Literacy
Ambition and Accessibility
We recognise that for our pupils to be ambitious about the future and go on to lead happy and successful lives with a range of opportunities they must be literate. However, we acknowledge that access to our curriculum is limited if a child has weak literacy skills. We recognize that literacy is not simply ‘ability to read and write’ but goes further. Literacy also encompasses the cultural references pupil need to read widely, the resilience needed to meet the demands of challenging texts in exams and beyond, alongside a vast vocabulary to decode texts and express themselves. Ultimately, we recognise that literacy is a broad term for the multiple skills and knowledge which pupils need to be fluent readers, writers and speakers.
We also recognise that being literate in one discipline is different to another. With this in mind, at TGA we don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ approach to policy around literacy. Instead, each subject area receive training to design curriculum and lessons which teach the necessary literacy skills to succeed in their discipline. We firmly believe that literacy is not a stand-alone issue: it is a multi-faceted issue with many challenges; it takes excellent curriculum design; excellent teaching and learning; targeted intervention and cross-curricular effort to ensure our pupils have the tools to succeed.
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.
See below our set texts for 2024-5
Have you visited our Library?
The library has a dedicated librarian who runs library projects, events and provides guidance around books pupils can borrow and is in the library throughout the day to assist pupils. Recent competitions and events consist of:
- Creative Writing Competitions
- Juniper Book Awards
- Black History Month Reading Competitions
The library also regularly orders books ranging from teen books for weaker readers, young adult fiction, graphic novels, non-fiction, classics, A-level study guides and recently released texts to build a collection which is engaging for pupils.
“The library has helped me gain a lot of knowledge for example I've learnt words such as “obstreperous” and doing events has helped my social skills and time management” – Student in Year 10
“When I first joined in Year 7 l used the library as a resource, however, over time the library has become a place l really enjoy as l learn many new things and have the opportunity to do amazing awards and events such as Juniper Book Awards that has helped my English in class so much as well as the amazing events Miss Lock hosts” -Student in Year 9
How can you find out more about what to read with your child?
Enjoy exploring recently released books from Carnegie - The Carnegies
Where else can you get support?
Tips for reading with your child | BookTrust
Reading to children is so powerful, so simple and yet so misunderstood | National Literacy Trust
For more information regarding our Reading Programme or for any questions that you may have please contact Ms S Mohamed, Head of English