Alison Smith, Lead Practitioner: Excellence in the Classroom at Ulverston Victoria High School, shares how DreamBox Reading Plus has increased the confidence of her cohort, developed her students’ reading abilities to succeed in Key Stage 3, and effectively prepared them for continued success in Key Stage 4.
“The students using Reading Plus are now more confident in their reading and see themselves more as “readers” than they did previously.”
Q: What results have you seen since implementing Reading Plus?
Students are reading more rapidly and more accurately. We have seen some significant gains in reading age, with one student making 54 months of progress in seven months!
Students are also better prepared for Key Stage 4 since using Reading Plus because they are more able to access the materials that they need to access, and – perhaps more importantly – believe that they have the ability to do so.
Q: How has Reading Plus impacted the way reading is taught?
On the programme, students have an element of choice which is pitched at an appropriate level. It runs itself in that students have autonomy, but there is a wealth of additional materials for staff to work with as appropriate.
We now also use the language of Reading Plus in the classroom, asking students explicitly to “ReRead” (a feature encouraged on Reading Plus to enhance comprehension), which reminds them that reading back over things helps them to be more accurate.
Pupils enjoy using Reading Plus – they feel a healthy sense of competition with themselves and can see how they are progressing. They also like the certificates and rewards.
Q: How have Reading Plus assessment and reports helped guide your teaching?
The InSight Assessment has been extremely valuable. We have been able to use some of the information to inform student passports and it has given us a clear insight into how students feel about reading.
Reporting data has helped us to see specifically where the gaps in their reading skills lie and where to provide more targeted support.
Q: How easy was the implementation process?
The implementation process was extremely easy – Reading Solutions UK handled the whole process of importing student data and setting up accounts.
The support from the Customer Support Team was excellent – there was no issue too big or too small for them to help with.
About Ulverston Victoria High School
They wanted a programme that would:
- Accelerate the progress of weaker readers.
- Improve reading ages of students reading below their chronological age.
- Allow students to access the curriculum.
“Reading has always been a key element of our Personal Development curriculum, but we needed to accelerate the progress of our weakest readers.
We were looking for help with reading because we have a small but significant cohort of students whose reading age is below their chronological age and who are therefore not able to access the curriculum as effectively as their peers.
We chose Reading Plus because we needed a new intervention which would make reading whole texts appealing, and which would enable students to see their progress and their ability to progress.”
Book a brief introductory meeting online with one of our Reading Development Consultants to explore the advantages of Reading Plus for your school.
Call:
0191 389 6078 (option 2)
Email:
info@readingsolutionsuk.com