Literacy

Rationale

This policy is for staff, parents/carers and the wider school community.  It aims to set out:

  • Our approach to teaching, monitoring, and assessing literacy and reading knowledge and skills
  • How we will make sure our provision for the teaching of English, literacy and reading is of consistently high quality
Legislation and guidance

This policy reflects the requirements and expectations set out in the:

  • National Curriculum programmes of study for English
  • Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice 2014
  • Equality Act 2010
  • Reading framework 2023
  • National Curriculum programmes of study for English
What is the expectation regarding Literacy at Bishop Challoner School?

Our school aims to develop pupils’ skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. By the time that pupils move on from our school, our aim is for them to:

  • Be fluent readers and writers
  • Have a positive attitude towards books and reading, reading widely for pleasure and information
  • Enjoy writing in different contexts and for different purposes and audiences
  • Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting language and style accordingly
  • Be curious and creative when it comes to reading and writing – for example, by being interested in learning the meaning of new words
  • Have a wide vocabulary and understanding of grammar
  • Feel confident speaking in class and be able to clearly explain their understanding and ideas
  • Listen carefully and sensitively to adults and their peers
  • Develop students’ ability to read complex academic texts’
  • Have the literacy and oracy skills to prepare them for the future
We teach English and literacy best when:
  • There is a joyful culture around reading and reading for pleasure in school
  • All staff feel they have the knowledge, skills, understanding and professional support they need to teach English and literacy effectively
  • There’s sufficiently detailed and frequent ongoing assessment of pupil progress
  • We expose pupils to different types of reading material, such as through stimulating, high-quality and curiosity-inspiring classroom displays
  • We involve families in supporting their child’s reading and writing
  • The English curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced
  • We identify where pupils have learning gaps or aren’t making the expected progress, and put in place interventions to target these
  • Teaching resources are available, up to date, varied and diverse, and match pupil and curriculum needs
  • We engage pupils in high-quality back-and-forth interactions
  • We model new language and accurate grammar to pupils
  • We support pupils with speech, language and communication needs in small intervention groups
  • Provide targeted vocabulary instruction in every subject
  • Provide high quality literacy interventions for struggling students

Roles and Responsibilities

The Headteacher is responsible for:
  • Building a team of expert teachers who know and understand the processes that underpin learning to read and write
  • Providing teachers with the appropriate training and resources so that they can competently deliver the English curriculum
  • Creating a stimulating school environment where pupils are exposed to different types of reading material, such as through displays, books and other classroom resources
  • Promoting a culture of reading for pleasure at the core of the curriculum
  • Developing links with organisations such as school and public library services, reading charities and others
  • Involving parents and families in supporting their children’s reading
The Literacy lead is responsible for:

Our English and literacy subject lead is Trudy Carter.  They’re responsible for providing leadership and management for English and literacy to secure:

  • High-quality teaching and subject knowledge of staff
  • Training for staff
  • A rigorous programme that includes well-conceived and structured resources
  • Effective use of resources
Teachers are responsible for:
    • Planning effective English and literacy lessons
    • Providing opportunities for pupils to apply their English and literacy skills in a variety of ways
    • Completing the relevant marking and assessment
    • To demonstrate their understanding of literacy across the curriculum in their teaching so trainee teachers can learn from them how to teach reading effectively
    • Making sure that support staff have:
    • Access to planning materials and resources
    • The knowledge and skills they need to support and challenge pupils

If you are still in search of more support

Please feel free to contact us or maybe visit one of these sites as suggested by our Literacy coordinator

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