English - Reading
"We are readers..."
Intent
At Wrington, reading is at the heart of our curriculum and, as well as supporting children to become confident and competent readers, we wish to inspire children with a passion for books and a love of the written word. We treasure our school library, situated physically and symbolically in the centre of our school. As a staff, we are tireless in our ambition to provide children with exciting reading opportunities that inspire a love of reading, in all its forms, and we celebrate reading both in classes and through whole school celebration services, through special roles, certificates, class and whole school awards.
We prioritise reading because we recognise its importance in enabling children to access the wider curriculum, and its critical role in creating opportunities and widening life chances. We recognise reading as a vital life skill, and wish to grow discriminating readers, with all the benefits that this brings to society. We teach children to read accurately, fluently, expressively and reflectively for a wide range of purposes. Above all, we want children to experience the true enjoyment of reading, enabling them to discover the pleasure, comfort, humour, knowledge and depth of understanding that a good book can bring.
Aims and Objectives
- To ensure children are taught the skills needed to become fluent, confident readers;
- To help children to enjoy reading and to recognise its value;
- To immerse our children in a language rich environment enabling them to experience high quality texts, from different cultures and in different forms;
- To develop our children’s comprehension of a range of texts including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama;
- To develop children’s abilities to be reflective readers – considering the features of the text, such as the language, punctuation and grammatical choices made by the author;
- To develop confident, adaptable and independent readers through an appropriate focus on reading for different purposes;
- To encourage children to become enthusiastic readers who talk about, share and celebrate their reading both in school, at home and in the wider community.
Implementation
Reading is taught as a discrete skill in phonics and English lessons, in line with National Curriculum expectations, but it is also woven into many aspects of the school day. Children read independently in classes, have book buddies and share class stories alongside the teaching text. Children read prayers, have library sessions and have access to book corners and a range of topic books linking to wider curricular subjects.
Phonics
Children begin their reading journey in our Reception class, in which we teach phonics following a systematic, synthetic phonics approach. We teach phonics using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme. As children move through the early stages of acquiring phonics, they practise by reading texts which are entirely decodable for them from the Collins Big Cat scheme.
Also see our Phonics and Early Reading Page.
Reading Scheme
Reading scheme books are used to support children’s reading development and are not viewed as a ladder to be climbed or a race to be won! We build a partnership with parents through workshops, information letters and leaflets which help to inform and build a collaborative reading culture both at home and at school.
In KS1 our aim is for all children to have completed Phase 5 by the end of Year 1 and Phase 6 (Book Band White 10 / Book Band Lime 11) by the end of Year 2. Where children are not achieving this level, interventions are put in place, such as prioritised 1:1 reading sessions and additional phonics support (Little Wandle Keep up/ Catch Up).
Children are encouraged to read a book three times before it is changed, and this expectation is shared with parents through written communication, and in parental workshops.
- 1) To decode the text
- 2) To build comprehension skills and understanding
- 3) For reading fluency, prosody and confidence.
Once children have a secure knowledge of letter/sound correspondences and can blend words confidently, they follow our Book Banded reading scheme which has books from various published schemes, (ORT, Rigby Star, Collins) and is designed to give children experience of a variety of reading genres. There are fiction and non-fiction books within each level. Throughout KS2, children are given books in line with their stage of reading, following the coloured book bands. We keep children on the reading scheme (up to stage 18), rather than allowing them to be ‘free readers’ too early, to ensure that children are exposed to a wide range of genre, and that they are supported and guided in their book choices.
Once children can read fluently, widely and with a good understanding, they are called ‘Book Explorers’ and they are then able to self-select books for independent reading from the class libraries, school library or from home.
Curriculum Texts and Progressions
At Wrington Church of England Primary School, we follow requirements of the National Curriculum for reading in each year group (1-6) and follow The Literacy Curriculum from the Literacy Tree as well as our Trust's new writing scheme, supported by the English Hub, which is currently in development.
We use key texts for each year group as the basis to support the children in developing their reading, comprehension and writing skills.
