Literacy Strategy

Reading ability is a strong indicator of academic success, and students are routinely challenged to improve their reading—whether at decoding or comprehension level. To achieve this, we have adopted a multi‑tiered approach to our reading curriculum and interventions.

Disciplinary literacy

Developing strong disciplinary literacy is essential in a secondary school, as it enables students to access, understand, and communicate the specialised knowledge required in each subject. Every discipline—whether science, history, mathematics, or the arts—has its own language, conventions, and ways of thinking. Supporting students to master these helps them become confident, independent learners who can fully engage with the curriculum.

All students are supported to develop their reading and wider literacy skills by their class teachers through carefully planned curriculum delivery. Quality assurance by Heads of Department ensures that these skills are taught and developed in a coherent, sequential way across year groups.

Class teachers draw on a wide range of evidence‑based strategies to strengthen disciplinary literacy, including:

  • Reciprocal reading strategies are used to promote comprehension and independent reading. Students are taught a range of techniques to help them read more challenging texts encountered at secondary school. These techniques include think ahead, question, word check, and summarise.
  • Chunking to break complex texts into manageable sections
  • Reading rulers to support focus and tracking
  • Echo reading to model fluency and prosody
  • Explicit teaching of academic and subject‑specific vocabulary
  • Regular exposure to high‑quality, challenging texts that reflect the language and demands of each discipline

Additional approaches that further enhance disciplinary literacy include:

  • Modelling expert reading by thinking aloud while approaching subject‑specific texts
  • Structured writing frames to support students in producing extended responses
  • Pre‑teaching key vocabulary before introducing new content
  • Guided annotation to help students identify key ideas, patterns, and disciplinary features
  • Opportunities for purposeful talk, such as debates, discussions, and oral rehearsal. Teachers will use strategies such as: say it again better and AB partners.
  • Use of glossaries and knowledge organisers to reinforce core terminology
  • Frequent low‑stakes retrieval practice to strengthen long‑term retention of vocabulary and concepts

Together, these strategies ensure that students not only improve their general literacy but also develop the specialised reading, writing, and communication skills needed to thrive in every subject area.

Year 7 students are also explicitly taught Tier 3 vocabulary through a programme called Boost Your Brain. This programme ensures that students can recognise and understand the subject‑specific words that are essential for accessing the curriculum. By building their confidence with technical terminology early on, students are better equipped to engage with new concepts, tackle challenging texts, and communicate effectively within each discipline.

Reading Lessons

Reading is a fundamental skill that underpins success across the curriculum, so it is essential that students develop strong reading habits as soon as they enter secondary school. Early, consistent exposure to high‑quality texts helps students build confidence, expand their vocabulary, and access increasingly complex subject content.

Students in Years 7 and 8 have a dedicated one‑hour reading lesson each week. These lessons are carefully structured to enable students to:

  • Practise and apply academic vocabulary
  • Engage in targeted, bespoke reading interventions
  • Take part in a ‘reading together’ session that promotes fluency, confidence, and comprehension

This approach ensures that reading is taught explicitly and systematically, supporting students to become skilled, independent readers.

Reading for Enjoyment

Alongside the formal teaching of reading, the school places a strong emphasis on reading for pleasure. All students take part in our Register and Read programme during one morning form time each week, where they encounter a range of ‘windows and mirrors’ texts—stories that reflect their own experiences as well as those that open up new perspectives.

Students in Years 7 and 8 also enjoy a ‘reading together’ session as part of their weekly reading lesson. These elements are designed to foster a genuine love of reading through engaging, age‑appropriate texts that broaden students’ understanding of different genres, authors, and series.

During reading together sessions, the teacher leads the text aloud, modelling fluent, expressive reading. Audiobooks are also used to support engagement and accessibility. The intention is to create a warm, immersive ‘story time’ atmosphere that encourages students to relax, listen, and enjoy the experience of being read to.

