Reading
At Orleans Park, we ensure that there is both an embedded culture of reading for pleasure and an understanding that we also read to gain knowledge, ideas and inspiration. Students read throughout the day and have access to a variety of books in the library. In lessons, students are exposed to a wide range of texts. Each curriculum area has a reading strategy tailored to their own subject.
Reading for pleasure is encouraged through regular visits to the library at Key Stage 3, the scholastic reading in years 7 & 8, and reading initiatives during Tutor Time. One of these initiatives is DEAL (drop everything and listen), which encourages tutors and students to discuss shared texts. The key aims of DEAL are:
- To promote interests in different genres of literature and help nurture a love of reading
- To expose students to a confident and fluent reader
- To offer themes for discussion and practice oracy
- To promote cohesion through the shared experience of reading a book together
- To make reading for pleasure, a highly visible aspect of Orleans Park Culture
There are many other events which take place across the school year. These include visits from storytellers and writers, an annual scholastic book fair, comedy writing workshops for years 7 & 8, poetry competitions to coincide with National Poetry Day, Readathons, creative writing clubs for Key Stage 3 and numerous trips to the theatre for Key Stage 4 which have included Animal Farm, A Christmas Carol and An Inspector Calls.
| Reading Lists |
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| Year 7 |
| Year 8 |
| Year 9 |
| Key Stage 4 |
| Key Stage 5 |
A Collaborative Approach
We work closely with our local primary schools supporting with reading and also gaining from their expertise. Older students from Orleans Park read weekly with younger students at the primary schools, supporting with reading and literacy. Our CPD programme includes carousel activities focusing upon improving students reading skills, and sharing good practice from Key Stage 2. Guest speakers include Year 6 teachers and consultants alongside our literacy co-ordinators, EAL teachers and the staff from the English department.
Catch Up Literacy
At Orleans Park we use a variety of methods to identify students who require additional support with reading. This includes Year 6 teacher feedback from transition visits, Key Stage 2 SATS results, and a reading age test conducted in the first few weeks of Year 7. Students who are identified as requiring support, are paired with a Year 12 reading mentor, and read with them twice a week during tutor time in the library. The Year 12 students receive training before the programme starts.
We use the Rapid Plus books, and once the bespoke reading course has been completed, following careful tracking, student are re-tested to measure impact.