This page is designed to give a potted overview of our comprehensive approach to Literacy at St John Henry Newman Catholic School. For more detailed insight into Literacy, we have a comprehensive literacy strategy below, and a recently updated Literacy Policy that can be viewed in the ‘Policies and Documents’ section of the school website.

Transition Literacy

In order to bridge the transition from Primary to Secondary school we find out about pupils’ writing and reading ability from their primary teacher. We also like to know details such as approaches to writing from each primary school to inform our curriculum in KS3. Furthermore, we ask for pupils’ reading ages and also a copy of their best written work, so that we can ensure consistency of standards from Year 6 into 7 and to avoid any transition dips.

Throughout the summer term, we publish a range of numeracy and literacy tasks on our website, to gain an insight into the standard of work pupils are capable of producing independently.

Reading & DEAR Time

We are committed to developing strong reading habits and a lifelong love of reading across all year groups.

Pupils in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 take part in three form time reading sessions each week. These sessions are teacher led, with form tutors reading aloud to the class and, at times, inviting pupils to read aloud. This approach supports reading fluency, comprehension and confidence, while allowing pupils to engage with a shared range of carefully chosen books.

In addition, DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time operates across the school on a daily carousel. During DEAR time, pupils choose a book from the school library to read independently, helping to promote reading for pleasure and ensuring that all subject areas play a role in fostering a strong reading culture.

Pupils in Year 12 follow a slightly different model designed to encourage independence and wider reading. On Tuesdays, pupils take part in a Reading for Pleasure session, where they may bring in their own book or select from a recommended range provided through the school library. On Thursdays, pupils read and discuss a current news article from The Day with their form tutor, developing critical reading skills, discussion skills and awareness of the wider world.

Together, these approaches ensure that all pupils have regular, structured opportunities to read, supporting both academic success and reading for pleasure.

Rescue Reading

For a small number of our pupils with reading ages significantly below their chronological reading age, we have an intervention programme that takes place before and after school. pupils work closely with our Learning Support and Reading Support teams in a nurturing, small group environment where they have the opportunity to hone their word decoding and comprehension skills. This intervention shows year on year to have a significant impact on the pupils who engage regularly with it – with many pupils making in excess of a year’s progress in a couple of terms.

Newman Presents

Pupils in Years 7 to 10 will be given a prescribed range of topics that are rooted in HRSE and Citizenship themes. In their English lessons, pupils will develop and deliver their presentation to their peers. This promotes the importance of good oracy skills and helps to develop confidence in our pupils.

SALAD Days (Speaking and Listening Activity Development)

Further promoting standards in oracy, we have implemented drop down mornings known as SALAD days. These prove very popular among our pupil body, with engagement and behaviour standards being very high during the delivery of these days. Each subject area takes a turn throughout the year to develop a deepened or extended sequence of learning from their curriculum. The main thrust of the sessions however is that pupils predominantly talk, discuss and present their ideas in a variety of ways, predominantly making use of their oracy skills over their written skills.

Reading at home

Shared reading is a great way to develop children’s language and communication and to boost their reading skills. Regular reading routines can offer lots of opportunities for learning during outside of school. Listening to your child read aloud at home for just 20 minutes a day can help to make significant improvements in your child's reading abilities. Talking about meaning behind words, characterisation, as well as story development can help your child to better understand what they are reading. Improving your child's reading ability will help their progress in all their subjects.