Reading
At All Saints, reading lies at the heart of our culture and curriculum. Alongside this, we are committed to developing pupils’ oracy: the ability to speak with confidence and listen with understanding. This enables every student to discuss ideas, articulate their thinking clearly, and engage deeply with learning across all subjects.
Our whole-school reading strategy is grounded in the Education Endowment Foundation’s recommendations for improving literacy in secondary schools. We have successfully embedded every strand of this guidance to ensure that all pupils can access our ambitious and rigorous curriculum, and grow into fluent, confident readers and effective communicators.
Our Reading and Oracy Approach
We use a three-pronged approach: supporting struggling readers, integrating subject-specific texts across the curriculum, and offering an enrichment programme that celebrates reading for pleasure. Oracy is interwoven into this approach, giving pupils opportunities to discuss texts, express ideas, and develop their confidence in speaking and listening. Our inclusive strategy ensures that every pupil can thrive. By combining targeted support, curriculum-focused reading, oracy activities, and engaging enrichment, we make literacy accessible, relevant, and enjoyable for all learners.
Targeted Intervention
At All Saints, we use GL Assessments twice a year to measure pupils’ reading skills, including word recognition, sentence completion, passage comprehension, and phonemic awareness. The assessments provide a reading age, detailed reports highlighting strengths and areas for development, and guidance for targeted interventions. This approach ensures that all students have the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.
Phase 1 - Red Readers - Phonics Intervention
If pupils are identified as needing additional support with word decoding they will follow Fresh Start, a systematic synthetic phonics programme (Read Write Inc – Ruth Miskin). Fresh Start uses high-interest, age-appropriate reading materials and teaches pupils at their individual challenge point to develop accurate, fluent, and confident reading skills. Oracy is encouraged alongside phonics, with pupils discussing what they read, explaining ideas aloud, and practising language patterns.
Phase 2 - Amber Readers - Developing Prosody, Fluency and Comprehension
Amber readers can decode words successfully but may struggle with fluency, prosody, and/or comprehension. These pupils are supported through the Liverpool School Improvement Programme, a Reading Development Course designed to improve vocabulary, pronunciation, reading speed, and overall confidence. Oracy forms a key part of this support, giving pupils structured opportunities to articulate their understanding, answer questions, and engage in group discussions about texts. This programme compliments our Fresh Start Phonics approach and we deliver it with consistency and fidelity to ensure every pupil benefits fully.
Reading in Subject Areas
Every department at All Saints has developed its own inclusive reading strategy, integrating literacy into every subject. Each subject incorporates reading and oracy to engage pupils with subject-specific vocabulary, texts and ideas.
It also empowers staff to take ownership of creating and sourcing materials that are relevant to their curriculum discipline. Below are some examples of how reading is incorporated across different subject areas:
Enrichment
We encourage pupils to read for pleasure and develop oracy skills through lessons, tutor time, and after-school activities. Every tutor group has weekly reading sessions including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry - where pupils discuss ideas and share opinions. Our KS3 after-school book club gives pupils opportunities to read, reflect, and debate texts with peers and enrichment coordinators.
Pupils are also encouraged to take part in competitions such as Poetry By Heart, Young Writers, and our in-school Bookflix competition. We celebrate National Poetry Day, World Book Day, and other events with activities that integrate reading, speaking, and discussion, making literacy engaging and inclusive.
We are committed to breaking the stigma around reading and showing pupils that it is not just a classroom activity. Reading is a fundamental part of everything we do at All Saints, and we have worked tirelessly to create a culture where students regularly borrow books, share their favourites, and engage with stories and texts they love. Every child is given the opportunity to read and, most importantly, to enjoy it.
Supporting Parents and Carers
We run workshops and coffee mornings for parents of red and amber readers to help promote inclusive reading and oracy at home. School celebrations and enrichment events, including Christmas, Easter, and summer activities, showcase pupils’ literacy and communication achievements. Parents and carers are warmly invited to attend these events.
Useful Resources
Impact
Our inclusive reading and oracy strategy ensures that all pupils make progress. Students borrow, review, and discuss books independently, engage with texts across the curriculum, and demonstrate growing confidence in literacy. Through targeted interventions and regular assessment, every pupil is supported to reach their full potential, while a love of reading and the ability to express ideas confidently is celebrated across the whole school community.
