Mayne Reads

The vast majority of our students take part in our Tutor Reading programme: Mayne Reads. We devote 20 minutes to reading four mornings a week to ensure that all students get access to high quality texts. In Mayne Reads, the tutor reads aloud to the whole class whilst all students read along- following the text. All students within a year group read the same books which have been selected to improve their cultural understanding, vocabulary and to promote discussion. 

Each week, tutors introduce a key word that unlocks the understanding of the section of text being read. This word is then discussed and returned to in order to explore how it features in the book but also how it applies to the students’ lives and experiences. These words have been selected due to being conceptually significant in helping students understand the world around them for example ‘biodiversity’, ‘community’ or ‘feminism’. Students are then taught this vocabulary through discussion. We know that teaching vocabulary helps students to be successful readers (Teaching vocabulary to improve comprehension – William E Nagy) so we ensure that there is a clear focus on this whilst also balancing the need for students to be immersed in a rich diet of reading. 

Tutors read aloud to students to ensure that all are able to follow and occasionally pause to check understanding, clarify vocabulary or discuss a key idea. We are currently reviewing the book selections but the current provision is as follows:

Year 7:

  • Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

Year 8:

  • Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
  • The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Year 9:

  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  • I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
  • Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Year 10:

  • Scythe by Neal Shusterman
  • The Martian by Andy Weir
  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Year 11:

Continue to be supported with their literacy and reading but attend subject specific sessions to improve their performance in preparation for GCSEs.

When a tutor group finishes reading the book for their term they then go on to ‘Mayne Mini Reads’. These are sets of shorter books selected by our librarians that enable tutors to continue reading but the tutor group will choose what they want to read from the titles available. These are all high quality books and range from titles such as A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness to Wonder by R.G. Palacio and classics such as Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Our Sixth Form continue to read but alongside the texts provided, students are also given academic reading to complete by subject leads to ensure that they are able to widen their understanding of their course choices. Year 13s switch to revision during their final term.

Year 12:

  • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
  • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Year 13:

  • The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Home by Toni Morrison

Learning support reading and literacy provisions:

Some of our students find literacy and reading difficult and may require a little more help and support than others. Children are assessed regularly to ensure good progress and monitoring of their reading ability.  

The learning support department will provide additional interventions required depending on the difficulties children are experiencing.

  • ‘That Reading Thing’ is a phonics based intervention programme delivered over a 12 week period with a 1:1 mentor in school.  Children develop basic reading skills which support their access to the wider curriculum.
  • ‘Lexia power up literacy’ is an online intervention that runs in the mornings during the Mayne Reading time. Children can work across a number of literacy areas including word vocabulary, fluency and grammar. This is supported by our team of learning mentors that provide additional support 1:1 if there is a difficulty identified by the programme.
  • Comprehension interventions are supported by our English learning coach and improve understanding and fluency.
  • ‘Handiworks’ is our inhouse intervention that supports writing legibility.

SparX Reader:

In years 7, 8 and 9, students do SparX Reader every week. This is run by the English department to support reading. SparX Reader is a programme in which students read books and then answer questions about what they have read. They gain points for reading and are set to achieve 300 SparX Reader Points every week which works out as around 30 minutes careful independent reading each week. To support with this, students have one lesson in the library every fortnight in which they can complete their SparX Reader for that week and then select their own books to read independently. 

We know that reading is one of the most important things that children can do to improve their life chances: Evidence from OECD (2002) found that ‘reading enjoyment is more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status’. Clark and Rumbold (2006) argue that ‘reading for pleasure could be one important way to help combat social exclusion and raise educational standards.’ Additionally, ‘Research has shown that children who read at or above the expected level for their age hold more positive attitudes towards reading than children who read below the level for their age Clark and DeZoya (2011).’ The only way for our students to enjoy reading is if they read a lot and are read to. So, promoting reading first to be good at it and then to enjoy it is one of the most important strategies we have to improve the outcomes and life chances of the young people in our care. Research Evidence on Reading for Pleasure (DFE).