Reading Support

We endeavour to foster a deep and meaningful love of reading within the children at Ormiston Bridge Academy, and it is for this reason that it is central to our curriculum.

Not only is reading seen as an immensely powerful tool – igniting children’s imagination and creativity, but it also provides them with purposeful and practical knowledge for their futures. To that end, we want every child to leave Ormiston Courtyard Academy as fluent readers that have had the opportunities to explore a wide range of text types.  

Every child has access to a multitude of modern texts, as well as classic novels, that they will be encouraged to spend time with as part of their weekly timetable of 1:1 reading and independent reading. Reading for pleasure is actively encouraged at Ormiston Courtyard – a message that extends out of the school walls, as we hope that children will gain confidence expressing their love of reading at home.  

By keeping reading at the core of our curriculum, we also hope to raise the levels of vocabulary within school, and by doing so, support children in their lifelong prospects.  

Toe by Toe intervention   

Toe By Toe is a small red book designed for anyone who finds reading difficult. This includes weak readers who struggle to decode or those with dyslexic difficulties. The programme allows pupils to work at their own pace with the support of their class teacher  

Power of Reading  

The Power of Reading is about teaching literacy through the use of high-quality books and creative teaching approaches such as art and drama. We focus on a new text each half term to support our pupils’ learning. 

A1- Clean up- Nathan Byron 

A1- Cinderella of the Nile- Beverley Naidoo 

A2- Sparky- Jenny Offill 

A2- Were All Wonders- R. J. Palacio  

SP1- Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom- Chris Van Wyk 

SP1- A Kid in My Class- Rachel Rooney 

SP2- How to live forever- Colin Thompson 

SP2- The Tin Forest- Helen Ward 

SU1- Greek Myths- Marcia Williams 

SU1- The Lost Homework- Richard O’Neill 

SU2- The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish- Neil Gaiman 

SU2- How to be extraordinary- Rashmi Sirdeshpande 

On induction to school all learners are assessed using the York Assessment of Reading comprehension tests (YARC ). This provides a detailed analysis of learners’ needs with regards to single-word reading, comprehension, fluency and the ability to summarise a passage. This information is shared with staff in order to ensure that learners are provided with the support they need in order to be successful. 

Where needs are identified pupils are supported to develop their phonological awareness using a highly focused intervention programme (Lexonik). 

All pupils receive literacy lessons weekly and Lexonic is delivered by a literacy specialist. All teachers are teachers of literacy within their subject areas and all classrooms have displays dedicated to subject specific keywords. Teachers have also received training in supporting the full range of student abilities in their lessons including specific training sessions from the National Literacy Trust. Students work is marked for literacy using the literacy marking policy. 

The English department is committed to the teaching of literacy and selects texts at Key Stage 3, which are both aspirational and provide cultural capital. All learners are offered the chance to study English Literature at GCSE. 

We have a well-stocked library within one of our English classrooms and learners are supported in selecting appropriate texts from here when reading for pleasure. Registration time is an opportunity to develop learners’ skills in inference by reading newspapers together and looking at headlines.  

“Some pupils find it hard to read fluently. Leaders know it is essential that this is addressed. They provide pupils with a highly focused phonics programme to develop their confidence and accuracy. Some pupils have also lost interest in reading for pleasure. Staff encourage pupils to read regularly. They help pupils find texts they that they might enjoy, including newspapers and non-fiction texts. Pupils like talking about what they are reading during tutor times.”

Ofsted September 2021