Literacy & Numeracy

As a school, we recognise the value of developing our students’ literacy skills to enable them to share their voice and access opportunities in their future. It is vital that we teach our students to communicate effectively with those around them, but to be able to adapt to the people with who they are communicating. They must be able to infer meaning from written texts, as well as evaluating the reliability of the information that social media so readily exposes them to. They must be able to write clearly and without error so that their meaning is fully understood.

As a school, literacy has been identified as one of our largest barriers for both academic success, but more importantly for later life and is therefore a key aspect of our school’s curriculum. From September 2020, we will begin a whole-school drive to teach these literacy skills within every lesson. Subject departments have identified their own specific literacy focus for each year group, within a whole-school half-termly area of literacy:

Autumn half term 1 = reading

Autumn half term 2 = grammar and vocabulary

Spring half term 1 = writing

Spring half term 2 = spoken English

Summer half term 1 = reading

Summer half term 2 = grammar and vocabulary

As well as supporting with our students’ literacy during lesson time, one form time a week will be dedicated to reading as a class. Students will read a variety of texts as a class with their form tutor, including both fiction and non-fiction, and traditional and modern texts, for example blogs. Students will discuss the vocabulary used, as well as a discussion on the whole text to build comprehension and inference skills.

We also see this as an opportunity to share a diversity of thought with our students, with a range of texts from different cultures and perspectives, which take them beyond our locality and expose them to the wider global community in which we now live.

Settle College is committed to raising the profile and standards of numeracy of all its students. We strive to develop students’ ability to use numeracy skills effectively and confidently in all areas of the curriculum, to enable them to achieve success in future education, employment and in adult life.

Mathematics is a key skill in students’ learning and all learners are entitled to quality experiences in this area. The teaching of Mathematics is the responsibility of all staff at Settle College which is imperative in our drive for consistency in approaches and in ensuring numeracy is an overt part of every curriculum area. We believe that Mathematical skills can be consolidated and enhanced when students have opportunities to apply and develop them across the curriculum.

Our aim is to raise the achievement of all learners in the College through;

· Appointing maths ‘Champions’ across each year group to aid the delivery of mathematical content within other subject areas;

· Ensuring staff are aware of ways in which they can support the delivery of mathematics within their subject, including making use of the appointed maths ‘Champions’ to lead activities in tutor time and assist during lesson time;

· Challenging any ‘can’t do’ attitude and stigmas students may present, using the ‘not yet’ school phrasing to positively reinforce the importance of developing numeracy skills to a good level;

· Emphasising and promoting nationally recognised numeracy days and events such as National Pi Day, National Numeracy Day through the use of engaging tasks and challenges;

· Parental involvement and awareness of the importance of numeracy; sharing with them ideas of ‘How to help your child at home.’