About Holyrood Secondary School
Holyrood Secondary School is a Roman Catholic denominational school located in the Southside of Glasgow. The school has a current roll of 2,253, incorporating nine primary feeder schools. As of September 2022, 45 per cent of pupils lived in the 20 percent most deprived data zones in Scotland. In September 2022, 35 per cent of pupils were registered for free school meals.
How and why did you decide to use ReadingWise as part of the plan?
"Having previously used ReadingWise, we re-established contact with ReadingWise representative Caroline Shepherd who provided support and guidance on how we could integrate this more fully across targeted intervention classes. As we monitored progress, it became clear that ReadingWise was an excellent fit alongside various interventions within our targeted literacy support approach, and would ensure sustainability for learning over the next two to three years."
Read the full case study below, or download the PDF.
About the School
Holyrood Secondary School is a Roman Catholic denominational school located in the Southside of Glasgow. The school has a current roll of 2253, incorporating nine primary feeder schools. As of September 2022, 45 per cent of pupils lived in the 20 percent most deprived data zones in Scotland. In September 2022, 35 per cent of pupils were registered for free school meals.
What made literacy one of your top priorities and when?
English as an additional language (EAL) at Holyrood Secondary is 47%. Many learners attending English classes demonstrated lower attainment levels in reading and writing. These young people were often new to English or at the early stages of acquiring English language. Some learners were therefore unable to access or demonstrate learning in English within a regular classroom setting across S1-S3 (Broad General Education - BGE). The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and staff within the English department recognised the need for a more bespoke curriculum and learning opportunities to address learning between Early through to Second Level. Staff within the English department showed a commitment to developing their knowledge of primary pedagogical approaches and to implementing these in their own practice. As of November 2022, secondary school staff have taught alongside a Principal Teacher of Primary Literacy, leading to the development of a bespoke curriculum across S1-S3 within targeted intervention English classes.
Key questions we asked ourselves:
How could we meet the individual literacy needs of learners whilst ensuring intervention strategies are sustainable, realistic and manageable?
How could we meet a wide range of reading needs of learners from Early to Second Level and those with English as an additional language?
How did you reach a decision about your overall plan?
Using primary transition information and working in conjunction with our Pastoral Care, EAL and ASN departments, we compiled a list of candidates for potential support. We supplemented this information by conducting BURT Single Word Reading tests/Salford Sentence Reading assessments to establish a baseline of assessment. This provided an opportunity to conduct informal learning conversations around reading with candidates for support, further bolstering information gathered. Once we had garnered an accurate reading age for each candidate for support, we established two support classes per year group from S1-S3. Using ReadingWise alongside a variety of approaches to raise the average reading age within targeted support classes, our aim was to improve each learner’s reading ability to help them access the wider curriculum more confidently.
Can you outline your plan and time frame?
Having previously built a connection with ReadingWise, we used academic year 2023-2024 as an opportunity to re-establish links and trial the programme more widely across English support classes. Having demonstrated great success using the ZIP, Decoding and Vocabulary packages across our staged intervention classes in S1- S3, we have now committed to the intervention programme over the next three years (commencing August 2024). Our current S1-S2 support classes within English will continue to engage in a variety of interventions, using ReadingWise three to four times per week as a lesson starter and soft start. This is supplemented by a range of other intervention strategies including bespoke spelling retrieval practice and direct phonics instruction, lessons for impact in writing and the use of a personal reading pathway. Small class sizes andadditional support from staff within the EAL, ASN and English departments allows for tailored support to be carefully monitored based on engagement, progress and continual assessment information. Further to this, S3 targeted support classes will use the programme to support learners to improve reading ability and vocabulary awareness.
Who was involved in creating the plan?
Sharon Watson (HT), Annemarie Ford (PT English), Jessica Longo (PT Literacy) Paul Devlin (PT Primary Literacy)
Which are the staff (roles) involved in implementing the plan?
Our PT Primary Literacy leads learning within staged intervention English classes across S1-S2 whilst supporting class teachers as they lead intervention within two S3 English support classes. We initially trialled ReadingWise at the commencement of S3 within third year support classes, with our PT Primary Literacy carrying out baseline assessments and allocating packages ranging from Zip Phonics, Decoding and Vocabulary as required. Once we had established an effective system of tracking and monitoring progress, we then launched this across two S2 classes in August 2023. Finally, we launched two English support classes in S1 later in the academic year once our new year group had been established. Using the programme as a lesson starter, we dedicated between 3-4 sessions a week per class with learners spending up to 10 minutes per day on an individual programme. Using a personal school iPad, learners log in independently using their individual login card. During this time, English, EAL and ASN staff provide pupil support whilst PT Primary Literacy tracks pupil progress and accuracy live, providing real time opportunities for pupil feedback.
How and why did you decide to use ReadingWise as part of the plan?
Having previously used ReadingWise, we re-established contact with ReadingWise representative Caroline Shepherd who provided support and guidance on how we could integrate this more fully across targeted intervention classes. As we monitored progress, it became clear that ReadingWise was an excellent fit alongside various interventions within our targeted literacy support approach, and would ensure sustainability for learning over the next two to three years.
Can you now reach more students per staff member using ReadingWise?
Yes, our pupils have become confident in accessing ReadingWise independently during their daily lessons.
