“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free,” Frederick Douglass.

Literacy is rightly at the very centre of our teaching; it is fundamental in facilitating success in school and securing opportunities in the world beyond school. Reading, writing, and speaking and listening skills underpin teaching and learning in every subject at Brighouse High School. Students who cannot read and communicate effectively, whether verbally or through the use of the written word, are highly unlikely to access the challenging academic curriculum in our secondary school and therefore more likely to have poor educational outcomes across all subjects. We will not allow this to happen.

It is our aim at Brighouse High School to allow staff to take ownership of strategies to improve literacy within their subject area and maximise every learner’s literacy skills, enabling them to access all aspects of our curriculum and fulfil their potential.

The key strategies we employ at Brighouse High School to enable all of our students to achieve are outlined in detail within the attachments, but essentially adhere to the following principles:

• Identifying the reading age of all of our students and tracking their progress through the use of the NGRT twice a year for all year groups in KS3.
• Providing high quality literacy interventions for struggling students, especially through the use of the Bedrock vocabulary program*, reading mentor scheme and extended curriculum time.
• Dedicated literacy focus (including numeracy focus) within tutorial time, including specific teacher-led reading time across Key Stage 3.
• Raising awareness of a whole-school literacy approach through the rewards/house system and the physical environment of the school.
• Close collaboration with the LMH to promote extra-curricular and cross-curricular literacy activities, promoting a love of reading and links to the wider community.