In my previous blog I outlined our motivations for becoming a Reading School. We were clear why we wanted to do it and the impact we really hoped we would have. We just needed to think of a hook; a way to get the students to buy in to the new culture. We decided the […]
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Reading to children from an early age is the best way of encouraging them to love books and reading. By reading stories aloud, we take them into a world that goes well beyond our typical everyday spoken language, and form a link for them between reading, comfort and love. We need to do everything we can […]
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What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Scotland? Robert the Bruce, The Tattoo, or perhaps the legendary Loch Ness monster? Whatever splendid Scotland means to you, we’ve brought together a collection that’s more exciting than a Celtic ceilidh to celebrate Book Week Scotland ,taking place from 19th-25th November. So join us as we […]
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The days are getting shorter, the nights are drawing in, and it’s the time of year when things go bump in the night. Don’t be afraid, this month’s reading list is mostly full of monsters that will tickle your funny bone, but we’ve thrown in a few spine-tingling tales, for those who are feeling brave […]
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Oxford Levelled books use a well-established and expertly researched system to engage children from the start while ensuring continuous skills progression at every stage of their reading journey. OUP Head of publishing Andrea Quincey shares how we can ensure progress through levelling. Why use levelled books? Accessing the right level of books can support children’s […]
Read moreSummer is the perfect time to catch up on the reading you haven’t found time for during the beginning of the year. Sometimes it can be hard to decide from all the fantastic books that are out there and to give you some inspiration we have put together a list of what the English team […]
Read more“I’ve been working on raising boys’ achievement since 1993… you’d have thought I’d have got it sorted by now” is regularly the opening line to one of my INSET days or keynote speeches. It usually provokes mild amusement. “But sadly I’m afraid there aren’t that many people working on it.” And nobody laughs. Because it’s […]
Read moreJumping into the unknown We are all probably familiar with the fear of the blank page when writing: we know that many children experience it; we may even feel it ourselves sometimes. It’s possible that something similar happens when insecure, struggling, or simply young readers look at a previously-unseen text: a daunting fear of the […]
Read moreLindsay spoke on the purpose and the value of Guided Reading at Oxford University Press’ English Conference, Passing on the Passion, in London on 16th June. Here he addresses the most common concerns and teases out answers to these questions in follow up to his seminar. You’ll find a selection of resources and videos from the day on our website . I love guided reading. But we have […]
Read moreLast month, I was lucky enough to speak at OUP’s For the Love of Reading: Passing on the Passion conference. It was a wonderful occasion that brought teachers, authors and researchers together to talk about reading. I left with my brain fizzing with ideas, inspired to try the raft of new things I’d learnt from […]
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