Reading and Literacy

In the beginning was the Word… John 1:1

Here at Blessed Trinity RC College, we take great pride in our prioritisation of reading and literacy. We aspire to promote high standards of literacy in every subject.

The teaching of reading and literacy is a cornerstone of education and is exhibited through functional reading, writing, speaking and listening. This includes pupils’ ability to communicate in a range of contexts, across the curriculum. High level literacy skills are essential in ensuring pupils’ achievement in school and their ability to access further education and employment once they leave. It is important to note that literacy skills, whilst clearly a primary focus of English, are used across the school. We aim to ensure that these skills are developed and reinforced across our school curriculum.

At Blessed Trinity the teaching of reading and literacy can be broken down into four key areas:

The accuracy of spoken or written language
The understanding and application of core skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening
The understanding and correct use of subject specific and wider vocabulary
The promotion and development of reading

In 2023, the Department for Education ‘Reading Framework’ noted that:

‘Reading is fundamental to education. Proficiency in reading, writing and spoken language is vital for pupils’ success. Through these, they develop communication skills for education and for working with others: in school, in training and at work. Pupils who find it difficult to learn to read are likely to struggle across the curriculum.’

Therefore, as a school our purpose is to:

To raise the literacy attainment at every level in all subject areas to ensure that we give every pupil the opportunity to maximise their potential
To recognise that all teachers are facilitators of reading and literacy and have a responsibility to promote high expectations both, across all subject specialisms
To sustain and develop high standards of disciplinary literacy, where the subject’s way of reading, speaking and writing are integrated and mapped into curriculum intent
To foster a love of reading, through a reading rich curriculum
To enable all pupils to have the opportunity to become effective readers, speakers, and writers, and provide targeted intervention to support pupils’ skills.

Reading for all at Blessed Trinity
Targeted Intervention	Universal Offer
Additional support for the weakest readers	Reading independently and for pleasure	English Curriculum	Wider Curriculum
Some Reading concerns: Quality First Teaching – classroom teachers to be aware of these pupils. They should be identified on seating plans and offered wave 1 support Close monitoring through Accelerated Reader and New Group Reading Test Reader Leaders – paired reading with mentors. Multiple reading concerns: Fluency intervention – rapid plus, IXL, TTS decodable books Reading development course. Significant weaknesses in reading: Lexonik Leap (systematic synthetics phonics programme).	Accelerated Reader: Every Key Stage 3 (KS3) pupil has a reading book matched to reading age Word millionaires and rewards Library lessons once per fortnight in KS3. Literacy curriculum (weekly): Rolling literacy lesson (KS3) Register and Read Root word. Quality resources and opportunities: Well stocked and maintained library Full time librarian Book clubs Reader Leaders Pupil librarians Reading events and competitions Genre cards Book bank.	Carefully chosen texts to increase background knowledge: Novels, poetry, plays and non-fiction texts which enable students to gain knowledge of different ‘big ideas’. Curriculum thinking documentation: Key skills for reading are revisited throughout the year Vocabulary is deliberately taught and tested Knowledge organisers present key vocabulary for each unit. Library lesson: KS3 pupils access library lessons to complete spellings, Accelerated Reader Programme, guided and independent reading activities. Intervention Dedicated English teacher delivers targeted intervention based on teacher referral/data.	Guided academic reading: Opportunities for disciplinary literacy planned into each half term Consistent strategy for pre, during and post reading – 4 part model. Vocabulary instruction Termly vocabulary lesson Root word of the week Knowledge organisers Frayer models Homework opportunities/low stakes quizzing Morphology. Oracy techniques: All texts read aloud by expert readers modelling fluency Choral reading – reading rulers Discussion opportunities – literacy lesson & register and read. Staff CPD INSET and CPD focus for teachers and support staff Phonics. Literacy ambassadors All departments have literacy leads. Literacy NPQ Literacy ambassador completing the National Professional Qualification in Leading Literacy.