Reading underpins everything that our students do in school. We believe that our students are entitled to become competent, resilient and fluent readers by: equipping them with a range of skills and strategies; promoting reading of challenging texts; and developing an appreciation of a wealth of literature to build upon their cultural capital. Evidence suggests that children who read every day not only perform better in tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. A recent Department for Education study showed that there “is a difference in reading performance equivalent to just over a year’s schooling between young people who never read for enjoyment and those who read for up to 30 minutes per day”. At Four Stones Gateway Trust, we recognise the importance of reading and expect that every student should be reading every day for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Sparx Maths is used by students within the Trust. It provides full coverage of the curriculum up to and including GCSE. The tasks are scheduled based on the scheme of learning, so each task will be consolidation of prior learning. All skills are demonstrated through carefully scaffolded examples. Students can revisit any concept to get further practice over time to improve working memory and confidence. The methods used by the site are based on the cognitive science behind successful teaching and learning. When set revision from these programmes, students should watch the videos, make notes and complete the quiz on a particular topic which tests their understanding of the content. Their work is marked after every question and a final mark given at the end. Students are encouraged to aim for 100% – the difficulty of the tasks will be calculated on prior performance on the platform. It is important that students complete these tasks independently in order to be allocated the most appropriate questions.