“Our school motto is Making Every Moment Count and Reading Plus allows us to do this.
“Budget restraints in school means that children don’t have a wealth of books to read. Reading Plus allows children to access a vast range of texts as the programme has over 1000 fiction, non-fiction, and informational texts. The pupils enjoy talking about what they’ve read with their teachers and peers.
“I particularly like that Reading Plus motivates our boys to read more. They are competitive, and they want to see their scores after answering each comprehension question.
“Clear assessments and data
“The initial assessment pupils sit when they first start on the programme gives us baseline data and makes it clear which pupils need to focus on fluency or comprehension. We found that pupils may have high fluency but low comprehension.
“The nature of the programme and features such as the Guided Window encourages pupils to pace themselves, not rush and refer back to the text if they are unsure so that they can comprehend what they are reading. Pupils can now independently make a point, find the evidence, and explain without any adult support.
“Accelerating catch-up
“In 2019, our reading results for Year 6 were EXS 63% and GDS 13%. After using the programme, their recent SATs results increased to 86% EXS and 41% GDS.
“Our Y5 class have shown the most progress. Used as specified, in one-year pupils make an average of 2.6 level comprehension years in gains on Reading Plus. At Sunnyside, 71% of pupils made 2.6 gains or more, two pupils gained 6.6, and one pupil progressed 7. The average reading speed of pupils has increased 42% to 200 words per minute (wpm) (the national average for Y5 is 175wpm).
“I couldn’t imagine not having access to Reading Plus.
“Reading Plus is not a replacement for reading lessons, but it does allow pupils to apply their newly learnt skills independently. The Skills Feature provides intervention materials such as PDFs and lesson plans, saving time when planning and supporting staff with the scripts to ensure high-quality teaching.
“Thanks to Reading Plus, pupils have developed a love of reading. They love finding out more, and at the end of each lesson or during a spare 5 minutes, they ask to go on Reading Plus – Making Every Moment Count.