Some of the statistics laid before parents at our literacy event were very stark indeed, with a national picture currently showing as many as four out of 10 pupils (aged four to 18 years) with a limited vocabulary… and the numbers are worsening.
Just as clear, however, were the simple, positive steps that could be taken by schools and parents working together to halt and reverse the decline. And with 2026 designated the National Year of Reading, there is no better time to rediscover and proclaim the joys and practical benefits reading brings.
Parents and children from Year 5 to Year 9 were invited to the presentation ‘Working Collaboratively to Support Literacy and Reading’. The speakers were Mrs Sally Hosking-Burtle, Head of English; Miss Nicole Meakin, Senior School Literacy; Mrs Jane Wicks, Head of Learning Support and SENCO; and Mr Christopher Langston, Head of Mathematics.
The participation of Mr Langston may at first sight have seemed surprising, but one of the many fascinating facts to emerge was the clearly corroborated link between reading ability and success in all GCSE subjects. In fact, studies confirm ‘the link between good reading and good grades is actually higher in maths than in some arts subjects like English literature and history.’
The weather was atrocious on the evening of the presentation and clearly kept some families away, but the content was considered so worthwhile it has been decided to restage it – date to be confirmed.
Slides from the evening have been made available but some of the key points raised covered the incidental and intentional acquisition of vocabulary, with the school being at the forefront of the latter. The Bedrock Learning programme, explicit teaching of vocabulary, Word of the Week and our e-platform Library were cited.
Homelife becomes the major player in incidental learning – everything from reading with family members, students seeing parents read for pleasure, and children being asked to read shopping lists, recipes and directions.
Top tips included spotting reading opportunities within daily activities, allowing children thinking time – they can be very tired after a day’s learning – avoiding screens and guiding conversations with Who, What, Where, When and How. Word games were also valuable.
Some children have specific difficulties with literacy and here our specialist staff come to the fore. Their crucial message was that progress is always possible, even in teenage years and adulthood. Again, parents and carers can make significant contributions at home. These include providing encouragement, praising effort and talking about reading without turning the conversation into a test. Books should match reading levels and comprehension should be regarded as more important than speed.
In our technological age there are many aids to reading, from reader pens (useful for individual words) to audio books, and from changeable background and text colours to the accessibility settings on Apple devices.
Mr Langston described how a book transformed him from a reader for necessity to an avid reader for pleasure. The book, Mini Habits by Stephen Guise, sprang from its author’s epiphany moment – he stuck to the one push-up a day he promised himself he’d do and built up to full workouts.
Guise’s contention is that habits are far easier to develop and maintain than lofty resolutions. Who could object to one push-up a day? It was as quick to do as to reconsider. For Mr Langston, the mini habit of reading just two pages a day flowered into a true enjoyment of reading maintained over years. It is also a change in himself that he feels is having a wonderfully positive effect on his own children.
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