Academy Success Stories
A complete change in attitude towards reading with the results to show for it!
St Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School, Birmingham
In 2013 St Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School, part of the Lumen Christi Multi-Academy Trust, invested in Accelerated Reader (AR) and Star Reading (SR) to promote a love and motivation for reading amongst their students.
Since then, the school have gone on to see a year-on-year improvement in their Progress 8 score. Most notably, the Progress 8 score for their disadvantaged pupils has increased substantially over the last two years. In 2019, according to the DfE's latest published data, the school performed within the top 29% of all secondary schools in Birmingham based on Progress 8 Score.
The Complete Literacy Solution at Finham Park Multi-Academy Trust
FInham Park Multi Academy Trust, Coventry
In 2017, Finham Park School, Finham Park 2 and Lyng Hall School all invested in Accelerated Reader and Star Reading to improve literacy levels and develop a sustainable reading culture. In July 2020, they also invested in myON by Renaissance, the online digital library, to tackle a further loss to reading development to support the blended learning throughout the 20/21 academic year. This is their story.
Using Focus Skills to ensure understanding and mastery
Ellis Guilford Comprehensive School, Nottingham
I want to make use of the data more for teachers and I’m hoping, in time, our teachers will have a better grasp of Accelerated Reader and Star Reading. I think the Star Reading programme will be invaluable for our teachers because once you know whether pupils are growing or not, you can now group them and use the instructional planning report to see what individual skills each pupil has mastered and what they are yet to master, still. Therefore, if teachers begin to regularly work with their individual groups more often then they will be able to offer more appropriate intervention, subsequently allowing them to share this vital data with other teachers.
A noticeable new reading culture
Dunstone Primary School, Plymouth
We spoke to Teaching Assistant (TA), Sally Geary, who has been with the school for twelve years. Sally was only recently appointed the primary contact for Accelerated Reader since January 2019. With the help of a team of dedicated TAs, Sally oversees the daily maintenance and effective administration of the Accelerated Reader and Star Reading programmes. The team have one goal, to help nurture a love of reading for all pupils.
The north east multi-academy trust with a new-look assessment strategy
Wise Academies, North East
We spoke to Natalie Fountain, Executive Head and Regional Hub Leader (Sunderland) who has been in her role at Wise Academies for almost two years about how the trust use Accelerated Reader.
The Trust with the new Reading and Assessment Strategy
Chiltern Learning Trust, Bedfordshire
Seven schools across the Chiltern Learning Trust use Renaissance solutions. We spoke to Nicola Hickton, Associate Assistant Head and Director of Standards for English in the trust, and Klaudia Jablonska, Literacy Lead at Putteridge High School. They shared their experiences and how Accelerated Reader and Star Reading are used both within the school and across the trust as a whole.
Transforming the way our Trust supports learning
David Ross Education Trust, Schools across the UK
We spoke to Lyndsay Bawden, Trust-Wide Subject Lead for English at the David Ross Academy Trust, since 2018. Lyndsay explores the decisions that were made at trust-level to utilise Accelerated Reader and Star Reading as a learning enhancement programme.
Developing our pupils into confident readers who want to read, throughout the trust
West Norfolk Academies Trust, Kings Lynn, Norfolk
We spoke to Norma Burgess, Trust-Wide English Lead for Primary Schools, to get an idea of how primary schools across WNAT are using Accelerated Reader and Star Reading to nurture a cohort of confident readers every year.
A new trust-wide cross-curricular resource
West Norfolk Academies Trust - Secondary Schools, Kings Lynn
We spoke to Olly Mackett - Trust-Wide English Lead for Secondary Schools to find out how secondary schools across WNAT are using strong reading proficiency to support all subject development, across the curriculum.
A new Trust-wide reading culture
Charnwood College, Loughborough
The David Ross Education Trust rolled out Accelerated Reader and Star Reading across all secondary schools to improve reading levels and develop a love of reading for all pupils across the trust. We discussed the impact with Charnwood College...