Literacy Intervention
Targeted literacy interventions take place to support students whose reading ability and general literacy is such that they will struggle to access the full curriculum offer, and will need additional support in successful completion of GCSE and A-Level/Level 3 courses. In the past, students with lower CATS (Cognitive Ability Test Scores) and SATS literacy scores would be selected to take part in one or more of the school literacy interventions. However, we now also heavily rely upon regular STAR reading tests to identify students in need of urgent intervention.
The interventions usually target KS3 students but bespoke programmes are delivered to KS4 students where appropriate.
Some of our interventions include:
Catch Up Literacy – This is delivered on an individual basis with a Teaching Assistant/SENDCO, as and when required. Catch up funding has also enabled us to offer specialist nurture groups, and an additional literacy hour for students in Year 7, 8 and 9.
Accelerated Reader- All students in Years 7-9 take part in this programme of reading intervention on a daily basis. Termly reports are generated for subject staff who tailor their lessons accordingly.
Paired reading- Three times a week during PM registration. The intervention is delivered by Y10, 6th form volunteers and YSIS students.
Spell Zone- Daily during PM reg or lesson time, in the school library or with the SENDCO/TAs.
Apollo reading challenge- This intervention is aimed at students in KS3 with a reading age of 14+ as it encourages them to read books from a more challenging literary canon. Programme of rewards is offered.
YSIS Support- The English department receives regular volunteers from York University who are trained in house, and then work on a weekly basis with a number of students requiring additional support in English.
Subject specialist reading and phonics support- Where the timetable allows, a member of the English department works with a small number of students using PIXL resources and phonics training from our Pathfinder Primary Practitioner.
What is MyLexia?
A Literacy skills programmes designed to provide scalable personalised learning to students of all ages and abilities without impacting teaching time and resources.
Individual learning is done online and each student has a bespoke learning experience.
Lexia® Core5® Reading supports primary school educators in providing differentiated instruction for pupils of all abilities (R–Y6). Lexia’s research-proven program provides explicit, systematic, personalised learning in the five areas of reading instruction.
We currently use Core5 and powerup for those students who were identified as working below or well below expected progress levels at the end of year 6 by their primary school teachers.
Lexia® PowerUp Literacy® is designed to help students in Years 7 and above become proficient readers, confident learners and GCSE-ready.
PowerUp Literacy® primarily targets Key Stage 3 pupils who lack the basic reading, academic vocabulary and the comprehension skills necessary to fully access and engage in the secondary curriculum. PowerUp Literacy® can also be used for those in Key Stage 4 who require similar support.