#love reading @ hele’s

Why is reading important?

Reading is about discovery. A person who reads can find out anything. It is through reading that we are empowered to engage with the world.

Furthermore, ideas, which have been written, have changed the destiny of individuals and nations. Reading builds on good ideas and exposes bad ideas. Reading arms a

person to find meaning in a complex universe.

Every time you read you move closer to your potential.

At Hele’s we want our students to understand and value the wealth of benefits reading offers. We aim to provide every opportunity for our students to have access to books that will excite and

inspire them, along with the support they need to access them fully, whatever their reading level.

Parent Focus Group July 2015

Encouraging Our Students To Develop A Love of Reading

What We Do At Hele’s

As well as the fantastic library and librarian we have at Hele’s and all the specialist teaching and support the students receive, we have also been using the Accelerated Reader scheme and DEAR time for the past two years.

What is DEAR Time?

DEAR Time simply means ‘Drop everything and read’.

On a rolling rota, all KS3 students spend 30 minutes a day reading a book of their choice. The goal is to encourage independent silent reading for extended periods of time. This works in conjunction with the Accelerated Reader programme which encourages them to read books that will challenge and excite them while not being so complex as to frustrate them.

‘There is consistent evidence that … those students who are provided with more time to do recreational reading (e.g. sustained silent reading programmes) show better gains in reading achievement than comparison students.

Stephen Krashen, 2003

AR is a computer programme that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book at his own level and reads it at his own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer. (Passing the quiz is an indication that your child understood what was read.) AR gives both children and teachers feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher then uses to help your child set goals and direct ongoing reading practice.

What is Accelerated Reader?

“Children and young people who use AR tend to enjoy reading more, do it more often and think more positively about reading than their peers who do not use AR. They are also more likely to see a link between reading and their successes.”Dr Christina Clark, National Literacy Trust

“The internet-based programme increased the reading age of pupils by three additional months in just 22 weeks. The effect on low-income pupils was even greater, with their reading age improving by five additional months in the same amount of time.”

AR produces “particularly positive effects” according to an independent study by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Durham University.

The strength of our KS3 reading provision was recognised by Ofsted recently. We continue, however, to build on this success and consistently review and develop the implementation of the programmes we use. As a result of our evaluation and student feedback, there will be some change and some continuity in the implementation of AR / DEAR time from September.

How Does AR and DEAR Time Work At Hele’s?

• Student Planners contain a book log for students to complete from September.• Form Tutors will check this log regularly and offer encouragement / discuss the

books students have been reading. They will stamp a ‘Reading Checkpoint’ sticker in the planner.

• Parents will also be asked to sign the Reading Checkpoint sticker every fortnight to confirm that they are aware of their child’s reading.

• A letter will be sent home for students where there are commitment concerns.• The English department will monitor the progress students are making on a

regular basis, discussing this with students and organising intervention and communication with parents where necessary.

• STAR tests will continue 3 times a year for each student. These tests indicate the reading age of each student and enable us to see the gains made through AR / DEAR.

Monitoring Student Commitment and Progress

• Visiting authors work with students throughout the year. We are currently looking at the possibility of having a patron author.• Staff consistently model good reading practice and discuss

their own passion for reading with students.• Fun competition between the houses.• Students are rewarded for their effort.

How Do We Motivate and Inspire Students?

• Students will continue to receive merits on a termly basis, both for commitment to the programme and achieving their targets.• At the end of the year badges and certificates are awarded to

students who have shown either excellent commitment to their reading or have achieved particularly well. This year, for example, 26 Yr 8 students with varying reading levels received badges. The badges currently entitle them to go to the front of the lunch queue.• At the end of the year Waterstones vouchers are also awarded for

students who have made particularly excellent effort. This includes most words read over the year etc. • Postcards are to be sent home when students have made an

excellent effort.

Rewarding Students for Commitment, Progress and Achievement

• Students who are identified as lacking commitment and who are wasting the time given to them to read during the school day will have letters sent home. If no improvement is made, behaviour points will follow.

• Students who need a little extra support with their reading are offered paired reading.

• Staff will, during DEAR time, read with students and discuss their books with them, focusing on a particular area each half term, for example predicting or visualising.

• The English department will develop further support mechanisms if they find that students need something that is not currently offered.

• Our ‘Big Read’ places even more focus on reading skills being taught explicitly across the curriculum.

Intervention and Support for Students Who Struggle

• In agreement with the Librarian, students who would benefit from reading beyond the AR scheme will be able to write a review and discuss their book in order to help them reach their AR target.

Enabling Students With Very High Reading Levels to Maintain Their Progress

Communicating with Parents

• Postcards will be sent home to congratulate students for excellent effort and progress.

• Letters will be sent home when students are lacking commitment or not making progress.

• Parents will be asked to take an interest in their children’s reading by discussing texts with them and signing their planner, at which point thay can also raise any queries or concerns.

• Accelerated Reader commitment and progress will be shown on the IA twice a year.

• Clare Pomfret will be available to discuss student progress at Tutor/Parent Evenings.