The UKLA is delighted and honoured to announce that we have two winners of our prestigious UKLA Literacy School of the Year Award, sponsored by Hays Education.
The secondary school winner is:
President Kennedy School, Coventry
The primary school winner is:
Scott Wilkie Primary School, Newham, London
In both schools, the assessors noted the high ambition for students and a determination to remove any barriers which stand in the way of children becoming confident, enthusiastic and skilled readers and writers. In both schools, we noted that the students we met expressed enormous pride in their own achievements and progress, because of the way their schools had supported them.
Leadership for literacy development at President Kennedy includes the support of sixth form students, who assessors noted reading aloud to students in Year 7 in a regular Friday morning session. At Scott Wilkie, student leadership was evident in assembly and in the Year 6 book clubs, where children ran their own book groups with evident enjoyment and professionalism.
At President Kennedy, the Holistic and Integrated Literacy Curriculum is imaginative, creative, and embedded across all subjects, ensuring that literacy development permeates the entire educational experience. This approach includes opportunities for learning beyond the traditional classroom setting, fostering student engagement and a love for reading.
The school actively involves parents and the community in literacy initiatives, such as reading evenings, reading challenges, and collaborative events with local universities. This involvement enhances student literacy by creating a supportive and engaging learning environment both at home and in the wider community.
The school provides tailored support and enrichment activities for students at different literacy levels. Initiatives like Fresh Start, Lexonik, and specialised programs inspired by university curricula ensure that all students, including those who struggle with reading, receive equity and the necessary help to improve their literacy skills and achieve academic success. The students’ are supported in their Reading for Pleasure with a wonderfully resourced library, with two librarians.
At Scott Wilkie, decisions are driven by wanting the best for every child and with this in mind, literacy is at the heart of the curriculum and the school. The school’s investment in high quality, recently published children’s literature has resulted in a whole school approach to Reading for Pleasure. There are high expectations for every child and adult; crucially, the school provides strong and individualised support to ensure everyone meets those expectations. Curriculum approaches are grounded in research driven and evidence backed approaches. This extends to all of the school’s activities and opportunities for children, whether that is in the teaching of reading and writing, or the rich provision at playtime. The assessors particularly enjoyed joining a reading club at playtime, taking place in the attractive, welcoming and beautifully resourced school library, located in a studio building on the playground, open to all. Storytime was definitely enhanced by the school puppy, snoozing on the librarian’s knee.
Scott Wilkie and President Kennedy will be presenting their work at the UKLA International Conference on Saturday 6th July.
Michelle Storer, Director of Partnerships at Hays Education commented “We are proud to sponsor the UKLA Literacy School of the Year Award and are absolutely delighted that this year there are winners in both the Primary and Secondary phases. This reflects the high quality of submissions and really reflects the excellent practice happening up and down the country. We look forward to presenting the winners with their well deserved awards.”