English Hub

The Mangotsfield Primary English Hub was established in 2018. We are proud to be one of only 36 designated schools nationwide recognised for excellence in teaching and learning in early reading and to be able to share this across the region. Part of this role involves supporting schools across Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire to achieve excellence in early literacy with a focus on developing early language, phonics and promoting a love of reading.

All of the support offered by our English Hub links to our three priority areas:

Early language development: providing evidence-based approaches to early language development and closing the word gap in school-based early years settings, including appropriate use of formative assessment;
Age-appropriate phonics provision: encouraging best practice in systematic synthetic phonics teaching from school-based early years provision to the end of Key Stage 1, and as the primary reading strategy throughout the school. This includes encouraging fidelity to a single systematic synthetic phonics programme; supporting the effective use of decodable books in the early stages of learning to read, as a way of establishing phonic decoding; supporting effective practice in formative assessment in relation to phonics/early reading.
Promoting a love of reading: encouraging reading for enjoyment including by supporting whole school reading approaches, reading to children at least once a day and encouraging reading at home, developing teachers’ knowledge of appropriate children’s literature.

Over the last five years, we have run showcase events and hundreds of schools have attended. Through these showcases we have identified partner schools to work intensively, providing coaching, training and funding for decodable reading books. These showcases, along with training events we’ve held, allow us to share the excellent teaching and learning that we have here at Mangotsfield and we’re proud of the positive feedback that we have received from other schools invited into our classrooms.

We also ran a conference, Word Fest, along with a neighbouring English Hub which focused on oracy, developing vocabulary and encouraging a love of reading culture. We have 8 appointed Literacy Specialists and a team of Phonics Specialists, who between them have led over 100 development days, visiting other schools to identify strengths and support with development points.

Planned Engagement

We are looking forwards to continuing to work with schools across the region this year. The support the English Hub will be offering includes:

Working with partner schools to support the development of excellence in the teaching of early reading.
Providing showcase events for up to 170 participants from up to 85 schools.
Assessing and offering feedback on action plans, including assessing requests for resources.
Providing a full development day using the audit framework provided by the DfE for up to 30 schools who are most in need of support. These schools will also be eligible for two follow up days support.
Running a range of conferences and workshops for schools who have attended a showcase event.
Offering financial support to schools who meet key criteria to buy resources. There will be a presumption that these resources are match funded by schools (with a cap of £3,000 per school). However, if schools meet two of the following criteria the hub will have discretion to offer outright funding at a cap of £6,000 per school:
- o Phonics Screening Check score below the national average;
- o Ofsted judgement of Requires Improvement or Inadequate;
- o Above average numbers of pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium (above 22%);
- o A high proportion of groups considered hard to reach such as EAL, FSM, travellers
- o Schools referred by local partners (e.g. NLEs, RSC, Local Authorities)
- o The school is in an Opportunity Area

To find out more about our work or to access some support, please email us on english.hub@mangoschool.org call 01454 867400 or follow us on twitter @primary_hub