Literacy and Reading

Literacy Across the Curriculum

Every teacher at Clare Mount Specialist Sports College supports the development literacy and reading skills in our students.

Reading at Clare Mount

Rocket Phonics - Initial Readers

Clare Mount is using Rocket Phonics to support our students who are at the initial stages of reading. Rocket Phonics is a programme especially suited to SEN Schools owing to its adaptability, and its digital resources support teaching in the modern era. Students at Clare Mount have Phonics lessons every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Throughout the course students learn initial letter sounds, blending and decoding as well as tricky and complex words. Students are assessed on a one-to-one basis to check and monitor their progress and are supported with further intervention where necessary. Students can access Target Practice Readers online through the Boost Website. Their log in details are in their school homework diaries however parents/carers can contact the school should they need help in getting students logged on at home.

Reading Plus - Emerging and Confident Readers

Clare Mount is using the Reading Plus program to help our students become better readers.

Reading Plus helps students develop the skills they need to be proficient readers and lifelong learners. The programme is for emerging and confident readers who may already be competent at reading, but can improve any or all of the following three elements of reading: Pace, fluency, and comprehension. Through regular Reading Plus practice, reading will become easier, comprehension will increase, and your student will make meaningful connections between reading and learning. Assignments in each component can be completed in any order though Reading lessons are the most important assignments. The program keeps track of assignments completed each week as well as monitoring students’ progress toward the overall lesson goals. The programme is incredibly intuitive and adjusts to best support the students, striking the correct balance between accessibility and challenge to empower pupils to make the best possible progress. The more students engage with reading plus, the greater the progress made. Whilst students are given four sessions per week to access Reading Plus in school, we actively encourage students to complete Reading Plus assignments outside of school on a computer or tablet with Internet access. Students are aware of their log-in details however parents can contact the school if they are not clear how to get their students logged on to Reading Plus at home.

The School Library and Reading for Pleasure

Whilst Reading Plus and Rocket Phonics are designed to empower students and increase their reading skills, reading for pleasure should still be encouraged at home. Students are able to access the school library during the week and in Years 7-10, students are given lesson time to visit the library. Pupils can take home books from the library and can also engage in Accelerated Reader quizzes to check their understanding of the books they have read. Our Librarian, Jane, is on hand to support pupils if they are not sure which books to take home. Pupils can record the books they read in their homework diaries.

Ransom Neutron Stars

Ransom publishing have produced a series of books designed to support teenagers with lower reading ability. Designated as having an 'interest age' for teenagers, but a reading age as low as Year 1 level, the books are perfect for pupils who do not want to read something which may seem too childish, but who cannot access typical teen fiction. At Clare Mount, these books are used to develop pupils sight recognition through over-learning and paired reading. 

Barrington Stoke

Barrington Stoke are another publisher who have produced books which support struggling readers. Although they can be enjoyed by all readers, they are published with dyslexic students in mind, being printed with wider spacing, a dyslexia-friendly font, and are printed on cream paper. Authors have also been briefed to make the stories as concise and clear as possible, and encourage reluctant readers with shorter page counts and chapter lengths. 

Spelling Lists

Each ability level in Clare Mount Specialist Sports College is assigned a list of words for pupils to be tested on throughout the year. These lists enable pupils to make steady and effective progress without the introduction of arbitrary or sporadic words which may not challenge them appropriately.