Literacy

Literacy is an essential part of all students’ curriculum. It is fundamental to everything students do in school both within the classroom through disciplinary literacy and around the school through our literacy initiatives. Our aim is to ensure all students can read, write and communicate effectively. In addition to our whole-school literacy strategies, we have embedded a range of interventions to support students who need additional support.

Literacy Interventions

Whole-school literacy programme: this is the development of a reading culture at Saltash through the use of disciplinary literacy, library lessons, TEAM Reader programme, Accelerated Reader and staff promotion of reading.

Fresh Start: this programme is a 1-1 reading support programme designed to support students who did not meet ‘expected standard’ when they left primary school. It is also designed for older, struggling readers. The programme begins as a 1-1 reading programme and develops into group sessions. LSAs along with one of our reading tutors will meet with students each day of the week. Extraction will be from a range of lessons to minimise the impact on any one subject. Students in Year 7-9 will have this intervention if required.

Catch-Up Literacy: this programme is designed for struggling readers in Year 10-11. It involves fewer sessions but has also been evaluated by the EEF as successful. Students will be extracted from a range of lessons to minimise disruption.

Bedrock Learning

Students in Years 7 - 10 have been enrolled onto a digital learning platform called 'Bedrock Learning'. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to continue to develop their understanding and use of Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary as well as important aspects of grammar.

All students have completed a baseline test that establishes a personalised programme which enables them to work through blocks of learning that adapt to their literacy needs.

Students will be using the platform during some of their lessons and they will also be asked to complete some of the blocks as part of their home learning.

We hope that our students enjoy using this exciting new platform and we look forward to seeing them progress with their literacy. If you have any questions about Bedrock Learning or if your child has any difficulties with accessing the platform from home, please get in touch with your son/daughter's English teacher.

TEAM Reader

TEAM Reader is our tutorial reading programme where tutors read a range of engaging, challenging texts, modelling excellent reading as students follow along with their own book.

The aims of TEAM Reader are:

1. To expose students to a wide range of literature covering many issues

2. To improve students’ reading ability by modelling good reading practice and fluency

3. To engender a love of reading to encourage students to want to read more

Text Selection

The range of texts used has been decided upon by the whole staff body, ensuring they meet certain criteria. The books used:

Help to make connections between a student’s own knowledge and experience
Allow demonstration of fluency, pace and prosody
Present new and interesting vocabulary that is different from everyday conversation
Support discussion around character, plot or resolution development
Develop an awareness of different styles of writing
Introduce texts with increasing complexity and abstract concepts
Address issues within our local community
Promote a global awareness and understanding of important issues, as well as Fundamental British Values
Confront important and difficult issues in a supportive, safe environment
Access some texts well beyond those they could read themselves, familiarising themselves with complex vocabulary, rhythm and patterns of syntax.

TEAM Reader Books

Year 7	Book Name	Themes
1	The Silver Sword	Oppression. Racism.
2	The Goldfish Boy	Autism representation. Emotions. Grief.
3	Twelve Minutes to Midnight	Strong female lead.
4	Refugee Boy	Cultural diversity. Refugee.
5	The Graveyard Book	Alienation. Greed. Good vs Evil.
6	The Truth of Things	Social issues. Family relationships.
7	Wolf	Terrorism
8	War Horse	Grief. Conflict. Loyalty. Survival.
Spare	The London Eye Mystery	Autism representation.
Year 8	Book Name	Themes
1	The Curious Incident	Autism representation. Family relationships.
2	The Tulip Touch	Social responsibility. Peer pressure.
3	I Am Thunder	Bullying. Radicalisation. Religion. Islamophobia.
4	Noughts and Crosses	Racism. Radicalisation.
5	Chinese Cinderella	Family relationships. Abandonment. Self-esteem.
6	Maggot Moon	Positive dyslexia representation. Oppression. Friendship.
7	Looking for JJ	Ethical issues. Prejudice.
8	The Cay	Prejudice. Racism. Multiculturalism.
Spare	The Boy Who Steals Houses	Autism representation. Friendship.
Year 9	Book Name	Themes
1	Guantanamo Boy	Racism. Prejudice.
2	Tamar	Jealousy. Betrayal.
3	Enders Game	Empathy. Morality. Survival.
4	The Hate You Give	Multiculturalism. Strong female character. Prejudice. Racism.
5	Max	Racism. Oppression. Prejudice. Social conditioning.
6	My Sister's Keeper	Grief. Moral dilemmas. Family relationships.
7	Woman in Black	Fear. Isolation. Grief.
8	The Lord of the Flies	Society vs savagery. Tribalism. Survival.
Spare	Touching the Void	Tenacity. Motivation. Defying the odds.
Year 10	Book Name	Themes
1	Purple Hibiscus	Identity. Freedom. Oppression.
2	The Number 57 Bus	LGBTQ+. Diversity. Multiculturalism.
3	The Fault in our Stars	Cancer. Grief.
4	Tease	Bullying. Toxic Friendship. Suicide.
5	Q and A	Poverty. Tenacity. Wealth and class.
6	Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe	LGBTQ+. Diversity. Multiculturalism.
7	The Boxer	Racism. Radicalisation.
8	The Perks of Being a Wallflower	LGBTQ+. Drugs. Alcohol.
Spare	The Midnight Library	Suicide. Mental health. Loneliness. Grief.
Year 11	Book Name	Content
All groups	The only study guide you’ll ever need.	Learning and revision techniques.

Accelerated Reader

Students use Accelerated Reader during their library lessons and at home to self-quiz on books they have read. Successfully completing quizzes leads to students ‘achieving’ the word-count of that book.

Accelerated Reader Link: https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/2234740

Reading Badges

When students reach certain word milestones, they are awarded with a badge to recognise their achievement. Each TEAM reader book has at least 20,000 words, allowing all students to achieve their first badge as soon as they have finished their first book with their tutor.