Literacy at Belvidere School

At Belvidere, we are passionate about the power of literacy in helping us to feel as though we Belong. We know that good literacy skills and experiences can make us Believe in ourselves and in others. We understand that these experiences help us to Succeed. Better reading, writing and oral skills means better self-confidence, better results across the curriculum, and better opportunities.  We value the privilege of literacy.

Reading for pleasure is the single-most important activity children can do to improve achievement in school. A recent IoE study revealed that students who read at home do ‘significantly better’ across the curriculum – including 9.9% better in Maths – than students who don’t read. Linked to this is the fact that reading is the best way to improve vocabulary, which is essential for success in every subject.

With this in mind, reading for pleasure is celebrated and encouraged at Belvidere through a wide range of activities and opportunities, including recent Usborne sponsored reads, Readathon, book fairs and student book swaps to enable all of our students to access books for pleasure.

Students also access reading material during their lunchtime breaks with the Restaurant Read material available which is created by our wonderful Literacy Leaders. Books are also readily available in the library and the Hub

Every fortnight, all our students partake in Tutor Read sessions which promote a love of reading and offer suggested reading tailored to year groups. A twice-weekly book club meet to read together and share their experiences, and we offer a Breakfast and Books club to Year 7 students.

Staff promote their love of reading through regularly updated Staff Read displays alongside events such as The Masked Reader and literacy focus assemblies run by authors such as Tom Palmer.

Access For All

At Belvidere School, we test all our students’ reading ages so that we are equipped with the knowledge needed to take corresponding action and implement intervention, ranging from Literacy Leaders’ reading mentoring programme to specialist bespoke pathways, including Read Write Inc and Toe by Toe, as well as specialist handwriting intervention. Reading ages are tested and reported home so that our families feel involved and are equipped with the knowledge they need to be able to best support students.

Termly literacy bulletins are sent to homes to keep families updated with in-school literacy initiatives and to offer reading suggestions and other accessible support.