A MICKLEOVER school which has added 10 minutes to the school day in order to prioritise reading has seen pupils’ literacy levels increase dramatically in just a matter of months.
Staff at Murray Park Community School decided to put additional emphasis on reading standards after seeing a decline in students’ reading ages following the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The year seven children who started at the school in September were found to have reading levels well below their actual age but thanks to new strategies this has increased by almost a year in just five months.
And specialist interventions for children who were significantly behind has seen an average increase in reading ages of 29 months – after just six weeks of additional help.
Bringing the school day forward by 10 minutes has created time for tutors to read to pupils each morning. While a £15,000 investment in new books means every child has access to suitable texts.
A book vending machine is available to all students and each week one pupil is rewarded for their good work with a token to purchase a book free of charge.
Deputy head teacher George Hagen said: “Nationally there has been a decline in reading standards thanks to the pandemic and we were really noticing it with our new year seven pupils, who were significantly behind thanks to the amount of schooling they had missed.
“But we are really pleased with the results we are getting. Our new interventions for those significantly struggling has seen an increase in reading age of more than two years in less than a term – which is allowing them to improve in every subject, not just English.
“I wondered if there would be a backlash if we added 10 minutes to the school day, but actually almost every single one was in favour and we have had a big buy-in from staff, especially now we can see the results.”
Recent research from the National Literacy Trust showed the impact of COVID on reading with some children and young people reporting a lack of access to books because schools and libraries were closed. A lack of quiet space at home and a lack of school/peer support had also negatively affected their ability to read and their motivation to read for enjoyment.
While recent research from the Education Endowment Foundation shows that nationally 20% of all 15-year-olds have a reading age of 11 and below, and 10% a reading age of 9 and below.
Mr Hagen added: “We had an Ofsted inspection in October last year and our strategies to support reading were singled out for praise. These new interventions are a step further and we are starting to see some really confident readers.
“We are about to train a third member of staff in how to deliver the specialist interventions we are so pleased with the results that we are seeing.”
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