Reading at NRHS
Intent
At New Rush Hall School (NRHS), we recognise reading as a cornerstone of academic success, social mobility and lifelong learning. As a specialist SEMH provision, we understand that secure literacy skills are essential if pupils are to access the wider curriculum, demonstrate their academic potential and successfully prepare for life beyond school.
Our ambition is for every pupil to leave NRHS as a confident and increasingly fluent reader who can engage meaningfully with a wide range of texts, achieve success in their qualifications and develop a genuine enjoyment of reading. We see reading not simply as a skill to be mastered, but as a gateway to independence, confidence, cultural awareness and future opportunity.
Many pupils join NRHS having experienced barriers to reading or with gaps in their literacy knowledge. Some may lack confidence or associate reading with previous difficulties in education. We identify pupils’ individual starting points carefully and provide the support, challenge and encouragement they need to make progress.
Our approach has two equally important aims: to ensure that pupils develop the reading skills they need to succeed academically, and to create a culture in which reading is valued, accessible and enjoyable.
Pupils learn to read so that they can read to learn.
Reading in Primary
Reading is at the heart of our Primary curriculum and forms part of pupils’ learning every day.
Pupils develop their reading through a structured combination of phonics, targeted intervention, a daily Reading Carousel, story time, teacher-led reading, classroom book corners and regular opportunities to use the school library. Trained staff provide additional support with decoding, fluency and confidence according to individual need.
Our Reading Carousel provides regular opportunities for pupils to develop decoding, fluency and comprehension, while teachers read aloud each day to model fluent and expressive reading and expose pupils to a broad range of vocabulary and texts.
Pupils requiring additional support with early reading receive structured phonics teaching and targeted intervention. As their skills develop, pupils progress from decodable texts towards increasingly challenging books matched to their reading development and interests.
Alongside learning the mechanics of reading, we want Primary pupils to experience the imagination, curiosity and enjoyment that books can provide and begin to see themselves as readers.
Reading in Secondary
As pupils progress into Secondary, the emphasis increasingly moves from learning to read towards using reading confidently and independently to learn.
Reading is developed not only through English but across the curriculum. Teachers have access to pupils’ reading information and use this to inform the texts they select, the questions they ask and the scaffolding, intervention and challenge they provide. This helps ensure that literacy difficulties do not become unnecessary barriers to accessing subjects across the curriculum.
Structured form-time reading, regular access to the school library and opportunities for guided, peer and independent reading help pupils develop fluency, confidence, comprehension and reading stamina.
As pupils move towards Key Stage 4, reading is increasingly connected to their qualifications and preparation for examinations. Support focuses on areas such as functional literacy, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension of examination texts and, where appropriate, individual examination access needs.
Assessment and Targeted Support
Reading provision at NRHS is driven by a detailed understanding of each pupil rather than assumptions based on their age or year group.
We use Star Reader and Accelerated Reader as important elements of our whole-school approach to assessment and reading development. Star Reader provides standardised reading-age information which helps staff identify strengths and areas for development, set appropriate expectations and monitor progress. Pupils are assessed at three points during the academic year so that progress can be reviewed and intervention adapted where necessary.
Accelerated Reader supports pupils to select books within their appropriate Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), providing texts that offer suitable challenge without creating unnecessary frustration. Comprehension quizzes, feedback and individual goals help pupils develop independence and take greater ownership of their reading.
Pupils requiring further support may access our Additional Learning Support (ALS) programme. Intervention is informed by baseline and standardised assessment and can address areas including phonics, decoding, fluency, comprehension and wider literacy development.
Where older pupils have gaps in foundational reading skills, we use age-appropriate intervention and resources, including Little Wandle Rapid Catch-Up and Talisman materials where appropriate. This enables pupils to address gaps in phonics and decoding without accessing materials that feel inappropriate for their age.
Our approach is equally ambitious for pupils who are already confident readers. Higher-level readers are encouraged to engage with increasingly complex literature, extended non-fiction, ambitious vocabulary and opportunities that develop deeper comprehension, inference, analysis and critical thinking.
Reading Across the Curriculum
Reading is everyone’s responsibility at NRHS.
Teachers and support staff understand the importance of literacy in enabling pupils to access their subjects. Reading information is shared with staff and used to inform curriculum planning, classroom adaptation, questioning, scaffolding and appropriate challenge.
Our support staff also play an important role in developing reading. They provide individual and small-group intervention, scaffold reading within lessons and help pupils develop the confidence to read aloud and attempt challenging texts.
Importantly, we recognise the relationship between pupils’ literacy development and their wider social and emotional needs. Reading information can form part of our Pupil Passport discussions, helping staff understand literacy barriers alongside each pupil’s wider SEMH needs and ensuring approaches remain consistent across school.
Reading for Pleasure and Enrichment
Developing technically competent readers is only part of our ambition. We want pupils to discover books and texts that interest, challenge and inspire them.
Our school library is central to developing this culture. The collection is continually developed to provide engaging and age-appropriate texts that reflect a wide range of identities, backgrounds and experiences. We want pupils both to see themselves reflected in the literature they encounter and to experience perspectives that broaden their understanding of others and the wider world.
Reading also forms part of our wider enrichment and cultural capital programme. World Book Week involves pupils from Year 1 through to Year 11 and has included author visits, creative writing workshops, book fairs, competitions, themed activities and opportunities for pupils to respond creatively to literature.
Through these experiences, we aim to show pupils that reading extends far beyond the classroom and can provide enjoyment, inspiration, knowledge and opportunities to understand both themselves and the world around them.
Impact
The impact we seek goes beyond improvements in reading ages. We want pupils to become increasingly confident, independent and resilient readers who can use literacy successfully across the curriculum and in their everyday lives.
As pupils’ decoding, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension improve, they are increasingly able to access challenging curriculum content, engage successfully with qualifications and develop the literacy skills required for further education, employment and adulthood.
We also recognise the emotional impact that becoming a more confident reader can have. Pupil voice tells us that pupils increasingly describe reading as enjoyable, feel proud of the progress they make and experience greater confidence when reading aloud or approaching unfamiliar texts. Secondary pupils have also described reading as becoming less stressful and more personal as their confidence develops.
Ultimately, our ambition is for pupils to leave NRHS understanding that reading is something they can do, something that can open doors for them and, importantly, something they can enjoy.