Reading Culture SEF

Intent

Reading plays a crucial role in supporting pupils’ learning and development and their understanding of the subjects they are studying. As they prepare to sit the exams that will help to shape their futures, it is important for all of our pupils to continue to expand their vocabulary and improve their writing, language and comprehension skills. Reading a wide variety of books from an assortment of different authors will help our pupils to grow into powerful and knowledgeable communicators. Research evidence the significant impact reading has on pupils; it improves mental health and wellbeing, final exam grades, narrows the vocabulary gap, develops understanding and builds empathy.

As well as being a gateway to learning and understanding, reading also helps young people to develop their social and cultural capital by giving them access to new ideas and experiences and encouraging them to empathise with people and characters from all walks of life. Our reading provision aims to offer an inclusive variety of diverse sources and texts that reflect our pupils’ experiences. Research has proven diversity in literature has significant impact on pupils’ empathy and engagement. Our ReadAloud program and library stock supports this aim.

Implement

Star Readers

Our Star Readers initiative is designed to promote the joys and benefits of reading to all of our pupils, whilst simultaneously improving their writing, vocabulary and comprehension skills. Experienced staff have searched through the best of contemporary and classic young adult literature to provide a recommended reading list for each year group. The books have been selected to give pupils a window into other people’s worlds, promote discussion and build reading resilience.

From contemporary classics like Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and the Hunger Games Trilogy, to universal favourites like To Kill a Mockingbird, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the programme features acclaimed titles dating back to Aesop’s Fables and includes ground-breaking literature from the 19th to the 21st century. All of the books are aligned with our leadership specialism and have been selected with the age of students in mind, both in terms of their reading ability and the main themes explored.

The recommended reading lists for each year group are included in the Star Readers Secondary Edition booklet. This is also displayed in the library and on our website. All our pupils are provided with a copy of the booklet to take home and will be encouraged to participate in the Star Readers Challenge, which involves reading at least 10 books from the recommended reading list for their year group. To monitor pupils’ progress and development, all pupils will be given a reading record to track their own reading and participation in the Star Readers Challenge. These reading records are available in the library. All pupils who complete the Challenge by reading at least 10 books from the recommended reading list for their year group over the course of the academic year will be awarded a Star Readers certificate of achievement and a prize during the school’s annual Star Readers Awards Ceremony, which celebrates pupils’ commitment to reading. We hope parents are also able to get involved with the initiative by encouraging their children to read as many of the books as possible.

Pupils are able to borrow all of the titles featured in the Star Readers Secondary Edition booklet directly from school and many, if not all, are likely to be available from local libraries. Our librarian is always there to help pupils achieve their goals with this.

ReadAloud

We have introduced a ReadAloud program in the school which promotes reading for understanding under the guidance of a skilled reader. This program is supported by significant research into the impact that guided reading has on pupils. We aim to narrow the vocabulary gap, improve reading for understanding, develop empathy and cultural capital. The ReadAloud program takes place at the end of the school day for twenty minutes; these twenty minutes are powerful in emphasising the importance reading has in our school’s culture and ethos. Our reading culture is a whole school approach and every department supports this culture.

NGRT and ReadingWise

The NGRT tests take place on a scheduled basis to help the school track pupil progress and attainment in their reading ages. This data is then analysed and used to inform the ReadAloud program, ReadingWise interventions as well as providing a powerful context for teachers to apply in their planning and teaching strategies. We ensure that learners placed in Categories 2,3 and 4 are tested more frequently to keep a close eye on progress and the impact of interventions, this provides opportunities to identify strengths and improvements.

Our school also ensure pupils’ reading skills are supported and developed through the use of an online platform called ReadingWise. We ensure all pupils complete NGRT tests, the data that is produced is very powerful in identifying gaps in reading. We are able to then tailor our intervention program for pupils to suit their individual needs. All pupils have access to a vocabulary module that is designed to improve comprehension, reading and literacy skills as well as developing pupils’ vocabulary. Pupils access this from home and parents are encouraged to help support this too. Readers who are struggling are further supported with targeted interventions from ReadingWise, our amazing pastoral and support team assist with this so that all our pupils are catered for and make progress.

Wider applications

The school creates opportunities for ‘readers to become writers, ’and ‘writers to become readers’ through projects to encourage and publish pupils’ writing, which can then be read by multiple audiences (school magazines, poetry anthologies, collections of essays or short stories). In this half term, we have already had lessons on National Poetry Day where pupils created poetry for the GREENPEACE competition.

