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Beaufort School

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    • Literacy

    “Literacy is a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning. It is fully essential to social and human development in its ability to transform lives. For individuals, families, and societies alike, it is an instrument of empowerment to improve one’s health, one’s income, and one’s relationship with the world.” - UNESCO

     

    At The Henry Beaufort School, we are keen to promote the importance of excellent literacy skills and increasing our students’ confidence in developing these vital skills. Being literate is the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that allows us to communicate effectively and make sense of the world. Lacking vital literacy skills holds a person back at every stage of their life, therefore it is crucial that out students learn and value the importance of possessing good literacy skills.

    As a result, literacy is not only a key focus of our English lessons, but it is woven into all aspects in our school curriculum. We ensure that our students leave The Henry Beaufort School having developed their literacy skills through real-world material. All teachers are teachers of literacy and every staff member at The Henry Beaufort School takes pride in advocating strong literacy, in order to model the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening to all students.

     

    We pride ourselves in promoting literacy across the school. We do this by:

    • A cross-curricular approach – Teachers in all subjects work together to promote literacy skills using a common language. In all subjects, students are encouraged to use our reading strategies document to support reading, writing and speaking and listening activities, all with the aim of boosting students’ confidence in these fields.
    • Designated tutor time activities – Once a fortnight during tutor time on a Thursday (Week B), students have the opportunity to develop a ‘love for reading’ and engage positively with reading for enjoyment tasks.
    • Competitions – At The Henry Beaufort School we encourage pupils to participate in literary competitions, including The Young Writers Award.

    How can you support your child with their literacy beyond the classroom?

    • Tip 1: Turn on the subtitles on the television! As strange as it may seem, it will help children learn how to say words, help them understand how to use complex vocabulary in the correct context and improve their reading speed.
    • Tip 2: Encourage them to ask if they don’t understand a word. We as educators often use a dictionary / the internet / try to figure out the meaning of words in school based on our prior knowledge – modelling this with children will encourage them to do the same.
    • Tip 3: Read with them. This could be their library book, a newspaper, an online resource, a magazine, a recipe – any reading where they are reading aloud to you will improve their confidence. You could read aloud to them as well. Then talk about what you have read. It could be for 10 minutes every day; it could be for 30 minutes once a week. Positive interactions with reading will improve their confidence and reduce reluctance.

     

    My child is a reluctant reader – what else can I do?

    Students also have access to an online audio and e-book resource through their school log-in called ‘SORA’  where they can listen to, and read from, hundreds of novels both fiction and non-fiction.

     

    Useful resources to support with developing your child’s literacy skills:

    If you have any further questions about literacy in school or further supporting your child, please do not hesitate to contact our Literacy Lead – Mrs Fradley.

    (sarah.fradley@staff.beaufort.hants.sch.uk)

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