Read Write Inc. Fresh Start: a positive impact on struggling readers

Students learning in the classroom In October 2022, Ofsted published a report  on supporting struggling readers in secondary schools after visiting six schools where a higher-than-expected proportion of struggling readers got a grade 4 or above in GCSE English language. In its conclusion, Ofsted notes that: “School leaders understood the need to identify specific reading gaps and weaknesses, and […]

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Vocabulary Teaching: Giving Students a Voice

Students completing an activity from Boost Your Vocabulary workbook 1

‘Cultured…Engaged…Informed’. This vision strapline underpins everything we do in my English Department. Vocabulary teaching, naturally, plays an important role in fulfilling this vision. When we spoke to students about the disadvantages that poor vocabulary acquisition brings, the one that came up repeatedly was that of frustration – the inability to communicate that which is in […]

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