At Erasmus Darwin Academy, we strive to foster a positive reading culture that not only enhances academic performance but student wellbeing too. Through the promotion of reading widely, often, and for pleasure, having all teachers regularly ‘champion’ reading, and the embedding of our fundamentals of reading across the wider curriculum, we hope to unlock each child’s potential and achieve excellence for all. Numerous studies have shown that the more competent a student is at reading, the better they will score in academic testing. They will also be more likely to trust others, feel a stronger sense of belonging within society and have a greater ability to cope with challenging life situations.
OFSTED recognition
In our most recent OFSTED inspection (May 2023), our positive reading culture was praised as one of our strengths:
“Leaders have taken action to ensure that all pupils can read well. This includes reading time for all pupils and reading lessons in the Library for Years 7 and 8. These have been effective in establishing a culture of reading.”
Silent Reading – After Lunch & Tutor Time
After lunch, every day, all students silently read for ten minutes at the start of their lesson. This settles our learning climate and allows each student to engage with a reading book/text of their choice for at least fifty minutes per week. Teachers also read in silence during this time to model effective reading practices. Studies show that children are more likely to enjoy reading if they see key adults in their lives reading.
In addition, one tutor time each week is dedicated to reading. Tutors will guide this reading and cover a range of topics. This will sometimes be a carefully-selected group reading book designed to engage students at KS3 and beyond.
Tracking of Reading Ages
With each data capture (wherewe collect data about students’ academic performance), we test the reading ages of our Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 students using Literacy Assessment Online. The rationale behind this is to quality assure the impact of literacy and reading strategies and interventions employed across the wider curriculum, and to ensure all students are progressing with their reading in line with their chronological age. We also use this data to inform us of which students should receive additional support with reading. This information is communicated with families via progress reports, or if your child has been identified as a student who may benefit from additional support.
Bedrock Learning Ltd.
All Years 7 and 8 students now have access to Bedrock Learning. The programme is designed to be bespoke to every student’s ability and supports students with pronunciation, understanding of key words and keeps a log of acquired vocabulary. This will allow English teachers to see how much students are understanding and how well they are progressing through the programme. If students are routinely scoring fairly low results in pre- and post- reading quizzes, the system will ask them to have another go. Should this continue, they will automatically drop to a level that is more suitable for their ability. This works two ways: should students continually score high results, the system will move them on to more challenging content. Students are asked to complete two elements per week and the system will record their progress, plus keep a log of how long students spent on the system (it will automatically log them out after a period of inactivity). Students are still expected to read for a minimum of 30 minutes every day in their spare time. This can be any choice of book, providing it is age appropriate, in good condition, physical (not digital) and challenging. We no longer use Accelerated Reader.
The Library
All Year 7 and 8 students have one Library lesson every two weeks as part of our English curriculum provision. In these lessons, students will complete a range of vocabulary tasks, spelling tests, comprehension quizzes and their Bedrock modules. Teachers will work with Mrs Dickinson (our marvellous Librarian) to check on homework progress and provide support with this where necessary. Students may also at times be asked to read aloud as a way of practising and developing reading fluency. The Library is also open before school, after school and at break times and lunch times for students to come and read independently, do homework, take part in our themed lunchtimes (e.g. “No Tech Thursdays”) or participate in clubs (Rubik’s cube etc.).
Reading Within the Academic Curriculum
Last year, we developed our ‘Four Fundamentals of Reading’. These are employed within lessons across the wider curriculum:
- Any time students are exposed to a new text during a lesson, the teacher must read aloud to the students. Whilst the teacher is reading aloud, the students must be actively listening and following along. Students should be: silent, clearly reading their copy and be able to answer a simple question about what has been read.
- Teachers must question students on high level vocabulary and key terminology within a text to ensure students understand the meaning of the words and, therefore, the text as a whole. Teachers should pre-empt misconceptions by reading the text in advance of the lesson and be prepared to address these with students through discussion and questioning.
- Texts should not be made easier but could be condensed to include only the information that is relevant to the learning taking place.
- Teachers must employ strategies outlined in the Wider Curriculum Literacy & Oracy Toolkit to ensure students have understood the text both during and after reading.
At EDA, we believe that English is not just a subject in its own right, but also the medium for all teaching. We want to ensure all staff are empowered to improve reading outcomes across the curriculum and are striving to provide them with the tools and guidance to do so.
Reading Homework
Students will no longer be issued with a Reading Log, so there is therefore no requirement to fill this in. Saying this, students in all year groups should be reading for a minimum of 30 minutes every day (this can include the ten minutes of P5 spent silently reading and Bedrock modules, where appropriate). A reading book still forms part of all students’ basic equipment.
If you require any further information regarding reading at EDA, please contact k.wilson@eda.staffs.sch.uk.