Literacy
At KES, we recognise the importance of our responsibility to ensure that our students leave our school with good literacy skills, so that their achievements are richer and well met.
‘Young people who leave school without good literacy skills are held back at every stage of life. Their outcomes are poorer on almost every measure, from health and wellbeing, to employment and finance.’ (Education Endowment Foundation, 2020)'.
Literacy impacts self-esteem, motivation, behaviour and academic attainment.
We aim to always promote high standards and expectations of literacy across our curriculum and beyond the classroom, where we have specific programmes to actively ensure the success of all of our students.
- Please find a copy of our Whole School Literacy Policy in the policy section
- For more information about how to support your child with their reading at home, please read the leaflet below
- To encourage an enthusiastic KES Reader, please make use of the reading challenge grid below
Programmes and Expectations
Our students are encouraged to strive for the best standards of written accuracy that they can achieve. Students are expected to take pride in their written work and presentation. It is important for students to understand that we write and speak in many different situations in our lives- even within the course of a single day, and that each situation requires a different set of expectations and standards.
We are committed to consistently using a structured approach to teaching and modelling writing strategies that develop students’ fluency, accuracy and voice, which is based on explicit instructional methodology from the ‘Writing Revolution’ by Dr J. Hochmann. We also have a structured approach to teaching reading strategies, based on the reciprocal reader use of questioning, clarifying, summarising and predicting that helps to improve reading comprehension. We teach unfamiliar vocabulary to students and explore meanings and nuances of language (including tier 2 and 3 vocabulary), whilst also actively encouraging students to use this within their own verbal and written communication.
Tutor Time: Root Word of the Week
Our literacy skills are what allow us to make sense of the world around us and to join in with the debates and discussions that matter to us. To understand and join in, we need to possess language for real life (or cultural capital). Students take part in Root Word of the Week, which extends their vocabulary and allows them to look at the etymology of words to support with the decoding of language. Exploration of root words and understanding how prefixes and suffixes build up language can also improve spelling.
Developing Oracy
We are consistently providing opportunities for high quality talk in the classroom and tutor time that are planned and deliberate, and based on strategies from oracy specialists like Voice 21. We take part in the Jack Petchy Speak Out Challenge for Year 10, Year 7-9 we run a speaking competition and workshop day called KES Voices, we are planning No Pen Days, to promote oracy in lessons and other events such as Spelling Bees, Showcase events and debating meets.
The six strategies that we are focusing on to build an outstanding reading school are:
| Supporting Staff | Teaching the Reading Curriculum | Engaging Parents | Developing our Reading Environment | Targeting Resources | Celebrating Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equipping staff with the skills and knowledge they need to teach children to be accomplished and keen readers | Making use of every opportunity the curriculum offers to teach KES students to become life-long readers | Harnessing the enthusiasm of KES parents to ensure the culture of reading developed by our school extends into the home | Understanding the role of the physical environment including our school library, books in classrooms, and visual displays that can play in teaching students to be readers | Using a wide range of different reading material to teach our students to become avid readers | Involving all parts of the KES community in special events to raise the profile of reading and engaging our students, staff and parents |