Reading Strategy
Numeracy
Upon entry to Year 7 students with low numeracy skills are identified and they will receive an additional one hour intervention session. An extra additional hour is offered to the most vulnerable. We have recently introduced a new numeracy package called “Passport Maths” which enables weaker students to improve their numeracy skills across all five year groups.
All students in the academy have access to “Times Table Rockstars” where they can improve their times tables in a fun way. We have entered National competitions and we are looking at running events within the academy and across the trust. This type of activity encourages a love of maths and can help remove the stigma that some students have.
During Form Learning Time allows students to complete key skills when they take part in Numeracy Ninjas, once every two weeks.
Every child at Rossington also has access to Hegarty maths, an online programme. Pupils are given tasks to complete each week as part of their homework to try and help retention. Students are all encouraged to use their own personalised Question Level Analysis (QLA) sheet where they can begin to plug gaps in their knowledge. The QLA’s are created after students have completed tests and they identify what clips and questions students should focus on. For those that don’t have access to the internet we offer a one hour club after school on Wednesdays which is run by a member of the maths team, alternatively they can go every day to the Learning Resource Centre to work independently. Students with an average of eleven hours Hegarty usage gained an average of 0.3 progress 8 in maths. The average number of hours used was in direct correlation to the grade gained.
Reading
At Rossington All Saints Academy, we place reading at the heart of our curriculum. We want our students to be able to access the full curriculum offer by developing a reading programme that focuses on accuracy, automaticity (speed, fluency), prosody (expression, emphasis and tone) and a love of reading.
The English secondary reading strategy is delivered via English lessons, where all students are given access to a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. Students read and reread texts to find layers of meaning and increase understanding. Each text also focuses on a key theme to encourage our students’ personal development.
All students in Years 7 and 8 are assessed using GL Assessment’s reading test https://www.gl-assessment.co.uk/products/new-group-reading-test-ngrt .The assessment helps highlight which students require support with their reading. This support is provided in different ways depending on the need of each student. This could include an extra timetabled literacy intervention lesson, focusing on key literacy skills and comprehension and some students will receive additional reading time in the library.
In addition, all students in Years 7 and 8 access the Accelerated Reader programme https://www.renaissance.com/products/accelerated-reader. Accelerated Reader is a programme designed to encourage a love of reading, using reading levels to suggest appropriate books for each student and testing for comprehension along the way. Students visit the library for 1 hour per week, to access accelerated reader lessons.
We are also excited to begin trialling a different reading program within the Academy called Reading Plus Reading Plus – Adaptive Literacy Intervention for Grades 3-12. This aims to develop comprehension and efficiency in reading and adapts to offer support and texts that are appropriate for the reading level of each individual learner.
As a trust we have recently launched the ‘reading routes’ initiative for all Y7 students, with a plan to roll this out to all Y8 and Y9 students. Students will follow a route which corresponds with a genre for example crime and mystery. Students will be encouraged to read 6 books from the genre to complete the route. After they have read each book, they will complete an accelerated reader quiz which focuses on the book they have read. Once students have completed a reading route they will move onto the next route. This initiative aims to encourage reading for pleasure and a love of reading.
Literacy
We promote literacy across the school. Each week, students across KS3 listen and read along to an extract from a novel. Students are then given the opportunity to discuss what they have read. This reading is designed to expose students to texts with diverse characters and themes.
Word of the Week introduces students to a range of new vocabulary that can be used across all subjects. Vocabulary is tied to the local context so that it is meaningful and builds cultural capital.
The following icons have also been shared with all staff and students (they are displayed in student planners). The expectation is that all staff use the following icons in each curriculum area when there is a planned reading task.
Oracy
Oracy is a key focus across the Academy, and we aim to develop students’ speaking and listening skills, confidence, and ability to express ideas. Oracy tasks are embedded across tutor time activities and curriculum areas. The Oracy logo and Talk Toolkit is displayed to remind students of the expectations and guidelines that facilitate a positive discussion. Students are also provided with sentence starters to scaffold their responses, and word walls offer key subject vocabulary that our students can use to articulate their ideas.