Literacy Across the Curriculum

Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum

At Mercia Academy, we believe that strong reading and writing skills give young people the best opportunity to succeed, both in school and in later life. Being able to understand challenging information, communicate ideas clearly and express opinions confidently helps pupils access every subject and prepares them for further education, employment and everyday life.

This year, we are launching a new whole-school approach to reading and writing. While the strategy will continue to be developed collaboratively with staff, our vision is clear: to create a consistent approach to literacy across all subjects that helps every pupil become a more confident reader, writer and communicator. By building these skills into everyday classroom practice, we aim to give pupils the tools they need to access the curriculum successfully and communicate their ideas with increasing confidence and precision.

Our approach has been informed by reading assessment outcomes from the 2024/25 academic year, which highlighted opportunities to further strengthen pupils' reading comprehension and communication skills. These insights have helped us identify where we can make the greatest difference for our pupils, ensuring that support is purposeful, targeted and responsive to their individual needs.

Because every pupil's learning journey is different, our approach will be personalised. Staff will use reading information and classroom observations to identify where pupils may need additional support. This may include helping pupils understand unfamiliar vocabulary, make sense of complex texts, develop confidence when discussing ideas, or improve the quality and precision of their writing.

Our strategy is informed by guidance from the Department for Education and evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation. It focuses on developing reading, writing, vocabulary and communication skills across all subjects, not just in English lessons. By using a consistent approach across the curriculum, we aim to build reading and writing habits that become automatic for pupils. As these skills become embedded, pupils can devote more of their attention to understanding new ideas, solving problems and communicating their thinking effectively, regardless of the subject they are studying.

This initiative builds upon the many successful literacy opportunities already available at Mercia Academy, including Tutor Time Reading, Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.), our whole-school literacy approach and targeted phonics support within SEND. Rather than replacing these existing strengths, this strategy represents the next step in our commitment to developing confident readers, writers and communicators.

This is a long-term commitment to improving literacy across our school. As the strategy develops, we will continue to work with staff to refine our approach and ensure it reflects both research evidence and the needs of our pupils. Ultimately, our goal is simple: that every young person leaves Mercia Academy able to read with confidence, communicate effectively and access the opportunities they deserve.