primary for this acceleration to occur. 

However, there were fewer year 6 students in our school this year, and the numbers accessing reading support reflected this. By the end of the year, an almost equal number of students from years 5 and 6 had been on the programme. As students graduated during the year, year 5 students replaced them to help bring about this result. It is notable that three year 5 students graduated, something that has rarely happened before.

Conclusion

Reading Support has continued to contribute to reading success for a significant number of students who, for various reasons, are behind where they should be in relation to their chronological age. 

The volunteer tutors are encouraged to recognise what each student's needs are, and to provide support that meets these needs whether it be strategies for decoding unknown words or understanding unfamiliar vocabulary. In our one-to-one learning environment the students are able to ask for and receive help from caring, skilled and patient adult readers/tutors. 

For many of the volunteers, coming to Reading Support is a highlight of their week. This programme is mutually beneficial to all of those involved.

- Jenni Clarke