Literacy and Reading

At Future Academies, reading is everyone’s responsibility. Through our Reading Guarantee, we ensure that every student—regardless of background—leaves school as a confident, fluent reader. This is not about simply catching up; it is about unlocking the full curriculum and empowering students to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially.

Research consistently shows that engagement with reading is one of the strongest predictors of future success. Reading develops cognitive function and shapes individuals who are articulate, informed, empathetic, and confident—qualities essential for both achievement and wellbeing.

We understand that literacy goes far beyond the basic ability to read and write. It includes the cultural knowledge required to access complex texts, the resilience to tackle academic challenge, and the rich vocabulary needed to interpret meaning and express ideas with clarity. Literacy is therefore the collective set of skills and knowledge that enable students to read fluently, write effectively, and speak with confidence.

Crucially, we recognise that literacy looks different across disciplines. Being literate in science is not the same as being literate in history or mathematics. For this reason, we do not adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, subject teams are trained to design curricula and lessons that explicitly teach the literacy skills required for success in their subject. Literacy is not a bolt-on; it is embedded through excellent curriculum design, high-quality teaching, targeted intervention, and a strong whole-academy commitment.

Literacy sits at the heart of everything we do at Future Academies. Our strong reading culture is underpinned by consistent, high-quality strategies embedded across the academy. We share a clear ambition: that all students leave X Academy as fluent readers, confident writers, and articulate speakers. We are committed to ensuring that no student leaves Future Academies with a reading age below their chronological age—literacy will never be a barrier to achievement.

Alongside our curriculum and explicit teaching of literacy in subject areas, we provide targeted interventions to ensure every student receives the support they need. These include:

• Fresh Start Phonics
• Flash Academy
• Lexia

As George R. R. Martin reminds us, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.” At Future Academies, we are committed to ensuring every student has the opportunity to explore those lives—and their own future—through the power of reading.

Why is Reading so important?

What does this mean for us at The Grange Academy?

At The Grange Academy we: 

• Read for 30 minutes every day 
• Actively read in all lessons  
• Are exposed to fiction and non-fiction in all subjects 

• Read a Class Reader in our Tutor groups 
• Visit the library before school, break times, lunchtimes and after school 
• Actively engage in discussions about what we are reading 

• Encourage and foster a love of reading in all areas 

How can you support your child to read at home? 

How can you find out more about what to read with your child? 

The Future Reading Programme 

At Future Academies, we value the skill of reading for learning therefore create structured time for students to extend their skill and love of reading as well as improving their wider cultural knowledge of the world around them. Three times a week in tutor time, students are read to, covering three texts across the year.

The Reading Curriculum has been designed to keep teenagers reading and accessing quality texts and stories from different cultures, transitions, and time periods. By reading to them, we are able to supplement the text with valuable context that boosts student knowledge and understanding, drawing links and parallels to content in the wider curriculum and fostering a love of reading for pleasure. 

The Future Canon 

The texts students read in the canon of the Reading Programme have been carefully curated to consider a range of challenges. Firstly, we have used the ‘5 plagues of reading’ which Doug Lemov specifies in his text ‘Reading Reconsidered’ children to ensure a diversity of choice. Lemov highlights that students should have access to these 5 ‘plagues’ throughout their school lives in order to better comprehend the more challenging texts expected of them in secondary school and beyond.  

1.) Archaic Texts   2.)Non-Linear Time Sequences    3.) Narratively Complex  4.) Complexity of Plot/Symbolic    5.) Resistant Texts 

Secondly, leaders in school have collaborated on these choices with The Literacy Team at Future Academies to ensure the books complement the contextual safeguarding and PSHE needs of the school to ensure the stories explored have real value for the young people exploring them. Finally, the syntactical challenge, reading age and richness of tier 2 vocabulary has been considered to ensure students read rich materials that develop their vocabulary. Each text has been complemented by non-fiction reading and poems to ensure students not only explore prose but develop ability to read non-contiguous texts to develop fluency in their reading too. 

The Grange Academy Library

The Grange Academy Library is a welcoming space designed for focus, curiosity, and enjoyment. Students can explore our wide-ranging collection of over 300 books, read independently, complete Sparx homework, or simply enjoy the calm and purposeful environment the library provides.

A strong reading culture is central to life at The Grange Academy, and we expect all students to carry a suitably challenging reading book with them every day. To support this, our library stock is refreshed regularly with engaging new titles, including books requested directly by students through our suggestion boxes—ensuring the collection reflects their interests as well as their needs.

While we are committed to providing a rich and inclusive library experience for all students, we also believe in the importance of book ownership. Wherever possible, students are given books to keep.