Reading is a feature of lessons across the curriculum. Teachers model fluency of reading using intonation and drawing attention to features of language. When giving opportunities for pupils to read aloud, they use their knowledge of pupils’ reading proficiency to make this experience successful. This is modelled at the beginning of the year with staff as well as pupils so a high standard is created.

Enrichment

Enrichment clubs are also offered to promote reading proficiency; clubs such as debate, Model UN and drama aid in this. In debate club pupils research a variety of sources to help formulate opinions, in drama pupils learn to read and write scripts for performances and Model UN also requires pupils to engage with diverse resources to form arguments.

Disciplinary reading

Our school recognises the importance of reading across the curriculum; every teacher is a teacher of reading. All subjects develop disciplinary reading in their classrooms; departments create powerful resources such as the subject source booklets which deepen and consolidate learning. These source booklets contain amazing resources such as critical reviews, articles, historical letters and podcasts. Every department works tirelessly to promote a love of reading through their curriculum.

There has been a great drive in promoting wider reading in all subjects of the curriculum; departments have curated subject specific books which are available in the library, there are subject specific read like an expert book recommendation in each department and source booklets for subjects to foster greater depth of knowledge. Star Subject Readers provide opportunities for pupils to read books from different disciplines within each year group. This enables pupils to Read Like a Geographer, Scientist, Linguist, Historian, Mathematician. Metacognition is also promoted through each department’s use of their personal source booklets, making them a powerful tool as pupils are empowered to create links between their own learning and real-life implementations.

Disciplinary literacy also includes investigating the use of subject specific vocabulary in context, reading media articles and academic texts. From reading models, pupils learn to construct text in the required genres (such as when recording practical science investigations or writing discursive accounts in history or participating in debates).

Furthermore, vocabulary is taught explicitly. Every department includes explicit Tier 2 vocabulary in their curriculum plans. Subjects use key words and vocabulary exercise books to record this too.

Peer Reading

The pupils prove their passion for reading through the peer reading program. Confident readers coach struggling readers to develop their confidence, reduce anxiety around reading and improve fluency. Our pupils are passionate about this and their applications for this program act as evidence for their amazing enthusiasm for supporting reading. Research has shown that peer mentoring is an effective tool for intervention and we are very excited to see how far our pupils will take this.

Impact

As we establish ReadAloud with enthusiasm and conviction, we aim to secure a considerable increase in pupils’ reading diet and exposure to new vocabulary. This will also help realise our ambition to create whole-school communities of fluent readers.

Pupils will:

• enjoy books that they may not be able to read themselves.
• be exposed to complex sentence structures and vocabulary that can help to build background knowledge.
• become readers as writers.
• be exposed to and become familiar with artful syntax and begin to incorporate different types of sentences/ syntax in their own writing.
• use forms of grammar to build sentences and construct ideas with fluidity and flexibility.
• be able to unlock the complexity of language through audible examples, thus enabling them to make better sense of the variety of syntaxes and structures that they will encounter when they read independently.
• emulate fluent readers and start to read expressively and add drama to enable others to comprehend a text.
• show a passion for books and literature.
• Our pupils’ progress will be reflected in the NGRT data as these intervention programs close reading gaps and support rapid progress.
• Our intent and implementation will result in some key factors of success:
• There is a positive and vibrant book culture in the school.
• The messages conveyed in displays are lived in classrooms.
• Reading habits are well developed.
• All pupils carry a personal reading book that they read for pleasure.
• Pupils regard reading as an enjoyable activity that brings happiness.
• Their cultural capital develops through their engagement with a range of books and stories.
• Pupils use reading to acquire new knowledge, deepen their understanding and secure a strong web of information.
• Pupils are able to draw connections between subjects and think critically. This is evidenced in the quality of work produced and through composite tasks and summative assessments.
• Reading deficits are closed.
• There is evidence of improved progress across a wide range of subjects.
• Pupils understand the value of reading to learn.
• Pupils report positively about reading and the impact on their emotional wellbeing and happiness.
• Reading underpins the whole-school curriculum and is promoted within every subject area. This helps pupils to hone their reading skills including information retrieval.
• Early readers and those at risk of not accessing the curriculum make rapid progress in their reading and as a result begin to flourish academically and pastorally across subjects.

For further information please contact: Zabar.hussain@egbham.staracademies.org