01842 668080
Organisation: Newbridge School
Intervention: Catch Up® Literacy
Submitted by: Mrs Julie Morgan
Background
Newbridge School is a mixed sex 11-16 years school, based in the South East Valleys of Wales. The school currently educates approximately 1000 pupils. Newbridge School strives to provide maximum opportunity for all pupils to achieve their full potential. Our school motto is ‘Inspire – Succeed – Excel’.
Catch Up® Literacy was introduced to Newbridge School as an intervention to support struggling readers in year 7. The aim was to close the gap between these learners’ chronological ages and reading ages, and to improve confidence and ability not only on a personal level but across the whole curriculum.
The school recognised the success that the intervention was having in their feeder primary schools, and felt implementing the intervention as consolidating the learning process specific to the individual pupil.
Catch Up® has been used successfully with our year 7 pupils since December 2010.
Implementation
In early September, all year 7 pupils are tested with the GRTII reading test. The results are collated and pupils are selected to attend Catch Up® Literacy sessions. The criteria that we use to identify pupils, is for their reading age to be 18–24 months below their chronological age.
The school will then send a letter to parents, explaining the intervention and gaining parental consent for their child to participate. Each pupil will attend two sessions of Catch Up® Literacy per week. It is important that sessions do not impact heavily on any one subject, therefore, each session is timetabled so that the pupil does not miss the same subject more than once over a two-week rota. We also do not withdraw pupils from English, Maths and PE.
The teachers are then informed when the sessions will take place and each teacher is given a timetable showing when the pupil will be absent from their lesson.
Progress is monitored by re-testing in February and June using the GRTII reading test. Results for each individual pupil can then be analysed.
All staff who deliver the intervention have attended Catch Up® Literacy training and have achieved the accreditation qualification for delivering the intervention.
Regular meetings take place with the deliverers and literacy co-ordinator, to discuss success and any concerns that may arise. This ensures that sessions delivered are of a high standard and stay faithful to the intervention process.
Case Study 1 - Catch Up® Literacy
Child A started year 7 with a National Reading Test (May 2015) standardised score of 87, and a reading age of 9 years 7 months (23 months behind her chronological age). She began Catch Up® Literacy sessions in early October 2015. Although she said that reading was OK, her reading was very hesitant and stilted, and this had a huge impact on comprehension.
Child A attended 33 Catch Up® sessions in total and, during this time, her reading became fluent, expressive and more confident. This was also reflected in her other subjects.
Child A ended the year with a reading age of 12 years 7 months, having made 36 months progress (a ratio gain of just over 5). In her National Reading Test in May 2016, her standardised score was 102.
Aims
Newbridge School aims to provide a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum that is designed to challenge and support pupils of all abilities. This will ensure a rich and full educational experience for all students. The school believes that all pupils belong, are valued and have a right to learn regardless of needs or abilities. The school works towards the full participation of children with disabilities and/or learning difficulties in the curriculum and school life in general. However we remain aware that there may be occasions when alternative provision may have to be made for practical reasons.