Foundation Skills
Helping every student read, think, speak and succeed
At Blue Coat, we believe that strong literacy is the foundation of every student's education. Reading opens the door to the curriculum, enables students to think critically and communicate confidently, and prepares them to flourish both in school and beyond.
Our Foundation Skills curriculum ensures that every student develops the reading, vocabulary, oracy and writing skills needed to access ambitious learning across every subject.
Grounded in educational research and informed by regular assessment, our approach combines explicit teaching, disciplinary literacy, targeted intervention and a culture that promotes reading for pleasure.
Our Vision
We believe that literacy is everyone's responsibility.
Every teacher is a teacher of reading, vocabulary, communication and thinking. Through carefully planned teaching, we help students become confident readers who can engage with increasingly complex texts and communicate their understanding effectively.
Our aim is not simply to improve reading scores, but to develop lifelong learners who can read like experts, write like experts, speak like experts, think like experts and analyse like experts.
Intent
Our Foundation Skills curriculum is designed to ensure every student:
- becomes a fluent and confident reader
- develops a rich academic vocabulary
- understands increasingly complex texts
- communicates effectively through speaking and writing
- develops independence as a learner
- is fully equipped to access every subject across the curriculum
By strengthening these foundations early, we remove barriers to learning and enable students to thrive throughout their education.
Implementation
Our approach brings together several complementary strands. Year 7 and Year 8 students are grouped using NGRT reading scores and other relevant assessment information into higher, middle and lower attainment groups, ensuring teaching is appropriately matched to pupils' current reading needs.Foundation Skills Curriculum
Students in Years 7 and 8 receive two dedicated Foundation Skills lessons each fortnight following a carefully designed reading spine.
These lessons explicitly teach:
- reading fluency
- reading comprehension
- vocabulary
- oracy
- writing
In Year 9, students continue with one lesson each fortnight, focusing on applying these skills to GCSE study and preparing students for the demands of Key Stage 4.
Progress is monitored using NGRT alongside ongoing teacher assessment to ensure that teaching and support remain responsive to students' needs.
Explicit Reading Instruction
Reading is taught directly rather than assumed.
Teachers model expert reading before guiding students through supported practice and independent application.
Students learn how successful readers:
- decode unfamiliar vocabulary
- monitor understanding
- make connections
- infer meaning
- summarise key ideas
- evaluate information critically
Reading for Pleasure
Developing lifelong readers is central to our vision.
Students are encouraged to read widely through:
- Register and Read
- Library sessions and initiatives
- World Book Day
- The 150 Book Challenge
- Reading events and competitions
We believe that students who choose to read regularly develop stronger vocabulary, greater confidence and broader cultural understanding.
Disciplinary Literacy
Reading looks different in every subject.
Students are explicitly taught how experts read, write and communicate within different disciplines.
For example:
- Scientists interpret technical vocabulary and evaluate evidence.
- Historians analyse sources and construct arguments.
- Geographers interpret data and explain patterns.
- English students explore language, themes and authorial intent.
By embedding disciplinary literacy across every department, students develop the specialist knowledge and habits required for success.
Targeted Support
Every student deserves the support they need to succeed.
Assessment allows us to identify students who would benefit from additional literacy support.
Alongside our Lexonic intervention programme, students may receive targeted small-group teaching led by specialist staff to develop fluency, decoding, vocabulary and comprehension.
Our aim is simple:
Keeping up, not catching up.
Impact
Through our Foundation Skills curriculum, students become increasingly confident readers, communicators and learners.
They develop the knowledge and skills required to:
- access challenging texts across the curriculum
- participate confidently in classroom discussion
- communicate ideas clearly in speech and writing
- become independent learners
- achieve success throughout Key Stage 4 and beyond
Ultimately, our Foundation Skills curriculum supports our vision of enabling every student to "live life in all its fullness."
