Literacy and our library

Understanding written language opens a world of information, imagination and enjoyment.  Being skilled readers and writers allows students to explore new subjects and reach their potential to grow as individuals.  

The National Literacy Trust tells us that students who struggle with reading are at a disadvantage in their GCSE exams and at every stage of their lives.  

Here are some ways we aim to improve and stretch our students’ literacy skills to improve their overall outcomes. 

Our Library – a gateway to success

At Dallam, we believe that reading is the foundation of success. Strong literacy skills open doors to every subject, deepen curiosity, and build the confidence our students need to thrive.

Our school library is at the heart of this, offering a wide range of books to inspire a love of reading – from classics and contemporary fiction to non-fiction and study guides. Whether students want to escape into a story, explore a new topic, or support their learning, the library provides something for everyone.

To make it even easier, students can browse our full collection online through our Library Catalogue. Here they can check stock, reserve titles, and discover recommendations.

We encourage every student to make the library part of their school journey – a place to belong, to learn, and to thrive through reading.

Years 7-9 fortnightly lessons

All students in Years 7-9 have a dedicated library lesson every other week. During these lessons, they are given a variety of short tasks to help work on: 

• spelling 
• enjoying reading 
• understanding texts 
• creative writing 

Supporting your child with reading at home

Reading is important: you need it to learn, to understand the world around you and to become capable, independent adults. Even just 10 minutes of reading a day can have a positive impact in many ways. As part of students’ English homework, we request 20 minutes of reading every day.

Special events and initiatives

We celebrate notable literacy-based dates throughout the school calendar, including National Poetry Day and World Book Day. 

In our English department, we offer a reading bingo initiative. This is unique across every year group and runs alongside the topics studied in lessons throughout the year.   

Extra-curricular clubs such as book clubs, competitive writing clubs, and wider world English clubs allow students to explore reading and writing outside of the English curriculum. 

We promote local and national creative writing competitions, such as the John Fielding Prize, Young Writers and Rotary, encouraging students to express themselves, experiment with words and showcase their writing. 

Star tests

Every term, we assess all our Year 7-9 students’ reading progress to ensure we are stretching their capabilities without losing their enjoyment of reading. The star tests also allow us to identify students who would benefit from extra support to improve their reading, for example, our Reading Buddies scheme and phonics intervention programmes. The Reading Buddies programme sees younger students in Years 7, 8 and 9, who staff in our English department feel could benefit from reading with an older ‘buddy’ to improve their literacy and confidence with texts, assigned a Reading Buddy volunteer from Dallam Sixth Form. For 30 minutes a week, students meet with their buddies. 

5-point plans

To ensure our teaching staff can best deliver our literacy vision, we have created specific plans to support our students in improving their reading, writing, and speaking skills. 

If you would like more information about literacy at Dallam School, please contact Miss Maple, Literacy and Phonics lead at t.maple@dallamschool.org.