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In 2008 Badock's Wood Community Primary School and Children's Centre, Bristol, had low reading outcomes which impacted on the rest of the attainment profile. Key Stage 1 outcomes were around 50%; Key Stage 2 English outcomes were just above 60%. Throughout the school, there was little consistency or strategic thinking around the teaching and learning of reading, and each Key Stage worked almost in a silo of its own.
Most shockingly, the school had Reading Recovery, but it was viewed as a luxury and not part of the main school. No one truly understood the potential: it was simply "that room at the end of the corridor."
The governing body proactively addressed this situation. Almost the entire governing body underwent Better Reading Partner training, and took on their partnerships with great enthusiasm. They became ambassadors for the scheme, and part of a growing team of partners who worked with children throughout the school.
Governors discussed reading data and progress throughout the school termly at each Curriculum Committee meeting, and fed this information into their other monitoring systems. In conjunction with this, the governors oversaw the development of a wider strategy surrounding the teaching, learning and enjoyment of reading and books; supported the foundation of a new school library; budgeted generously for reading materials every year despite school deficits; and invested in staff to deliver high quality programmes. In addition, the governors were heavily involved in the development and delivery of adult literacy classes, and regularly observed Reading Recovery lessons and shared best practise between themselves and others.
The actions of the governors have had a wide reaching impact on the outcomes of the school. Reading at the end of Key Stage 1 is consistently in the 70% bracket, as is Key Stage 2; in 2012, reading at the end of Key Stage 2 was 91% at Level 4 or above. The status of reading around the school has been raised with displays, a beautiful library, a generous reading stock, regular meetings between staff and governors, and frequent parent information sessions. Most significantly, the governors relocated the Reading Recovery teacher's room from the far end of the corridor to the centre of the school, so visitors see the importance of the scheme as soon as they step through the door.
As funding has been reduced, the governors have instructed school leaders to support and extend the Every Child a Reader (ECaR) agenda in any way possible. They have further plans, including the following:
- undertaking inference training
- implementing the new Reading Policy
- investing in the future of the programme via Pupil Premium.
We do not believe that the school could have undertaken its journey from 'Special Measures' to 'Good' without the intelligent, strategic and dedicated support of the governors, and feel that their work on Reading Recovery and the ECaR agenda have been fundamental.
