Reading

Our overall approach is "learning to read, reading to learn".

Our aim is that all children are fluent, confident and independent readers. We want to lead them to a world of discovery through books and to be delighted, informed, challenged, educated and entertained in their reading.

We are proud of our:

exceptional range of carefully chosen, inspiring, new and classic books which reflect the diversity of our community so that children can see themselves represented
engaging, dynamic phonics programme
comprehensive, ambitious programmes of study for all ages
excellent training for staff and parents in our approach to teaching reading

Learning to Read

Our bespoke, systematic synthetic approach to teaching early reading and phonics is:

always given a high priority in the school day
highly structured, building confidence and skills rapidly for independence
matched to the phases of ‘Letters and Sounds’ and includes phonics and 'words to learn'
engaging through use of clear symbols, songs, actions and resources
based on a track record of excellence and delivers excellent outcomes.

We develop motivation and interest through:

skilled, committed and engaging teaching of reading
an excellent quality and range of shared resources
an inspirational range of books for children to read and for teachers to read to them
use of clear, consistent strategies for teaching word reading
a charming, helpful (and sometimes cheeky) phonics bear called Fred.
high-quality training for staff and parents.

Reading to Learn

'The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension’

We teach reading comprehension using the reciprocal reading approach which provides a clear model for the children to structure their thinking about what they are reading. The strategies taught are predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising which allow children to explore different aspects of the books and, when discussing it with each other, they will talk themselves to a better understanding of the text.

We provide:

an excellent, inspiring range of texts in our curriculum
a clear structure based on reciprocal reading
clear teaching steps to help understanding
high-quality training for teachers
an approach which works for all ages
a model for children to 'talk themselves into a better understanding'

Learning to read; reading to learn’

‘Learning to Read’ – Early Reading

Our ultimate aim in the teaching of early reading is for children to leave Year 2 fluent, confident and independent readers being able to apply their knowledge and skills across the curriculum. We place a great deal of importance and emphasis on the teaching of early reading. This is reflected in the amount of time dedicated to the teaching of knowledge and skills; we teach phonics daily in Early Years and Year 1 (see our phonics videos). With these key skills, children are in an excellent position to access the wider curriculum. The love and enjoyment for reading is reinforced in the rich, broad diet of texts to excite and challenge.

Phonics Programme – Nursery to Year 2

We have developed a bespoke, systematic synthetic phonics programme of study based on ‘Letters and Sounds’ which incorporates symbols, songs, actions and resources from a variety of commercial programmes to best meet the needs of and promote engagement with reading for our children.

Throughout our phonics programme we explicitly teach ‘Jolly Phonics’ actions to engage our learners. This we find particularly supports our EAL learners to cue into the sounds. In addition to this, we use Fred the Bear to reinforce the skills and knowledge. Fred is crucial to the teaching of Phonics. He is able to segment using pure sounds but is not able to blend the sounds, therefore encouraging 100% participation from the children and reinforcing the skill of blending.

In Nursery, children learn to identify environmental and percussive sounds with teaching of rhymes and songs to enable them to begin to make the distinction between different sounds in preparation for identifying Phase 2 sounds and phonemes by the end of the year.

In Reception, we explicitly teach the phonemes and corresponding graphemes through the daily teaching of our progressive and engaging phonics program of study. This begins very early into the term with discrete phonics teaching starting after baseline assessments have been completed . We expect children to leave Early Years with the knowledge of Phase 3 sounds.

As children move into Key Stage One the skills and knowledge are reinforced and built upon. Year 1 children are taught alternate graphemes to specific phonemes through explicit phonic lessons which take place everyday. We expect children to have a sound knowledge of Phase 4 and 5 sounds. Children move into Year 2 with a greater shift from learning to read at a basic skill level to reading to learn in the application of their knowledge. We expect children to leave Year 2 as confident, fluent readers with the knowledge of Phase 6 sounds.

Knowing that not all words are phonetically decodable, we teach children various strategies to read and spell Tricky words/Words to Learn. We have identified sets of words that children are expected to read and spell by the end of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in order for them to be successful readers and writers. This is part of our Phonics programme.

Reading for Pleasure

Pupils are encouraged to read widely and often. Our home school reading programme emphasises the crucial role that regular reading at home has in developing confident and fluent readers. We have well stocked school libraries and all classes have a weekly session where they borrow a book to either read in class or take home. We are developing our outdoor reading area to encourage pupils to read outside at playtime.

Home-School Shared Reading Scheme

We aim to encourage reading to be developed both as a fundamental skill and an enjoyable activity through a home-school approach. The scheme is implemented in the Nursery and continues throughout the school. A Reading Record booklet shows the book chosen, has room for comments, and also provides advice and guidelines both for parents and for children themselves as they become independent readers. With guidance, independent readers choose a book from either the class library or school library to take home.

Enrichment Opportunities

Lunchtime book clubs are run for children in Years 2 to Year 6.

To encourage book ownership and to further foster an enjoyment of reading, children are given opportunities to purchase books from the school Book Fair during Book Week. In addition, authors, poets, drama groups and performers are invited in and children are encouraged to take part in whole school activities such as dressing up as a favourite book character. Children are invited to donate a new book to the school library if parents and carers wish to celebrate their birthdays in school.

Our Annual Book Swap

Each year, we hold a Book Swap where children are invited to donate books to school in exchange for tokens that they can swap for a book that's new to them. We have great fun every year!

Useful resources for Parents

Reading Workshop for Parents

Phonics Workshop for Parents

Department of Education Reading assessments for EYFS, KS1 and KS2