Reading is fundamental to success across the curriculum and beyond school. It is one of the most important skills pupils develop during their education, with strong reading ability supporting achievement across GCSE subjects. This is why reading is often described as the ‘master skill of secondary school’.
Reading opens doors to learning and new opportunities. It helps pupils understand increasingly complex ideas, develop their vocabulary, express themselves clearly and explore different perspectives. Reading for pleasure also encourages curiosity, builds empathy and helps pupils develop a deeper understanding of themselves, others and the wider world.
Our ambition is for every pupil to become an accurate, fluent and confident reader who can understand and engage with increasingly challenging texts. We recognise that secure foundations in reading are essential for success across all subjects, and we are committed to ensuring that gaps in reading knowledge and skills do not become barriers to learning.
We want every pupil to experience a wide range of engaging, ambitious and appropriately challenging texts, achieve their academic potential and develop a lifelong love of reading.
| Principle | |
| LEAD | We model the value and enjoyment of reading and show how it helps us learn about the world. |
| EMPOWER | We help pupils build the reading knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed in every subject and to read for pleasure. |
| ACHIEVE | We provide carefully matched teaching and additional support where needed, while ensuring that all pupils encounter ambitious reading experiences. |
| DRIVE | We review assessment information and the effectiveness of our provision so that we can keep improving the support pupils receive. |
Pupils need secure foundations to make sense of increasingly demanding texts. These include recognising written words accurately, using knowledge of sounds and spelling patterns to work out unfamiliar words, reading fluently, understanding vocabulary and making meaning from what they read.
Some pupils arrive at secondary school still developing these essential skills. We identify gaps in reading knowledge and provide support matched to the specific difficulty, so that pupils can build the accuracy, fluency and understanding they need to access learning across the curriculum. We recognise that reading needs can change as texts become more complex.
As part of transition, pupils complete the New Group Reading Test (NGRT) in Year 6. This helps us understand their reading needs before they join the Academy and plan support from the start of Year 7.
Pupils are assessed annually in Years 7 to 9. In Year 10, pupils receiving reading intervention also complete NGRT assessments to help us monitor their progress and decide what support is needed next.
Where we need a more detailed understanding, a Reading Specialist carries out individual diagnostic assessments. These may include the York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension (YARC) and PROBE 2 Blue. We use this information alongside professional judgement to identify specific barriers and select appropriate teaching or intervention.
Our reading interventions are chosen to address pupils’ identified needs. Staff delivering them receive specialist, programme-specific training. We monitor progress regularly and reassess pupils when an intervention ends to determine whether further support is needed.
Thinking Reading provides intensive one-to-one teaching for pupils with significant reading difficulties. Teaching is individualised and focuses on identified gaps, which may include decoding, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
That Reading Thing supports older pupils who need to strengthen word-level reading and decoding. Its sound-to-print approach helps pupils understand how spoken sounds connect to written words, using age-appropriate language and materials.
PALS is a structured paired-reading approach that develops fluency and comprehension. Pupils take turns reading, listening and giving feedback, using activities such as partner reading, paragraph shrinking and prediction relay.
Find out more: What is PALS?
Lexia is a computer-based programme with personalised activities in word recognition, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Activities adapt to pupils’ needs, while staff review progress and provide additional support.
Reading plays an important role in every subject. As pupils move through secondary school, they encounter increasingly challenging texts, specialist vocabulary and different ways of reading and understanding information.
We recognise that reading in science, history, mathematics and other subjects can involve different skills and approaches. Teachers help pupils understand how to read successfully within their subjects, making the language, structure and purpose of texts clear.
Across the curriculum, pupils are supported to develop their vocabulary, understand subject-specific language and make sense of increasingly complex ideas. Teachers model effective reading approaches, explain unfamiliar words and provide opportunities for pupils to discuss, question and explore what they have read.
As pupils become more confident, they are encouraged to use these approaches with increasing independence, adapting how they read to suit different subjects, texts and tasks.
Our aim is for every pupil to develop the knowledge, confidence and reading strategies needed to access an ambitious curriculum, deepen their understanding and become an increasingly independent learner.
Form Time Reading is an important part of our commitment to developing confident, fluent readers who enjoy reading and can access increasingly challenging texts across the curriculum. Our approach is carefully structured to meet pupils’ needs at different stages of their secondary education.
In Years 7 and 8, pupils take part in structured reading sessions that place a strong emphasis on the explicit teaching of vocabulary. Developing a broad and secure understanding of vocabulary is essential for reading comprehension, enabling pupils to understand increasingly complex texts and access learning across all subjects.
During these sessions, pupils read together, encounter unfamiliar words and receive clear explanations of their meanings. Through teacher modelling, discussion, repetition and regular opportunities to recall and use new vocabulary, pupils strengthen their understanding and develop the confidence to engage with more challenging language.
This approach helps pupils build a rich vocabulary, retain new knowledge and apply their understanding in different contexts, supporting both their reading development and wider academic success.
In Years 9 to 11, Form Time Reading focuses on developing a lifelong enjoyment of reading while strengthening pupils’ knowledge, vocabulary and comprehension. Pupils are introduced to a broad and diverse range of fiction and non-fiction texts, carefully selected to complement and enrich learning across curriculum subjects.
These texts provide opportunities for pupils to revisit and deepen their existing knowledge, encounter new ideas and vocabulary, and make meaningful connections between subjects. Reading across a range of genres and contexts also helps pupils develop the confidence and understanding needed to engage with increasingly complex texts, supporting their wider learning and preparation for GCSE study.
Reading experiences extend beyond the taught curriculum, encouraging pupils to explore different perspectives and develop a deeper understanding of themselves, others and the wider world.
Texts are carefully selected to provide appropriate challenge, taking into account pupils’ reading abilities alongside the complexity of language, content and ideas. We work closely with the Schools Library Service to ensure our selection remains varied, engaging, age-appropriate and regularly refreshed.
Form Time Reading incorporates opportunities for pupils to listen to fluent, expressive reading, encounter new vocabulary, engage with different texts and deepen their understanding of what they read. Through these shared reading experiences, we aim to strengthen pupils’ reading confidence, comprehension and enjoyment, while fostering a lifelong love of reading.
Parents and carers can help by encouraging regular reading, talking about what their child is reading and showing an interest in books, articles and other texts. Reading aloud together, listening to audiobooks and discussing unfamiliar words can also make reading a shared and enjoyable experience.
If you are concerned about your child’s reading, please contact the Academy so we can discuss their needs and the support available.