In consultation with the Literacy Lead and the English Hub Lead, texts are carefully mapped out for each year group, and are selected due to the needs and interests of the cohort, ensuring a balance of coverage and progression, the relevance to the wider curriculum and to maximise links with national events or themes (such as Black History Month).
We have also developed our ‘Wrington Reading Book Spine’, which documents additional texts with which children will become familiar during each year group. These books may be used as part of the teaching sequence, during a special event (eg National Poetry Day) or as a shared class novel. We have carefully selected these texts to engage children in their learning, promote discussion, act as a model for teaching a particular literacy skill, or to play a part in building children’s cultural capital. The texts for each year groups are specifically selected to ensure that they are age-appropriate, engaging and inspiring high quality texts. We also use extracts from other texts as appropriate, such as in our Nelson comprehension text books.
Whole School Curriculum Text Map
Reading Progression Year 1 to Year 6
Reading Progression EYFS to Year 1
Reading Practice and Developing Fluency
In EYFS and Year 1 (and in Year 2 when appropriate), this takes the form of a small group session called a ' Reading Practice Session', using sets of decodable Big Cat books and following the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised (SSP) approach.
Children have two reading practice sessions each week. In the first session, the teaching is focused on developing phonetic confidence and decoding skills, whereas in the second session, the focus is on developing comprehension and prosody. Children then take this book home to share with their families and to celebrate their reading progress.
In Year 2 and lower Key Stage 2, once children are secure in their phonics, we introduce small group 'reading practice sessions' which focus on developing their fluency. As a school, we have invested in a collection of Little Wandle 'Fluency' books for use in reading practice sessions, which enable the children to practise their prosody, meet new vocabulary and increase their reading speed and confidence. An example of the planning for a unit of reading practice sessions is shown below:
Little Wandle Fluency Texts (Levels 1-10)
Fluency Level 6 - 'Secrets Unearthed' by Rob Alcraft
Whole Class Reading Session
In Year 2 and KS2, we also use the Nelson comprehension pupil books, to teach and expose children to a wide range of text types and develop comprehension skills. Using strategies suggested by the EEF research, we also use echo and choral reading in our provision. Whole Class reading sessions enable the class teacher to teach and assess specific reading skills (VIPERS) and to show how they are interconnected within texts.
V - Vocabulary
I - Inference
P - Prediction
E - Explanation
R - Retrival
S - Summarising and Sequencing
VIPERS Progression Documents Below
Within the reading sessions, children may explore aspects of phonics, spelling, punctuation and grammar, plot development, vocabulary, characterisation and are able to discuss themes, topics, puzzles and questions. As well as supporting children in their decoding skills, reading sessions enable children to ‘magpie’ ideas, build their skills of inference and deduction, as well as learn about the enjoyment and pleasure that can be obtained through reading. Teachers use these sessions as an on-going opportunity to assess children in their reading, and to plan accordingly.
Independent Reading
We support and encourage children’s independence and stamina in their reading by providing them with opportunities during the school day to read for pleasure. All children are encouraged to have their reading book or their library book in school every day.
Book choices are monitored and guided by the class teachers, with the support from our highly skilled school librarian, and with an awareness of the child’s interests and reading needs.
Home Reading
All children are given a Reading Record, in which they can keep a record of home reading. We ask that parents sign the record to celebrate their child’s reading. This forms part of the children’s homework (see homework policy). Reading records are checked by teachers on a regular basis, which enables teachers to build a picture of each child as a reader, and to monitor a child’s enjoyment, frequency and their reading diet. We award children with certificates for the ‘Number of Reads’ that they achieve (50 bronze, 100 silver, 150 gold, 200 platinum). We also provide parents with a ‘Recommended Reads’ list at the start of each academic year to support them in choosing a variety of high quality texts for their child.
At vaious times of the year, children are goiven opportunity to take part in book challenges and special activites to promote a love of reading e.g. extreme reading, reading bingo, World Book Day challenges.
