Building a picture of every child as a reader

At the Whiteoak Academies, it is highly important to us that we build a comprehensive and accurate picture of each child as a reader. In order to do so, we employ a variety of both formative and summative assessment tools.

Listening to our children read on a regular basis and using Assessment for Learning strategies in the moment of teaching, provide us with invaluable insights into the progress a child is making in terms of decoding, fluency and comprehension.

In addition to this, we complete termly phonics assessments for those children learning to decode and complete NfER papers twice each year (from Years 1-5) to gain an insight into how language comprehension skills are developing. Year 6 pupils undertake a previous year’s Reading SAT at three points across the academic year for this same purpose.

Lexplore Analytics

Using some of our Covid Catch-Up Premium funding, we have invested in a reading diagnostic tool called Lexplore Analytics. This is a ground-breaking method of measuring reading attainment, which uses eye-tracking technology to offer a new insight into children’s literacy skills. It is the only test in the world to fully assess silent reading and is backed by over 30 years of peer-reviewed research and is assured by the British Dyslexia Association.

Children in Years 1 to 6 complete this short, five minute assessment three times each academic year. Amongst many other things, this helps us to track automaticity development by providing us with a word count per minute. In addition, it provides further intervention materials for children who are falling behind the age-related expectation for their year group.