Faced with the diverse literacy needs of their students, secondary schools are grappling with the challenge of delivering the right level of support to every pupil. With tightening budgets and a shortage of literacy specialists, many secondary schools are facing significant challenges in providing the literacy support their students need. Lack of funding means schools often struggle to hire enough teachers, teaching assistants, or literacy specialists, which in turn limits the scope for tailored literacy interventions. In response, some schools have turned to hiring primary staff to address literacy gaps in secondary students, but these staff are not always readily available or equipped for the complexities of secondary-level literacy demands. This highlights a critical need for innovative solutions.
Leveraging technology can offer a time-efficient and cost-effective way to meet these literacy challenges, enabling schools to provide personalised, adaptive support without the need for additional specialist staff. When literacy is prioritised across the whole school, it becomes a powerful tool for unlocking students’ potential in every subject—from interpreting complex instructions in maths to comprehending scientific texts. By integrating technology-driven solutions, schools can bridge the gap and ensure literacy remains a foundation for academic success, for all students, even in resource-constrained environments.
Prioritising Literacy as a Foundation for Success
Most students arrive at Secondary having been taught to read through Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP). However, when pupils reach Key Stage 3 and face the challenges of the secondary curriculum, it often becomes clear that not all have fully developed the foundational reading skills necessary to progress. In many cases, reading deficiencies are masked and the underlying issues are not always related to phonic knowledge. Some pupils may appear to be decoding words correctly but still struggle with comprehension, fluency or vocabulary.
When literacy is at the core of learning, students are better equipped to engage with complex materials in subjects like maths, science, and history. For example, understanding word problems in maths or grasping technical language in science depends heavily on strong reading skills. School leaders can play a vital role by promoting literacy as a key driver of academic achievement in every subject area.
Building a literacy-rich environment doesn’t just mean focusing on reading during English lessons. It’s about integrating literacy support into all subjects, helping students develop the ability to interpret and analyse text, communicate effectively, and understand subject-specific vocabulary. This is where the concept of disciplinary literacy becomes essential.
Disciplinary Literacy: Integrating Reading Across the Curriculum
Disciplinary literacy—the ability to read, write, and communicate effectively within different subject areas—has become increasingly important in secondary education. Each subject has its own specific language, texts, and conventions. Whether it’s understanding historical documents, interpreting literary texts, or solving word problems in maths, students need to develop subject-specific literacy skills to succeed.
One way to support disciplinary literacy is through interventions that expose students to a wide range of texts spanning multiple subjects. This approach helps students not only improve their reading comprehension but also learn how to apply these skills across the curriculum. In addition, explicit instruction in morphology—particularly in Greek and Latin roots—can be highly effective in building subject-specific vocabulary. By understanding the structure of words, students are better equipped to decode unfamiliar terms, which enhances their ability to grasp complex concepts in subjects like science, history, and geography. For example, teaching a student the Greek form, ‘poly’ unlocks the meaning of several subject-specific words such as polygon, polysyllabic and polymer.
When schools integrate these literacy strategies, they empower students to navigate academic texts in any subject, helping them build the skills and confidence needed to succeed across the board.
Overcoming Time and Resource Constraints
For many secondary school leaders, a major challenge is finding the time and resources to dedicate to literacy support. As secondary schools face tight scheduled and a full curriculum, it can be difficult to allocate the focused time and attention needed to support every struggling reader. On top of this, the shortage of literacy specialists means that many schools lack the staff needed to provide targeted interventions. While some secondary schools are turning to primary-trained staff to address this gap, these individuals are not always available or prepared for the complexities of secondary-level literacy challenges.
However, technology offers a way to make literacy support more accessible and efficient. Digital literacy tools can provide personalised learning paths for students, allowing them to work on the specific areas where they need improvement. These tools can also reduce the planning burden on teachers by offering ready-made resources and progress monitoring tools. By leveraging technology, schools can ensure that more students receive the literacy support they need without requiring additional staffing or class time.
Adaptive Teaching for Diverse Needs
Secondary schools often have a wide range of literacy abilities within each year group. Some students may still struggle with basic reading skills, while others are ready for more advanced content. Meeting these diverse needs requires an adaptive approach, ensuring that each student receives the right level of support to make progress.
One strategy to address this is through personalised learning, where students are assessed on their specific skills, and targeted interventions are provided based on their individual gaps. This kind of adaptive teaching can help all learners, regardless of their starting point, to make meaningful gains in literacy.
Literacy for All – How Lexia fits into your Whole School Literacy Approach
For schools looking to implement a practical and effective solution, Lexia PowerUp Literacy offers a research-proven approach that integrates disciplinary literacy, personalisation, and adaptive technology. PowerUp helps secondary schools support a wide range of literacy abilities by providing targeted instruction in reading comprehension, decoding, vocabulary, grammar, and fluency. Through its use of personalised learning paths, PowerUp allows students to work at their own pace while teachers receive actionable data to inform classroom instruction.
By integrating PowerUp into your school’s literacy strategy, you can take practical steps toward closing attainment gaps and ensuring every student has the literacy skills needed to succeed across the curriculum.
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