Page 23 - The East Sussex Way

Case Study 2: Supporting Reading through Bedrock
Vocabulary

• Hailsham Community College Þ rst opened its doors
in 1878. It is an all-through pre-school to sixth form
college with 1505 pupils on roll.
• The number of pupils in receipt of the pupil premium
grant is higher than the national average.
• 15% of pupils have an identiÞ ed learning need.

The context

Teachers identiÞ ed the need to focus on the skills pupils require
to read and comprehend what is being read. With GCSE exams
requiring an average reading age of 15 years and 7 months, it is
crucial that pupils develop the reading skills necessary to reach their
full potential. Pupils’ low vocabulary skills were considered to be a
key barrier.

Action taken

Bedrock Vocabulary (Bedrock Learning, 2022) was introduced. This
is an online programme aimed at key stages 2 to 5. Pupils should

access it at least twice a week. When pupils Þ rst start the programme,
they take a short test to determine which block of words is suitable
for them to start on. Pupils work through blocks of words based on
their individual levels.

Using the programme, pupils experience language-rich Þ ction and

non-Þ ction texts that expand their knowledge of the world as well
as their vocabulary. The school intended that they would develop
further reading skills and deepen their understanding of words, in turn
improving their reading levels to enable them to conÞ dently access
vocabulary used within exam papers.

The reading programme was promoted through a summer school for
Year 6 pupils. In total, 205 pupils were shown how to use the Bedrock
programme over the summer holidays, alongside being encouraged
to read for pleasure.

Impact

Of the Year 6 pupils introduced to the programme before arrival at
secondary school, 40 used it regularly throughout the summer break.
The scheme proved very successful in building pupils’ conÞ dence
with the programme and enabled the school to instil reading and
learning expectations early on. 18