Literacy
The BA Way is the foundation of the curriculum. At Bedford Academy we strive to ensure every student becomes a young person who is:
Community minded: Development of reading and writing skills gives students a strong sense of aspiration. Strong literacy can reduce poverty, promote democracy and engagement in the world, and enhance cultural diversity. Strong literacy skills provide our students with the ability to be successful and contributing members of their community.
Driven: All students receive DEAR sessions three times a week to improve their literacy and reading skill development. Students are challenged to engage with topics relevant to the world around them, and to consider their place in the community and wider society.
Aspirational: Literacy can help students because it is the foundation on which people are able to interact with the world. Literacy can encourage our students to aspire to succeed in life as well as subjects, and to give them the chance of improving their individual well-being and future lives.
We aim to provide a two-year Literacy curriculum model for Years 7 and 8, ensuring that students who require catch up support are able to develop their skills over time.
All Year 7 and 8 students have an hour a fortnight of Accelerated Reader in the ILC. These sessions enable the students to regularly read and complete quizzes to improve their reading ages. Their reading ages are re-tested termly. Those students who have been identified as not being secondary ready are re-tested half termly.
All students in Year 7 to 11 also complete the DEAR programme during tutor time. This consists of three x 20-minute sessions each week focusing on developing literacy skills. Students are provided with an extract booklet each half term, and over the course of the year are exposed to a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction texts linked to academic and SMSC calendars.
Bedford Academy prepares students to make a positive contribution to society in their next steps outside of school and in their future careers.
Parents Literacy Support
The support you offer your child at home will make a significant difference to the progress they make in literacy. Reading regularly with them, checking their written work and discussing their day are simple but effective ways to improve your child's literacy. Please see below for further support you can offer your child.
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Developing Communication
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Literacy Leaflet
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Spelling Strategies
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Why Read
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Reading Cloud and SORA Digital Library1
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