Literacy
Our Literacy Ethos
At The Highcrest Academy, we believe that literacy is fundamental to equity, opportunity and success. In an all-ability school community, the ability to read, write and communicate effectively is essential for students to access the full curriculum and achieve their ambitions.
We see literacy as the foundation of learning across all subjects. It is not the responsibility of one department, but a shared commitment that runs through every classroom,
Our aim is to ensure that all students develop the literacy skills needed to read, write and communicate effectively, enabling them to access increasingly complex learning across the curriculum and beyond school.
Year 7 Transition
The journey begins before your child even steps foot through the doors with our Summer Reading Transition Project. Each new student is given a copy of Highcrest's unique Reading Realm booklets to guide their reading, filled with an array of creative, grammatical and analytical activities. This allows our staff the opportunity to understand the prior knowledge and starting point of each individual mind.
Reading
Reading is central to our curriculum and underpins success across all subjects. Our approach ensures that all students develop the vocabulary, fluency and comprehension skills needed to access increasingly complex learning throughout their time at Highcrest.
We follow a graduated model of reading support, combining high-quality universal provision for all students with targeted intervention where additional support is needed.
Bedrock Learning
Bedrock Learning is an integral part of our whole-school approach to literacy and is used to develop students’ vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension.
It is embedded within our wider literacy provision and ensures that students are regularly exposed to ambitious vocabulary in context, with structured opportunities to revisit and apply their learning over time. This supports students in building the language they need to access increasingly complex texts across the curriculum.
Bedrock also forms part of our assessment and intervention strategy, helping us to identify students’ reading strengths and areas for development so that support can be targeted effectively.
Impact
Our approach to Bedrock has contributed to significant improvements in reading outcomes, with the proportion of students reading at or above their expected reading age increasing by 17% in the 2025/2026 academic year.
This reflects the impact of consistent vocabulary instruction, targeted support and sustained engagement with structured reading and language development across the school.
Targeted Reading Support
Alongside our universal provision, we provide targeted reading intervention for students who require additional support in developing secure reading skills.
Read Write Inc. Fresh Start
At The Highcrest Academy, we recognise that secure decoding and phonics skills are fundamental to becoming a confident and successful reader.
All students entering Year 7 are screened to ensure that their phonics knowledge is secure. Where screening identifies that a student requires further support with decoding and reading fluency, they are offered targeted intervention through Read Write Inc. Fresh Start.
Fresh Start is a systematic phonics intervention designed specifically for older learners. Students work in small, targeted groups to strengthen decoding, reading accuracy, fluency and confidence. Progress is closely monitored so that support can be adapted as students develop their reading skills.
Reading Wise
Reading Wise is a structured reading intervention programme that bridges the gap between phonics-based support and whole-KS3 literacy development through Bedrock.
It is designed for students who have typically secured basic decoding skills through phonics but are not yet fully ready to access Bedrock independently and consistently.
The programme supports students in developing reading fluency, comprehension and confidence with increasingly complex texts, helping them make the transition towards full engagement with Bedrock Learning and wider curriculum reading.
Reading Wise therefore provides a key bridging stage within our graduated reading offer.
DEAR – Drop Everything and Read
Every fortnight, students are given dedicated time during registration to Drop Everything and Read (DEAR).
This protected reading time provides students with regular opportunities to read independently and develop positive reading habits. Tutors actively support the programme, helping students to select appropriate texts, discussing reading with students and, where appropriate, listening to students read aloud.
KS3 Fortnightly Reading Lessons
All students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have a dedicated library and reading lesson once a fortnight.
Lessons provide students with opportunities to explore a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, develop their reading skills and broaden their knowledge of the world around them.
Students use their Reading Journals to engage with and reflect upon their reading through activities including book reviews, vocabulary development and reading challenges. Part of each lesson is also dedicated to Bedrock Learning, our online literacy platform, which explicitly develops vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension.
Students are encouraged to read aloud regularly, either individually with a member of staff or as part of a group, helping to develop reading fluency, confidence and expression.
Highcrest Audible
Highcrest Audible is our regular whole-school reading feature designed to make reading visible and celebrate it across our school community.
Students hear members of staff read a diverse range of texts, introducing them to new authors, genres, ideas and vocabulary. Highcrest Audible supports our aim of building a school culture in which reading is something that is shared, discussed and enjoyed.
Word of the Week
Developing a rich vocabulary is central to improving students' reading, writing and ability to access the curriculum.
Our Word of the Week introduces students to useful academic vocabulary linked to the language they encounter through Bedrock Learning and across their subjects.
Students revisit this vocabulary through the school's fortnightly Friday Quiz, providing regular opportunities for retrieval and helping important vocabulary become embedded over time.
Writing
Literacy Carousel
In Years 7 and 8, students participate in a rotation of dedicated Literacy Carousel lessons.
These lessons primarily strengthen the fundamental skills students need to communicate successfully across the curriculum, with a particular focus on grammar, sentence construction and extended writing.
Students are explicitly taught how to construct increasingly accurate and sophisticated sentences and how to apply grammatical knowledge to their own writing.
The carousel also includes a focus on handwriting and transcription skills. Students learn how elements such as letter shape, spacing, size, joining and overall presentation contribute to fluent, legible writing. The aim is to ensure that the physical process of writing does not become a barrier to students communicating their ideas effectively.
Literacy Events
Alongside our curriculum and intervention work, we provide opportunities throughout the year to celebrate reading and literacy beyond the classroom.
World Book Day 2026
World Book Day 2026 was celebrated across The Highcrest Academy with a week of activities designed to promote a love of reading, writing and storytelling.
Throughout the week, students took part in World Book Day-themed lessons, staff costume surprises and book quizzes in the library, alongside a whole-school Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) session.
We were also delighted to welcome Rory Thomas-Howes, writer for the Doctor Who audiobook series, who delivered a whole-school virtual assembly and led creative writing workshops with students throughout the day.
The week provided opportunities for students to encounter reading in different ways, discover new texts and authors, and celebrate reading and writing as a whole-school community.
Bedrock Reward Trip – 'Matilda'
Students who demonstrated exceptional commitment and engagement with Bedrock Learning were rewarded with a special trip to see Matilda.
The trip celebrated students who had consistently engaged with their literacy development and provided an opportunity to experience storytelling beyond the classroom. Rewarding students' commitment to reading and literacy forms an important part of our approach to building positive attitudes towards reading and learning.
