LITERACY

Welcome to Bedford High School Literacy Learning Page

This site has been designed to offer support, guidance and resources to students, staff, parents, and carers. You will find lots of information to engage, enthuse and to improve literacy skills.

What is Literacy?

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 Bedford High School, our goal is to develop world class learners. We recognise that literacy is the essential foundation of education. We are committed to ensuring that every student at Bedford is equipped with the skills needed to take control of their destinies, fulfil their potential and thrive in a rapidly changing and unpredictable world.

Developing a love for reading is one of the most effective ways to raise attainment. It is the master skill that unlocks the academic curriculum. Confident readers achieve more highly in all subjects and this improves GCSE results.

More importantly, reading helps you to build a sense of your own identity and introduces you to new and alternative experiences. You can learn about history and other cultures and different places, real and imagined.

At Bedford High School our key literacy priorities are to:

• Narrow the gap between a student’s reading age and their chronological reading age by using our rigorous intervention programme.
• Teach students how to read a wide range of challenging texts in all subject areas.
• Develop a love for reading.
• Ensure that all students write at length in every subject and that the quality of their written work improves over time
• Give our students the skills to communicate effectively and express their thoughts, feelings and opinions with confidence.

Research tells us that reading for pleasure is the single biggest factor in success in later life. Study after study has shown that those children who read for pleasure are the ones who are most likely to fulfil their ambitions.

If you read, you succeed – it’s that simple!

LEGACY READING

Legacy Reading is our reading challenge for all students. We have selected a range of books from different genres to immerse our students into the wonderful world of literature. Every time one our students completes a Legacy Award, they will receive a reward and be celebrated for their reading success. See the lists of our fantastic books below:

Reading Support

We want to ensure that no child leaves Bedford without the critical reading skills they need to navigate the wider world. Any student who is struggling with literacy is given targeted support through our five-tiered approach to intervention. For our students to become confident and competent readers they need to master the skills of phonemic awareness and word recognition, they need to develop fluency and comprehension and more importantly they need to have the confidence and motivation to want to read. Our intervention programmes develops all of these skills to ensure that every child has the opportunity to become a successful reader.

What can you do at Home as Parents/Carers?

Reading

• Let them read everything and anything – comics – magazines – newspapers – graphic novels.
• Ask them what they are reading currently.
• Encourage them to engage with the reading resources shared in the newsletters.

Writing

• Encourage them to write about what they read. Book reviews can be sent to Miss Heyes in the Library.
• When reading, ask them to write down any new words they learn. Encourage them to use this new vocabulary in their written work and in conversations.
• Writing a journal or a diary can improve writing fluency. It can also help the to express their thoughts and feelings which is great for positive mental health, especially in these strange and challenging times.

Speaking

• Let them talk at length about their interests, their learning, their worries or concerns.
• Start conversations about current affairs and ask them their opinions on controversial topics.
• Encourage them to answer questions in full sentences using Standard English – avoiding slang.

Follow us on Instagram @BedfordLovesBooks to be notified of what exciting themes and competitions we have in school.