At Salford City Academy we are passionate about developing every single student’s reading ability. In an age where literacy levels are declining across the country, we aspire for students to not only become proficient readers, but to foster a lifelong love of reading, as we know this is key to their educational success. Studies have shown that reading for pleasure helps students with vocabulary acquisition, preparation for exams and most importantly: their mental wellbeing.
A great deal of emphasis on reading because we know that a child's reading age and habit is a significant contributing factor to their academic success at school and in the world beyond. We assess students reading age’s regularly through both National Group Reading Tests, and in Accelerated Reader diagnostic tests, to ensure each student is reading at an appropriate level. Where student require additional support, this is identified quickly, and students take part in reading intervention programmes which have proven extremely successful: Click here to read about our Direct Instruction and Lexia programme.
DEAR as an acronym stands for Drop Everything And Read (or Revise if you are a Year 11 student). At the start of each day students will be required to register in their tutor room and then take part in the DEAR programme. This programme involves research-based reading strategies and teachers modelling reading to students. Click here for more information on our fantastic DEAR programme.
What is Literacy?
The power of literacy lies not only in the ability to read and write, but rather in an individual’s capacity to put those skills to work in shaping the course of his or her own life. With the insight that genuine literacy involves “reading the word and the world.”
The inclusion of Standard English, along with the full sense of ‘communicate’, suggests that the definition of literacy should be taken to include the ability to speak and listen effectively alongside the skills of reading and writing (Ofsted).
At Salford City Academy, Literacy includes the study of: reading, writing, spelling, grammar, punctuation and oracy.
Literacy at Salford City Academy
All staff at Salford City Academy are expected to demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy and the correct use of Standard English, whatever the specialist area (teacher standards). Literacy at the Academy includes the development and promotion of oracy, reading, writing, extended writing, comprehension, standard English and active listening.
Our students are also regularly assessed using Accelerated Reader - for more information on what this involves, click here.
At the Academy literacy is seen as a whole school responsibility and literacy teaching and the application of literacy skills is seen as a whole school focus. Research has shown that literacy supports learning: