Literacy
How do we support literacy?
At COLAHG, we recognise that so many aspects of poor literacy can be addressed through reading widely, regularly and for pleasure. As such, at the heart of COLAHG Literacy Policy is tutor reading programme, outlined in detail on the WE READ section of the website. We also ensure that students develop good reading habits through modelling this in the classroom in all subjects through ruler reading. Students also have a weekly reading lesson in English which further supports the development of reading skills, as well as fostering a love for reading which we know will benefit students in the future.
For those students who arrive at COLAHG with a lower reading age than their chronological age, a range of robust interventions are put in place. These range from phonics to reading comprehension and the aim is to act fast so that students catch up in terms of their reading ability as quickly as possible so that they are able to fully access all areas of our broad curriculum.
We also have an incredible library with a fantastic range of books for raiders of all abilities. This is open before school, at lunch and break time and also after school for students to use. We also encourage students to ensure they have their own personal reading book through visits to the library during English lessons.
At COLAHG we are dedicated to improving the literacy levels of each student ensuring their success in all areas of the curriculum and beyond.
Developing good reading habits in the classroom
- Any significant reading in lessons (paragraph or longer) is done together as a whole class with students following reading with a ruler
- Reading out loud is shared between students so that all students practice their reading out loud
- New and challenging vocabulary is addressed by teachers using ‘I say you say’, examples and regular checks for understanding
Developing talk
- Teachers regularly used ‘turn and talk’ in lessons so that students have opportunities to practice articulating ideas, new knowledge and vocabulary before writing it
- ‘Turn and talk’ is always structured so that students develop listening as well as speaking skills
- Students are encouraged to use tier two and three vocabulary in ‘turn and talk’ tasks to build confidence and familiarity with academic language
We write
- Students are regularly given opportunities in lessons to practice their learning through extended writing tasks
- Students are supported to write confidently in writing tasks through expert instruction and explanation of key ideas and vocabulary as well as support materials
- All teachers mark in accordance with the Academy Marking and Feedback Policy including marking for literacy.
- Teachers highlight subject-specific spelling errors for correction.
- Students are given opportunities to develop and improve their own work through DIRT.
Numeracy
Numeracy is the capacity to take mathematics and apply knowledge, skills and strategies to deal with everyday life in a variety of situations.
Vision
- All students are active, confident problem solvers and independent thinkers
- All teachers are teachers of numeracy.
- There is a culture of numeracy development across all departments.
Enabling excellence through numeracy
- All students are ready for numeracy and they carry the correct equipment.
- All staff are numeracy role models, promoting and encouraging the use of numeracy in and out of school.
- All students have the opportunity to engage with numeracy in lessons.
- All teachers use and model numeracy strategies and address misconceptions.
Numeracy matters
- All staff will make numeracy opportunities within their lessons explicit.
- All staff will work to identify areas of collaboration between subjects to support the transfer of students’ knowledge and skills between subjects.
- Teachers ensure consistency of practice with the use of key words, terminology and methods.
Make it real
- All staff emphasise the link between numeracy in the real world and numeracy in the classroom.
- Students have regular opportunities to develop their problem solving, independent thinking and reasoning.
- Students are given opportunities to learn from mistakes and improve their own work during dedicated improvement and reflection time (DIRT).