DEAR

Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) @ LAB

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) suggests that, ‘high-quality reading strategies can lead to an improvement of 6 additional months’ progress over the course of one year’.

At Livingstone Academy, Bournemouth we take every opportunity to ensure that:

• Pupils have access to a wide range of challenging texts to increase their cultural capital.
• We improve pupils’ literacy skills – speaking, listening, reading and writing and expand their vocabulary repertoire.
• Improved levels of literacy will help our pupils access the curriculum in all subject areas and improve their life chances. 
• We foster engagement with reading and promote reading for pleasure.
• All pupils will leave LAB as literate, confident communicators ready for their next steps in the future.

Year 7-10 students follow a weekly programme, which includes five sessions of DEAR per week during their advisory time. Each session is 30 minutes long and follows a structure to ensure maximum learning time and consistency. All five sessions are dedicated to reading a novel/play using our 8 literacy techniques, with regular opportunities for reflection, discussion and real world application. 

At the academy, we prioritise age-appropriate literature that engages pupils while fostering critical thinking and empathy. Our carefully curated book selections explore mature themes with sensitivity, allowing pupils to navigate complex issues in a safe and supportive environment, guided and led by their advisor. We believe that these discussions are essential for personal growth and understanding to enrich the learning experience and cross curricular development.