Rye College is a secondary school for children aged 11 to 16 (KS3 - KS4), and is part of the Aquinas Trust. Aquinas is a faith-based (Church of England) multi-academy trust (MAT) with 11 primary and secondary schools, all C of E, and committed to inspiring lifelong learning.
Rye College is skilled at supporting teachers, TAs, SENDcos, and leadership teams in schools where there is a higher-than-average number of pupils with SEND and EAL needs.
Rye College selected ReadingWise Comprehension and ReadingWise Decoding, and Zipin October 2016. All three interventions are in place as of 2024, and the school expects to continue working with us to support learners into the future.
In January 2023, Rye College had its Ofsted inspection, achieving a Good grade. The school then received a follow-up urgent inspection in June regarding complaints relating to the teaching of relationships and sex education (under section 8 of the Education Act 2005). That inspection found that “no serious concerns have been identified.”
One parent said that “Rye College is a great school. My child is very happy, feels safe and is supported by teachers.” One of the students said, summing up the views of many as the report noted, “We are taught to think for ourselves, but also to respect everybody’s point of view.”
Ofsted Inspection of a good secondary school: Rye College
At ReadingWise, we are always proud to champion the schools we work with. Here are a few of the highlights from the report:
“Rye College has taken great strides forward in recent years. Work is demanding and current pupils are learning well across a wide range of subjects. Much of this is due to the strong leadership of the headteacher and the executive headteacher and extensive staff teamwork.”
“All staff want the very best for their pupils. Pupils and parents recognise and appreciate the many improvements in the school.”
“Leaders have introduced an ambitious curriculum that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study. Key stage 3 provides a solid foundation for later learning. Although published outcomes in 2022 were not strong, achievement is rising and current pupils are doing well.”
What does the Ofsted report say about reading at Rye College?
“Subject leaders have thought carefully about what they want pupils to learn and in what order. Teachers have strong subject knowledge.”
“Teachers and leaders have high expectations. They expect all pupils to try hard and to complete work to a high standard. Consequently, current pupils, including many with SEND, are achieving well.”
“Pupils are very well prepared for their next steps. Increasingly they are choosing ambitious courses at post-16 institutions.”
As this shows:
ReadingWise is an online, evidence-backed, intervention programme designed for every aspect of reading – decoding, comprehension, and vocabulary. This provides leaders, teachers, TAs, and SENDcos with a coherent, unified approach to improving literacy.
To support literacy and reading across the school, Rye College benefits from access to the following modules:
Comprehension: A powerful, engaging, and fun literacy intervention module to develop the quest for meaning behind a narrative for Years 5 - 9. Its content, structure, and design deliver age-appropriate sessions for primary and secondary schools.
ReadingWise Comprehension empowers learners through key strategies.
Delivery: 10 week programme, 45-minute sessions run twice a week in groups of 10, with one trained member of staff.
Decoding: So much more than just another phonics programme for Years 2-11. Our decoding module, for primaries and secondaries, develops deep independence in learners, empowers them, and consistently improves reading ages by over 9 months in just 20 hours.
Decoding is a powerful literacy intervention module.
Delivery: 20-25 minute sessions 3-5 times a week. Supervised by 1 trained TA working with 10 learners.
Zip: An adaptive learning programme for children aged 5 - 7 (Reception and Y1) learning to decode.
Delivery: 5-10-minute sessions a day – at school or home. Supervised by one trained member of staff.
Training for schools and teachers
Staff at every level, including teachers, TAs, literacy leads, and SEND specialists, were trained in Zip, Vocab, Comprehension, and Decoding, the four modules deployed to raise reading levels across this outstanding secondary school.
Over 300,000 pupils in UK schools have completed a ReadingWise programme! We hope to help you and your children, too.
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