By Gavin Mackintosh-
Secondary schools in the Uk need to use more technics of decoding to improve the reading standards of its pupils, research from Ofsted shows. Many students in the UK who struggle to read independently, read less and consequently do not accumulate the background knowledge and vocabulary they need to improve their comprehension.
Decoding words is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven’t seen before.
This makes it more difficult for them to access the curriculum in secondary school, because the required levels of literacy rise rapidly beyond primary school, researchers have found.
Each year around one quarter of 11-year-olds do not meet the expected standard in reading at the end of primary school, meaning that fewer than 1 in 5 of these pupils can expect to get a GCSE grade 4(equivalence of C) in English, due to their very weak foundation. Poor reading ability can often also lead to poor behaviour, with its consequences extending beyond school. Evidence shows that adults with low literacy are likely to have fewer job opportunities and a lower income.
Schools are expected to use assessment measures to help identify whether problems associated with reading are related to word recognition, oral language comprehension or a combination of these.
The secondary curriculum which places increasing demands on reading comprehension, makes it difficult for older pupils who struggle with reading comprehension to catch up with their more up to date peers. Each year, only 10% of disadvantaged children who leave primary school with their reading below the expected standard get passes in English and mathematics at GCSE.
In spring 2022, Ofsted led research visits to six Uk secondary schools in which a higher-than-expected proportion of poor readers achieved a grade 4 or above in English language at GCSE. Their findings provided an illustration of how these secondary schools identify specific reading weaknesses, and how they provide targeted support for struggling readers.
The report described how these secondary schools make sure that pupils who have left primary school not able to read age-appropriate books with fluency, eventually become proficient readers who can access the secondary curriculum.
Ofsted sought to explore how schools make sure that pupils who leave primary school unable to read age-appropriate books fluently can become proficient readers and keep up with all their other curriculum subjects.
The six chosen schools for the research were selected because a higher-than-expected proportion of their initially poor readers achieved a pass in English language at GCSE.
Bespoke Help
Senior leaders prioritised reading by investing in additional, bespoke help for struggling readers and providing training for staff who taught reading. Teachers accurately identified gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge, with a majority of their staff having expertise in teaching weaker readers.
As pupils’ reading improved, they gained confidence and became more motivated to engage with reading in class Ofsted’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said:
The ability to read is a fundamental life skill. However, secondary school leaders and teaching staff should be aware that a significant number of their pupils are lacking the basics.All children, with very few exceptions, should leave school proficient readers. That’s why it’s essential that children who leave primary school unable to read well get the additional teaching they need to participate both academically and in wider society.
Diagnostic assessments of reading can identify specific areas of strength and weakness, so that additional help can be targeted accurately. Used alongside reading ages, diagnostic testing provides more precise and nuanced assessments than reading ages.
Learning from additional teaching for reading supported in class is a useful way of raising standards of reading. A coordinated strategy for reading also helped to create a culture of improving reading. It ensures reading is embedded throughout the school. Research shows that initiatives to create a reading culture and promote reading for pleasure will increase struggling readers’ motivation and enthusiasm for reading.
Ofsted said it saw how its teachers and support staff implemented ways to promote reading and made reading visible across the school. For instance, teachers had ‘what I am currently reading’ posters in their classrooms, or as part of their email signatures. One teacher talked about the importance of creating an ethos that promoted the love of reading. Displaying the fact that they read for pleasure was a part of developing that ethos. We also saw displays of subject-specific vocabulary around schools.
Teachers and reading support staff also frequently talked to pupils about books and what they were reading. One school leader said that displays around the school were intended to ‘start conversations with teachers around reading’.
Impressively, some teachers emphasised the importance of knowing their pupils and knowing their interests, in order to recommend books that might interest them or broaden their horizons by introducing them to new authors.
Well-Informed librarians
Ofsted also found that librarians also played an active role in supporting struggling readers. In three of the schools, it researched, librarians had access to data on struggling readers, such as reading ages, and helped pupils to find books that they might like and that were suitable for them. In 2 schools, librarians were responsible for online reading assessments. One librarian administered reading tests at the end of a paired reading scheme. Librarians used this information to find out what pupils were reading. In each of these schools, librarians were part of the way schools used data to monitor the progress of struggling readers and to recommend suitable books for them to read.
”In one school, we heard how engaging with particular groups, such as struggling readers, was part of the librarian’s performance targets. The librarian created opportunities for struggling readers to use the library more regularly, and frequently had the very weakest readers in the library”, the researchers found.
Using a calculated system of support and encouragement to enhance the reading levels of struggling readers has been very useful in helping secondary school students grow in their reading.
The importance of ensuring good reading habits in school pupils at an early age cannot be understated. Pupils who go on to secondary school with lower literacy levels than their age often struggle to make the necessary transition in reading standards from primary to secondary school.
Although a number of schools have managed to relatively make up for lost failings in their reading level at primary school, experts advise schools and parents to be more committed to supporting pupils to attain they expected standard of reading in primary schools.
The good news is that more state schools have in the past few years been very supportive of pupils who struggle to read, exploring all manner of techniques to raise their level.