
Literacy at Sirius Academy North
At Sirius Academy North, we believe that successful literacy skills help our students to achieve well in every aspect of their lives. Improving reading, writing and oracy broadens our students’ horizons and can help to improve our student’s health, well-being and further studies beyond our academy.
Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world. At Sirius Academy North, we focus on all of these elements and put them at the centre of our broad and challenging curriculum.
Reading a broad range of texts significantly improves students’ chances of performing well at GCSE and beyond. Improving literacy helps our students have “no limits” of themselves.
We have four key strategies to improve literacy.
Strategy 1: Teach the mechanics of reading and raise the standard of reading
When the students first start at Sirius Academy North, they complete a standardised reading test consisting of multiple-choice and sentence-completion questions. These tests help us to assess the reading age of students and identify struggling readers. From this data, we arrange bespoke intervention for our students based on their needs.
We have a range of interventions to support those students who are below their chronological reading age. These interventions may be individual, small group or class-based interventions which support students in developing fluency and comprehension. We also use Sparx Reader, which is an adaptive reading and literacy programme that enables students to read appropriate texts and develop comprehension skills to keep driving their reading progress forwards. Students can read a range of texts and there is also the option to read real texts and still track the reading progress.
Identified students complete the Ruth Miskin phonics programme, with a clear assessment process and monitoring of progress.
These interventions compliment the wider literacy strategies which are offered by all students. If you have concerns over your child’s reading, please contact your year team.
Strategy 2: Embedding a reading curriculum
In order to further improve all students’ reading skills, reading has been embedded within the whole-school curriculum and specific time designated to it. All students in years 7 to 10 will have a guided reading lesson each week during lesson one, which promotes and models excellent reading, engages the students in more animated delivery, and strengthens listening skills. Groups will also be given comprehension questions each week to complete after the allocated section of reading to assess understanding and to promote oral discussion about the texts.
Year 7 | |
Title of book | Key Themes |
You are a Champion | -football
-overcoming adversity -self-confidence -anxiety -setting goals -well-being |
October | -friendship
-bullying -environment
|
While the Storm Rages | -WW2
-friendship -determination |
The Boy at the Back of the Class | -loss
-change -empathy |
Brock | -fear
-empathy -peer intimidation -consequences -responsibilities |
Pike | -poverty
-young carers -family -secrets |
Year 8 | |
Title of book | Key Themes |
Stormzy – Rise Up | -faith
-self belief -support -racism |
Beyond the Bright Sea | -prejudice
-community -self discovery |
Boys Don’t Cry | -courage
-identity -gender -masculinity |
Rook | -growing up
-hardship -bullying -first love |
Lark | -love
-poverty -bullying -cruelty |
Running Wild | -environment
-grief -bereavement |
Year 9 | |
Title of book | Key Themes |
The Hate You Give | -identity
-racism -police brutality -poverty -crime |
I am Malala | -human rights
-truth -justice -forgiveness -equality |
Salt to the Sea | Willpower, fate, family and community |
Year 10 | |
Title of book | Key Themes |
To Kill a Mocking Bird | -good/evil
-human dignity -courage |
On the Come Up | -freedom of speech
-identity -individuality -racism |
The Sun is Also a Star | -fate
-evolution -existence |
Students in Years Y7-9 have been timetabled a designated Reading Response lesson, to be delivered by English teachers and consists of students reading full texts, rather than excerpts, which are read aloud by the teacher, followed by activities to complete which are teacher led.
Sirius Academy North have committed to providing all students in years 7-9 the opportunity to read at least four high-quality texts per year within the timetabled curriculum. We believe this opportunity must be available to all, with students being able to read even more books as enrichment, using Reading Plus and the well-stocked school library.
Strategy 3: Literacy throughout the curriculum
Literacy skills are needed in every lesson throughout the academy. Therefore, our lessons are designed to boost vocabulary and give high quality opportunities for reading, writing and oracy.
Throughout lessons, students have access to high quality subject specific texts which support the development of knowledge and literacy. Strategies for Reading and extended writing are advertised clearly in every classroom.
Strategy 4: Broadening horizons through enrichment and reading for pleasure
We commit to developing a culture of excitement and enjoyment about reading in all areas of school. In order to do this, we embrace literacy opportunities across the whole Academy and provide a calendared programme of literacy events, competitions, awards and enrichments which also, in turn, broaden students’ horizons. Activities such as “Lit fest”, half-termly spelling bees and reading clubs.
Sirius Academy North is a school that loves to read. We have created a bespoke environment for our students with a modern library area, filled with a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction books. Our library is a welcoming, calm and safe space where students can read for pleasure and study. We encourage our students to request books, so that we are catering to individual needs and tastes.
We also have a book vending machine, which is used to promote books and to reward students for being ‘reading advocates’ in our school.
We embrace our reading routes programme which encourages students to read varied genres and experience texts from a range of historical eras. The Library has all the reading routes texts in stock and they are clearly displayed around the Academy.
Each half term, we undertake a Key Stage 3 Whole-Academy Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) session where students and their teachers enjoy the opportunity to read.
As an Academy, we have signed up to the 2025 James Reckitt Book Awards with a team of students identified to read the texts and take part in casting their vote for the awards.