Reading Support

At Ormiston Six Villages Academy, reading is a whole-school priority. We believe that strong literacy and communication skills are essential for academic success and future opportunities. Our approach aligns with the OAT Reading Strategy and focuses on three key areas: Enable, Embed and Elevate.

Enable: Removing Barriers to Reading

All students are assessed to identify their reading strengths and areas for development. Assessment information is used to ensure that students receive the right support at the right time. Students who require additional support may access targeted reading interventions, small-group programmes or personalised literacy support designed to address gaps in reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. These interventions are regularly reviewed to ensure students make sustained progress and can access the full curriculum confidently.

All staff are informed of students’ reading needs and use appropriate strategies to support developing readers through high-quality classroom practice. Reading support is therefore not limited to intervention programmes but is embedded across the school day.

Embed: Reading Across the Curriculum

Reading is the responsibility of every subject. Students encounter high-quality, subject-specific texts across the curriculum and are explicitly taught the vocabulary and reading skills needed to access increasingly challenging material.

Across all subjects, we:

• Explicitly teach and revisit key vocabulary.
• Support students to engage with challenging texts.
• Use discussion to deepen understanding.
• Develop confidence in reading, writing and speaking.
• Maintain high expectations for literacy across all subjects and year groups.

Elevate: Promoting Reading for Pleasure

We are committed to developing a culture in which reading is valued and enjoyed. Students are provided with regular opportunities to read for both pleasure and purpose, helping them to develop lifelong reading habits.

A key feature of our reading provision is the tutor reading programme, where students read and listen to high-quality fiction several times each week. Tutors regularly read aloud to students, bringing texts to life and encouraging discussion about characters, themes and ideas. These sessions help students develop their vocabulary, understanding and confidence as readers while fostering a lifelong enjoyment of reading.

Reading is further promoted through curriculum opportunities, enrichment activities and our library. Students can access a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts, receive reading recommendations and take part in reading-related events and activities. We actively encourage all students to become regular readers and to see reading as an important part of their personal development and future success.

Reading in Every Classroom

Literacy is the responsibility of all staff. Through a consistent approach to reading, writing and oracy, every classroom contributes to developing students’ communication skills and ensuring they can access the full curriculum.

High expectations for literacy are maintained across the academy, helping students become confident readers, writers and speakers. By strengthening reading for both pleasure and purpose, we aim to give every student the knowledge, confidence and opportunities required to succeed in school and beyond.