There are currently targeted intervention classes across S1-S3, encompassing approximately 60-70 pupils active on ReadingWise modules. This is monitored by our PT Primary Literacy, whilst English, EAL and ASN staff support learning within targeted groups.
Are your staff now better equipped to support struggling readers?
Yes. Staff within the English department have been instrumental to gathering baseline assessments, volunteering to administer BURT and Salford assessments. This has provided opportunities for professional development, with staff members now building this capacity into their own teaching practice.
How and what did you choose to use for a baseline assessment?
Due to the volume of learners within our department, we elected to use a mixture of Salford Sentence Reading (SSRT) and BURT Single Word Reading tests to ensure we had as close to an accurate reading age as possible in a manageable and sustainable approach. Across S1, we opted to use SSRT as this provided an opportunity to more fully assess decoding, blending and fluency of new additions to our school. Moving towards S2 into S3, the BURT test proved to be beneficial, particularly in identifying pupils who would be best suited to building their knowledge of word awareness through the Vocabulary package.
Has the plan been successful to date? How have you evaluated this both quantitatively and qualitatively?
Overall, our data consistently evidenced great improvement across our intervention classes where pupils had progressed through the Zip phonics or Decoding programmes. After approximately 6-8 months of intervention across a total of 61 active participants in regular attendance, we have been able to evidence an average overall reading age improvement of 1.9 years per participant. Breaking this down further, average improvement across 26 S1s and 23 S2s was 1.8 years, whilst average improvement across 12 S3s was 2.1 years. Across S1-S2, a further four participants evidenced such an improvement in learning that they were able to successfully transition from intervention classes back to their regular registration class for English. Only 3% of active participants across our S1-S3 intervention classes did not evidence an improvement in their reading age upon reassessment, with plans in place to further support these individuals.
Have results to date affected your continued implementations plan?
Pupils within targeted intervention S1 and S2 classes will continue personal learning plans through ReadingWise Zip and Decoding programmes as they transition to a new year group after Summer 2024.
We will continue to use our intervention plan as we organise new targeted support classes for the 2024-2025 S1 cohort, commencing the new academic year in August 24.
Moving forwards, we feel we have developed a sustainable model for identifying reading needs whilst tracking and monitoring the impact of intervention as our pupils progress through individualised learning plans.
Reflections on ReadingWise: Staff
Sharon Watson, Headteacher:
“Paul, our PT Primary, spoke to me about being able to better track progress of the young people he supported by adopting the programme. The programme has benefitted the young people as it has allowed them to take ownership of their learning and has increased their levels of motivation as they saw the progress they were making in learning. Staff feel that the programme is helping them establish a baseline and thereafter see measurable impact in progress. It has also allowed learning to be more easily differentiated to ensure all young people are included and engaged in learning.”
AnnMarie Ford, Principal Teacher of English:
“Addressing the diverse needs of our learners at Holyrood is an integral part of ensuring that all learners can progress through their learning journey. Along with other strategies we have implemented to develop the reading skills of our young people, ReadingWise has been a hugely successful initiative. It has not only given us concrete evidence of the progress our learners have made but has also developed confidence and enthusiasm amongst participants. We will continue to embed ReadingWise in our reading initiative and look forward to seeing other learners benefit from the programme.”
Louise Kaya, English teacher:
“I had the opportunity to work alongside our PT Primary over the past year, helping to support one of our S2 classes. There were many challenges the pupils faced in the class (EAL, low literacy levels etc.) and I found it really helpful to learn about the ReadingWise programme and witness how this actually helped these pupils to read more confidently. Every pupil in attendance showed improvements in their reading ability, and I think the most important thing is that these pupils recognised that ReadingWise helped them achieve these improvements. Our reading pathway also helped the pupils to improve their understanding of short passages. Due to these interventions, the pupils were able to access the writing part of the curriculum and wrote their own short stories. Their literacy and reading levels improved, but so did their confidence and pride in their own work.”
Gabriel McKernan, English teacher:
“In terms of the impact on learners, the ReadingWise software and our own reading pathway were a rigorous and time efficient way of differentiating work to the learner’s individual needs: the reading age from ReadingWise could be used to provide appropriate challenge within our reading pathway. These interventions produced quantifiable improvements in every learner’s literacy skills and made the learners more confident when approaching more sophisticated and challenging texts and lessons.”
Caroline Paterson, English teacher:
“It has been very rewarding to work alongside my PT Primary colleague and witness the kind of impact such structured support can provide to learners with literacy and EAL challenges. From the ReadingWise programme to our own reading pathway, pupils have been able to see their own progress which cannot be underestimated. Some pupils were also able to progress into non-support classes and this inspired others to aim higher as well.”
Paul Devlin, PT Primary Literacy:
“Working within our targeted intervention classes has been an extremely rewarding experience. When establishing classes and carrying out baseline assessments, it was clear that the reading ability of pupils across S1-S3 covered a wide range of reading ages and individual abilities. ReadingWise provided the perfect platform to ensure that we met this need sustainably and effectively. As we progressed through our journey, it was encouraging to witness the transformative effect that accelerated reading had on individual progress. Pupils’ confidence in their literacy capabilities has grown exponentially as well as their ability to access learning more confidently across the wider curriculum.”
Can ReadingWise Help You?
Find out more by downloading the case study, and read about our range of modules to understand how ReadingWise might work for pupils in your school.
