Literacy in the Curriculum

At The James Hornsby School, we are committed to developing the reading skills of all of our students through a clear, consistent whole school approach. We want a school culture where reading is enjoyed by all and understand that reading is a lifelong skill that is vital for independent learning, it underpins all curriculum areas and provides the keys to the curriculum. Our aim is to close the reading and vocabulary gap for all our learners, ensuring students at JHS do not leave school lower than their chronological reading age.

Reading in the Curriculum

Our teachers use a range of teaching strategies to support all learners to engage with reading in the curriculum and develop literacy skills. These include: explicit vocabulary instruction; systematic language teaching; developing contextual knowledge and reasoning and inference skills. Students are supported with guided reading questions for all challenging texts and/or adapted / abridged versions of texts where appropriate. Teachers will help student read key words (decode meaning either by sounding out the word, linking to contextual knowledge or breaking down word). Students may also be supported with the use of word mats and phonic codes, where necessary.

Reading Independently and for Pleasure

The school places a high value on independent reading and reading for pleasure, which is promoted via the school’s Learning Forum and our online Library Dashboard and ePlatform. Our teachers promote their current reading and engage in discussions with learners about their own reading and interests. Faculties have their own subject specific libraries that students are able to access in faculty areas.

Our students have weekly opportunities to engage in independent reading during tutor times and are able to quiz on books and earn achievement points using the Accelerated Reader Programme. Throughout the year, we host a range of reading events and extra-curricular activities such as World Book Day and shadowing the Carnegie Book Award.

Targeted Reading Intervention

We have a robust screening system in place for all students, that gives us current reading and spelling age data.

From this data, we are able to identify students who require additional interventions to support their literacy and reading such as structured decoding programmes, phonics interventions and comprehension focused interventions. We communicate with parents following each testing window and offers a range of support strategies for parents to

Vocabulary and Writing in The Curriculum

Our teachers introduce and explaining subject specific vocabulary and encourage learners to learn the meanings, spellings and usage of these words.

Students are encouraged to act on marked work by recording and learning spellings (particularly subject specific spellings) spending time to correct their errors and redraft.

In lessons, teachers make the audience and purpose of writing clear and displaying useful phrases to help students link and develop ideas in writing.

Teachers providing model answers to support learners in understanding the requirements of written pieces and support learners’ to develop written stamina through regular extended writing.

Oracy in the Curriculum

In lessons, we encouraging learners to listen to, and evaluate, the ideas of others. We develop learners’ skills of questioning – learners will be challenged to respond to questions, but also to question their own thoughts and ideas taught in their lessons, giving learners the confidence to articulate their views in a range of contexts and help them become more effective lifelong learners. In a range of subjects, learners will be given the opportunity to present and appreciate the power of language in their speech. We will focus on the language of a Growth Mindset.

LRC Agreement 2023