LITERACY

LITERACY

“Read in the name of thy Lord who created; [He] created the human being from blood clot. Read in the name of thy Lord who taught by the pen: [He] taught the human being what he did not know” QURAN (96:1-5)

At Sapience Girls Academy(SGA) we believe it is imperative to cultivate the development of our students reading skills and comprehension whilst nurturing a love of books and reading to create life-long readers. We recognise that these elements are not mutually exclusive but rather intertwined, and even interdependent to becoming life-long readers.

School leaders have developed a comprehensive whole-school literacy programme by reflecting on the very first verse revealed in holy scripture, “Read”. The most powerful and timeless tool to ensure academic, social, cultural, moral, and spiritual success. Therefore, we have developed a holistic literacy programme emulating the revelation which has both spiritual and academic significance.

Our literacy programme aims to develop a positive and rich reading culture, at SGA we-

1. We understand the importance of placing reading and books at the centre of the curriculum.
2. We believe every student with the correct teaching and support can read well.
3. We recognise the ability to read is a key life skill for all students.
4. We acknowledge not all students have the opportunity to read or develop a love of reading at home. Hence, school plays an essential role to not just teach but also encourage students to learn how to read, just like any other subject.
5. We understand it takes time for students to become independent and voluntary readers.
6. We understand the importance of implementing effective strategies to promote reading for pleasure.
7. We understand to encourage reading we need to establish and create a comfortable reading environment, including reading spaces.
8. We believe every teacher should be an advocate for reading.
9. We recognise staff training is imperative to support reading for skills and for pleasure, to create consistency as well as reiterate the value of reading across curriculums.
10. We acknowledge we must build the bridge of reading between home and school by communicating with and involving parents to extend reading into the students home.
11. We want all students to genuinely enjoy and love reading with passion.

Why literacy matters

Literacy is fundamental for success in school and later life. Students who cannot read, write, and communicate effectively are highly unlikely to access the challenging academic curriculum in secondary school and are more likely to have poor educational outcomes across all subjects. The academic challenges faced by students moving from primary to secondary education are often underestimated. For example, students in Year 7 must adjust to being taught by a range of teachers, often undertrained in the literacy demands of their subject, using a range of new types of texts, which are often dense and more technical than those encountered in primary school. Such challenges can create a ‘literacy gap’, meaning that many students making the transition from primary struggle to access the secondary school curriculum.