Temple Learning Academy in the Red Kite Learning Trust were first introduced to Reading Plus after seeing it in action at another school within their trust. Keen to address reading fluency concerns, and after seeing how our online adaptive programme worked within the classroom, Reading Plus was introduced.
Alex Clark, Deputy Principal for Primary at Temple Learning Academy, shares how Reading Plus has helped her pupils prepare for SATs by reaching age-expected standards, enhanced their reading for pleasure culture and supported her teaching – as well as her top tips for getting maximum impact from the programme.
“The power of this programme is clear.”
Preparing for SATs
Children were struggling to access the full reading papers in SATs, which reduced their opportunity to perform well in this end-of-key-stage test. In our most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 41% of children achieved age-related expectations – below the national average of 74%.
When we completed the baseline InSight Assessment within Reading Plus, only 12% of our current Y6 cohort were at or above expected levels. When we delivered the InSight Assessment a second time three months later, 23% of the cohort were at or above expected levels, showing clear progress in comparison.
Our children are now performing strongly on practice papers and assessments in class, which is very pleasing.
For our children who are bordering EXS, they love the access to multiple texts and different genres within Reading Plus’s vast online library. It is clear from our assessments that this group has made the most rapid progress.
Reading for pleasure
Engagement has always been positive with great progress through phonics programmes in EYFS and Key Stage 1. Class storytime and our investment in high-quality texts continue to support this positive attitude.
This engagement remains high with Reading Plus, and we are particularly pleased that the number of children reading just below EXS is reducing.
Children enjoy the programme. They are competitive, committed and can see their progress clearly. They are proud of what they have achieved and like that they have an element of choice.
Improved reading results for all students – including struggling readers
Implementing Reading Plus was very easy with lots of support from Reading Solutions UK and an immediate impact seen with the children. They are now confident to read aloud and at speed, which is very positive.
Reading Plus has allowed struggling readers to engage with texts that are age-and-stage-appropriate without other pupils being able to see what level texts they are accessing. The programme also promotes ReReads, a feature that allows students to revisit a previous section of text, which has helped them to break down longer texts.
Evidencing impact
We received outstanding support from the very start of our Reading Plus journey, and this has continued throughout. The assessment data the programme provides is excellent and the analysis of this data with the Customer Support Team has strengthened progress discussions with teachers and given us the confidence we needed.
How has Reading Plus impacted your teaching?
The ability to live track the children while they are using the programme and see their progress is excellent.
The way that the programme builds personalised support is amazing. The Guided Window feature adapts to guide pupils’ eyes across a page of text at a bespoke speed to build fluency, and that is very challenging to recreate with a full class all at the same time.
The programme’s reporting data has made a big difference to the intervention sessions and how we have organised booster sessions. This has also supported the development of our ‘critical cohort’ which has teachers focused on the children most in need of additional adult support.
How has Reading Plus improved attainment across the curriculum?
The ability to link texts to curriculum content has been very positive. The children can now access a wider range of texts within the curriculum and apply skills taught in Reading Plus.
How do you use Reading Plus?
We predominantly use Reading Plus for our Year 6 cohort. To maximise the time that the children have access to the programme, we introduce it in Year 5 from June and then move the children into Year 6 with it. This allows for rapid progress at the end of Year 5 and access over summer holidays.
We can be flexible with our Reading Plus subscription to suit our needs. As we become more adept at grouping the children, some students who no longer need Reading Plus are removed and a small Year 5 group are given access to support progress.
Reading Plus is timetabled for three 30-minute sessions a week but we also encourage children to access this from home.
Top tips for success with Reading Plus
- Use all the support and training available as this has been invaluable.
- Push the competitive element with the class as this is a great hook.
- Use the real-time activity log to support concentration and maintain active readers within each session.
Interested in seeing the impact Reading Plus can have on your pupils? Get four weeks’ full access to Reading Plus – for free!
See the impact of the award-winning programme before you decide whether to purchase.
When used as recommended, we expect students will:
- Make six months’ progress in comprehension levels in text complexity.
- Increase their reading speed by 20 words per minute.