The School Library

The school library has recently undergone a major refurbishment and relocation, placing it at the very heart of the school. This central position reflects its importance as a vibrant hub for reading, research, and independent learning. The redesigned space is brighter, more welcoming, and better equipped to support students’ academic and personal reading journeys.

As part of the refurbishment, a significant number of new books have been purchased, ensuring that the library offers a rich and diverse collection. Students now have access to a wide range of contemporary fiction, classic literature, non‑fiction, graphic novels, and subject‑specific texts that support the curriculum.

To enhance the library experience further, the school has introduced a new digital library management system called Reading Cloud. This system allows students to:

  • Browse the library catalogue online
  • Reserve and review books
  • Receive personalised reading recommendations
  • Track their borrowing history
  • Create reading lists and explore what others are enjoying
  • Reading Cloud helps students take ownership of their reading and encourages them to explore new authors, genres, and interests.
  • The library is open at break, lunch, and after school, providing a calm and supportive environment for reading, homework, and quiet study.  is staffed by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic library team who are passionate about books and always ready to offer guidance, recommend titles, and help students find exactly what they need.
  • The refurbished library stands as a welcoming, inspiring space that nurtures a love of reading and supports students in becoming confident, curious, and independent learners.

Reading assessments and intervention waves

GL Reading Tests are used to assess students’ reading abilities in Years 7–11. All year groups are tested, twice a year. 10. This enables us to monitor overall progress and review the effectiveness of interventions. In addition, some students may be tested using Burt assessments, which provide an indication of word‑level understanding. Based on the outcomes of all assessments, an appropriate wave of reading support is identified for each student.

 

Wave of intervention

Profile of student

RA=Reading Age

Description of intervention

Wave 1

(challenge)

Above age related expectations

RA16+

 

 

Students further enhance their reading proficiency by focusing on the development of their analytical/ inference skills during their reading lessons via exposure to challenging texts.

Wave 2a

(comprehension)

Equal to/ slightly below age related expectations

RA expected >age-1yr

 

During reading lessons, students enhance their reading proficiency by developing their comprehension skills, including at sentence level. Careful analysis of assessment data also helps us identify whether a student requires additional support with vocabulary. All students follow a school‑resourced reading curriculum called Reading Wise, which provides structured, evidence‑based activities designed to build confidence, fluency, and understanding.

.

Wave 2b

(fluency)

Slightly below age related expectations RA age-1yr > 9.6

 

During reading lessons, students enhance their reading proficiency by developing their fluency and comprehension skills at sentence level. This focused approach helps them read with greater accuracy, confidence, and understanding.

To ensure that each student receives the right level of support, we use both the Burt Word Reading Test and the NGRT diagnostic assessment. These tools enable us to identify specific areas of need and determine the most appropriate intervention, ensuring that every student can make sustained and meaningful progress in their reading.

 

Wave 2c

(Decoding)

below functional literacy levels

RA below 9.6

These students will also be assessed using the Burt Word Reading Test, which helps us identify those who are struggling at word level. During reading lessons, these students develop their reading ability by strengthening their decoding skills and building confidence with phonics through the Reading Wise decoding module.

In addition to their timetabled reading lessons, these students receive a daily 20‑minute intervention session. This targeted support enables them to practise key skills in a structured, cumulative way. Their progression through the Reading Wise modules reflects their growing accuracy, fluency, and confidence as readers

 

Wave 4

Significantly below age-related expectations

RA 7>9.6

 

 

 

The Bridge class: This group of year 7 students access a full mainstream curriculum with an enhanced focus on the development of their reading proficiency and the acquisition of their wider literacy skills. They will either by placed on the decoding or  Zip  intervention programme.

Wave 5

Significantly below age-related expectations below age 6.

 

Students with EHCPs within our specialist provisions participate in various individualised programme designed to meet the unique learning needs of the student (including Zip ) The impact of the intervention is monitored via assessments linked to the specific programme

 

Whilst students in KS4 do not access reading lessons as part of their curriculum, the wave system is adapted for them so that they receive interventions appropriate to their reading proficiency. Identification of their need is via GL assessments, BURT  and teacher-referrals.