Reading and Literacy

At Brayton Academy we are very excited to have launched a new interactive online reading scheme. Reading Plus is a personalised on line programme that helps students develop the skills they need to be confident and capable readers and lifelong learners.

We know that fluent and confident reading is a cornerstone to success not just in English but in all academic subjects at GCSE and beyond. Students who struggle to read have many barriers to not only learning but also how they can interact with the world as adults. We want to be able to do all we can to help students succeed in reading so we can remove those barriers and empower all our students to achieve their fullest potential both in their studies with us and in their lives beyond our walls.

From March 2022 all students in Key Stage Three, and selected students in year 10, will be enrolled in the Reading Plus programme. Students will be given weekly homework, in a similar way to how the Maths department set Hegarty Maths, and be expected to complete a minimum of 4 tasks per week.

The programme uses adaptive and innovative technology to help increase students’ reading speed and to train them to read more fluently, more accurately and more quickly. From a baseline test that students will sit in school, texts are assigned to students to sit comfortably just above their current skill level and guide them to improve. Students are provided with instant feedback on their answers and have a wide range of text types available for them to choose from.

All students in KS3 have one lesson per week in the library as part of their timetabled English lessons. Students will have the opportunity in this lesson to do extra tasks in Reading Plus as directed by their teacher. There will be a cohort of students who will also receive weekly planned interventions with our SEN team to develop their reading as indicated by their progress in Reading Plus.

At Brayton Academy we place great importance on reading for pleasure. All students in Years 7 and 8 spend one lesson per week in the library. We are lucky that the Academy has a generous space in the library and the shelves are well stocked with a range of appropriate fiction and non-fiction. We also deliberately stock books linked to those we read in English lessons – be they books by the same author, sequels or books on a similar topic.

The main focus of the library lesson is keeping reading journals and the Brayton Reading Challenge. Students complete weekly tasks in their journals to help them interact with and reflect on the books they are reading. Students enjoy the range of tasks they complete and the opportunity to reflect on their reading and complete book reviews.

The Brayton Reading Challenge is different for each child. Students are challenged to set themselves an ambitious target and are encouraged to aim high. From a selection of 30 categories students may pick either 6 or 8 tasks to make up their individual challenge. Every year some students will set themselves the challenge of reading books to fit all 30 challenges – something we actively encourage!