Foundational Skills, Literacy and Numeracy

At WCHS, we want every student to have the literacy, oracy and numeracy skills they need to learn confidently across the curriculum. We identify gaps in foundational skills when students join us, provide targeted teaching to help them progress, and check that support is making a difference. As students progress through secondary school, they are taught new content in their lessons using high-quality texts and are taught to read, speak and write using academic vocabulary.  Alongside this, we encourage students to read widely, discover books they enjoy and grow in confidence as readers.

Strong foundations in reading, writing, communication and mathematics help students take part in every subject and prepare for their next steps. At WCHS, we identify gaps in these skills, provide support matched to students’ needs and check the progress they make. We also help every student continue to grow as a confident reader, writer and mathematical thinker throughout secondary school.

Reading and vocabulary

Reading well involves recognising words accurately, reading fluently and understanding what a text means. The Education Endowment Foundation’s literacy guidance, co-authored by Alex Quigley, recommends teaching vocabulary deliberately in every subject and helping students learn the particular ways that subjects use reading, writing and talk.

All students complete reading and spelling assessments when they join us in Year 7. We consider these alongside other information and use further assessment where needed to understand a student’s specific difficulty. This helps us provide the right support, whether that is phonics teaching, practice in reading fluently or help with comprehension.

Students in Years 7 and 8 have a dedicated reading lesson that includes Bedrock, which develops academic vocabulary. Students in Year 9 who need further support continue with Bedrock. Across the curriculum, teachers introduce important words, explain how they are used in their subjects and give students opportunities to practise them.

Sarah Green of the Education Endowment Foundation highlights the value of adults modelling fluent reading, followed by supported practice and feedback. She also explains that some older pupils benefit from additional fluency teaching. At WCHS, students who need this support can access targeted reading interventions. We reassess students who need the most help so that we can review their progress and adapt provision.

Reading is also something to enjoy. Through opportunities such as Register and Read, we encourage students to encounter a range of texts during form time, talk about them and develop lasting reading habits. Our aim is for students to read widely and with growing confidence, both for learning and for pleasure.

Writing and communication

Clear writing depends on secure spelling and handwriting as well as the ability to organise and express ideas. We check students’ handwriting across Years 7–11 and follow up concerns with further assessment or support where appropriate. Teachers also help students learn how to communicate in the forms their subjects require, from explaining a mathematical method to writing an argument in history.

Numeracy

Foundational mathematical knowledge allows students to solve problems in maths and use numbers confidently in other subjects and everyday life. Education Endowment Foundation guidance recommends using assessment to identify what pupils understand and where misconceptions remain, then choosing teaching and intervention that address those particular gaps.

At WCHS, students develop these skills through their maths lessons. Where a student needs additional help with foundational knowledge, we provide targeted intervention and review its impact. Our goal is to help students build secure understanding, explain their thinking and approach new challenges with confidence.