Book Buddies and Reading Snugglies
Children are paired with a book buddy from a different year group (EYFS with Year 3, Year 1 with Year 4, and Year 5 with Year 2). This is to develop relationships across the school, promote reading across year groups and to build self-esteem and confidence. This also allows our older pupils to support and encourage younger readers and act as positive reading role models.
Year 3 also have some very special reading buddies, which they voted to call their 'Reading Snugglies'. These were knitted by the local 'Wrington Knitters' knitting group. The small knitted animals, sit quietly on the children's desks during reading for pleasure time.
Occasionally, when our school dog, Amber, is on site, children from KS1 may come to read to her.
Special Events
At Wrington, we promote and celebrate reading in many ways which go ‘above and beyond’ reading in the classroom. We enjoy reading competitions and challenges, such as our ‘Extreme Reading’ and ‘Reading Bingo’ to encourage children to continue their reading habits over holiday periods. Reading is further celebrated through themed weeks and special days (eg Book Week, Roald Dahl Day, National Poetry Day, World Book Day), and we also hold other reading-focused events such as welcoming ‘Mystery Readers’, holding ‘Sponsored Reads’, weekly Library sessions, promoting ‘The Summer Reading Challenge’, and through visits from authors and inspirational speakers, such as Miles Chambers, the Bristol Poet Laureate and recently, Emily Lloyd-Gale ('Mighty Maurice' and 'The Moose that saved Christmas' - books around anti-bullying). Annually, we visit the Bath Literacy Festival, taking Year 5 and children with a special literacy interest, or children who we feel would most benefit from the inspirational trip. We have also hosted local book promoters, such as Scholastic and Usborne Books.
Scaffolding and Support (Incl SEND)
We recognise that children learn in different ways and may need different strategies and approaches during their reading journey. These may include:
- Phonics interventions from Little Wandle
- Individual learning plans (ILPs)
- Use of digital resources (Apps eg Hairy Letters, Nessy, Spelling Shed)
- Additional time for class tasks
- Scaffolded tasks (adapted lessons)
- Personalised resources (eg laminated word cards, reading rulers, coloured films)
- More frequent or longer in-school reading sessions
- Peer support
- Personalised texts / guided book choices
For further information, please visit our SEND page.
Impact
Assessment
Teachers use ‘Assessment for Learning’ strategies to make on-going daily assessments of children’s learning. This information may be obtained through observations, questioning, marking of children’s work, pupil feedback and informal tests, and is used to inform teacher planning and pupil’s next steps. Teacher and pupil feedback may be written or oral, and is used to address any misconceptions and move children on in their learning. Pupils are also taught to reflect on their own learning, through the use of success criteria rubrics, and through peer marking techniques (eg two stars and a wish).
Summative Assessments
Children’s reading skills are monitored in a variety of ways to ensure that teachers have a broad and deep understanding of children’s learning needs. We have a variety of assessment tools to available within school to use to assess children’s reading, which provide both quantitative and qualitative data. Formal tests used alongside on-going daily monitoring to build a picture of our children's reading confidence. Teachers have access to a range of assessment resources, which may be used for different purposes.
- NfER Reading papers (twice per year)
- PM Benchmark assessments
- NARA
- Salford Reading assessment
- Reading Record Analysis
- Reading Practice Sessions
- Parental and pupil voice
- We carry out end of term phonics assessments (in line with Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised) to monitor children’s progression in phonics. Teachers use these assessments to implement ‘keep-up’ or ‘catch-up’ interventions and are recorded on our INSIGHT tracker.
- As needed, we carry out a Neal Analysis of Reading Ability (NARA) assessment (years 2 - 6) to provide a reading age and comprehension age for pupils. This helps to ‘build a picture’ of children’s reading, and enables us to track attainment and progress as needed.
- We use NfER Reading assessments in Terms 3 and 6, to provide standardised data about children’s reading skills. This information is analysed, which enables teachers to identify trends, common misconceptions and pupil weakness to aid planning.
- Pupil progress meetings are held, in which cohort data is analysed and discussed in order to identify appropriate approaches, funding decisions and strategies to best support the children in the class.
