English - Reading

Intent

Our curriculum intent is encompassed in our School values, ‘Learn, Included, Respect, Enjoy, treated fairly’. We intend that all of our children are exposed to a rich reading diet from the very start of their education with us. We know that future success is linked directly to a broad vocabulary, a love of reading and the ability to communicate effectively. Our reading curriculum aims to fuel children’s desire to learn and gives them the tools they need to transform their lives.

We intend that all children, regardless of their starting points in reading, are enabled to achieve their very best which in turn builds confidence and raises aspirations. All adults at our school promote a love of reading, a passion for literature and deliver the affirmations: I choose to read. I read well. I am a reader.

Rich texts are the driving force for our English curriculum. Through reading, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially, spiritually and develop a sense of ‘this is me’. We believe access to a rich and varied library of literature plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society, as a child and in adult life leading to aspirational beliefs that everyone wants to contribute to the world and be in charge of fulfilling their own destiny.

Our reading curriculum strives to foster a lifelong love of reading by developing the behaviours that they need to be discerning readers. This curriculum is delivered through synthetic phonics (Ruth Miskin Read, Write Inc programme), a linked approach to shared and whole class reading lessons, home reading, reading across the curriculum, regular opportunities for independent reading and hearing quality texts read aloud every day.

It is our intent that every child should:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas (book talk)
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening

At each key stage, a programme of study maps out the rich texts and reading skills that children should be taught.

Implementation

In EYFS and KS1, children will have daily phonics sessions that follow the Read, Write Inc programme. Children are regularly assessed to ensure they are receiving targeted, challenging phonics instruction.

In addition, Children in EYFS will have daily lessons following the Literacy Counts Steps to Read sequenced planning. These lessons are set around a range of quality literature and each half term will typically consist of between twenty to twenty-five lessons.  In Year 1 and 2, children have daily Storytime following a curriculum plan that ensures exposure to a diverse range of high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts. Children are also encouraged to make their own reading choices by voting for their daily text.

In Ks2, Children will have daily whole class reading lessons. These lessons are set around a range of quality literature and each half term will typically consist of 2 weeks fiction reading, 2 weeks non-fiction reading and 1-2 weeks poetry.

Features of the lessons include:

• Explicit vocabulary teaching
• Decodable words
• Common exception words
• Choral reading
• Echo reading
• Listening to extracts read fluently by an expert
• Text extracts from quality literature
• Strong curriculum links

High quality texts and passages are chosen, appropriate to the expectations of the year group or ability of children, the year group’s wider curriculum and teachers use this to model the application of the agreed reading skills. Teachers expertly model ‘thinking as a reader’ and how to develop specific reading skills. The weekly and daily timetable followed by all staff ensures coverage and equal weighting is given to all domains of the reading National Curriculum. Children have the opportunity to re-read the texts studied during our reading sessions.

Further to modelled sessions, children have the opportunity to read texts with greater independence and apply their skills when responding to the wide range of domain questions. More complex questions are evaluated between wider groups and teachers model how to refine answers to a high standard. Children are provided with high quality talk stems/sentence stems to encourage them to extend their ideas and express their responses articulately.

KS2 Children who have not met the required standard for phonics in Year 1 or 2 have daily phonics sessions either individually or in small group sessions. This continues into Key Stage 2 as necessary. These Children are encouraged to take home an appropriately pitched phonics reading book. Where children do not read at home, staff facilitate extra reading sessions in the school day.