Literacy

Welcome to Literacy at Baines 

As a school, we are incredibly lucky to have the ILC (Independent Learning Centre) available to our students both for library lessons within the curriculum, as a resource for staff wanting to undertake research tasks with students and as a base for homework and research before school, at break time and after school. During lunch time we offer a rolling programme of various clubs and study sessions to support and enhance extra-curricular learning. 

At Baines we operate the New Group Reading Test with our students in years 7 to 9 to monitor their reading during the year. This gives the opportunity to have conversations with students regarding their reading and help them to see the value of reading for pleasure as well as reading to learn.  As a response to this we operate Reading Plus and IDL intervention programmes to support our students who may need additional support. 

Further to this, we operate a ‘Read Around…’ view to reading which creates a wholistic view of reading.  For example, in October it is Read Around Geography where there will be an increased focus on Literacy in Geography lessons.  In addition to this, library lessons for KS3 will have a new focus for our reading based on the curriculum in Geography. During the year, students undertake reading which supports their studies in Geography, Science, Creative Arts amongst many others to help them to see the value in reading as part of a wider skill and for gaining knowledge and expertise. Our library lessons also offer access to our wide range of stock both in the physical library and on our EPlatform. 

To enhance the scope of our library we also have AccessIt – a system which introduces students to our reading lists (also available to see here on the website) to guide their reading; it also gives access to their own reading list which they can build as well as the opportunity to use a ‘click and collect’ library book service or check our online stock which operates with the EPlatform. EPlatform is available on all devices for our students to access for free and has the benefit of them being able to access texts even when they are not in school. The additional benefit of the programme is that students have the ability to change fonts and backgrounds to support our students with dyslexia who might find certain fonts and styles more difficult. This means that reading is accessible for all of our students, all of the time. 

Alongside curriculum we have a drive to encourage a love of reading and a passion for books. The librarian, Mrs Simmons, runs competitions and events to tie in with notable national and international events such as World Book Day, Harry Potter Day and Mental Health Awareness Week, amongst many others. Mrs Simmons also ensures that our stock is kept fresh and relevant, we have seen a real interest in recent months for books popularised by film and TV streaming services. 

Please browse the reading lists that we have offered this year to inspire our students to read. Should you have any questions regarding Literacy at Baines please contact Mrs Streetly.