Intent
At St. George's, we value reading as a key life skill and are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers. We believe that the teaching of reading is integral to a child’s understanding and appreciation of the world around them. We aim to provide children with experiences that will lead to rich language development so that at the end of their primary education with us, they are empowered with a breadth of vocabulary that they can build on in their future prospects.
Our reading curriculum strives to foster a love for reading and we believe that that all children should experience an abundance of quality, engaging texts across the curriculum.
We want reading to be the golden thread running through a child’s journey at St. George's. When they leave us, we want pupils to possess the reading skills and love of literature which will help them to enjoy and access any aspects of learning they encounter in the future
Implementation
Through the delivery of our reading curriculum we ensure a consistent and robust teaching and learning of early reading and phonics in EYFS and KS1, so that pupils are able to read with increased speed and fluency and access the wider curriculum.
We follow the Read, Write Inc Phonics programme; a systematic, synthetic phonics scheme that is validated by the Department for Education.
The phonics curriculum
During Key Stage 1, children move from the decoding stage to comprehension. As they progress through the key stage, their books move away from being matched to their Phonic level and towards reading for understanding.
In Year 2, children begin taking part in daily Guided Reading sessions once they are ready. We use Reading VIPERS to focus on the skills of Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explain, Retrieve and Sequence. Throughout Key Stage 1, children access colour banded books matched to their reading ability to read independently.
Key Stage 2
In Key stage 2, the majority of pupils will be taking part in daily guided reading session, following the Vipers format. Our text rich curriculum outlines the types and specific texts which will be covered.
Teachers regularly read with the children so the children get to know and love all sorts of stories, poetry and information books. We deliver daily story time and daily poem sessions to all pupils. Some pupils who need support with reading receive daily reading from teachers and or teaching assistants.
All classrooms have attractive book corners where the children have access to quality books, both fiction and non-fiction to help embed their love of books, stories and reading.
How do we enrich the curriculum?
We are very lucky to have two library's which has designated reading areas. One for KS1 and the other for KS2. Children can access the library at an allotted class time and read in the tranquil and child-centred surroundings. Books are organised by key stages therefore easy to access and can be loaned for home or classroom use. We ensure time is allocated to reading for pleasure and give children time to read within the school day; this is very important to us. Book recommendation boards are displayed throughout school to inform pupils are new and popular texts across the age ranges. The children are given the opportunity to loan these books and write reviews on these books in the class scapbook.
At St. George's, we also have a range of opportunities within the academic year to further enhance reading opportunities for our children. Trips to the library, engaging with national reading events including World Book Day, Roald Dahl Day and National Poetry day.
How can you help your child?
EYFS and KS1
To support their reading journey your child will bring different sorts of books home from school. When your child is in the early stages of learning to read you can help by encouraging them to sound out the letters in words and then to ‘blend’ the sounds together to make a whole word. Please refer to the Phonics Curriculum page on the school website for further information.
Sometimes your child might bring home a picture book that they know well, encourage your child to tell you the story out loud; ask them questions about things that happen or what they think about some of the characters in the story. We assess the children’s’ progress regularly and send home books that are matched to their ability.
KS2
The school’s Homework Policy states that all children are expected to read at home every day. This is for a maximum of 10 minutes. Reading regularly at home helps to develop children’s reading skills.
Making the time to talk to your children about the books they choose and listening to them reading aloud regularly can make all the difference. Children need to understand why we read. They need to experience the range of feelings that a book can create or the power that can be gained from accessing information. Reading must not only be confined to stories. Many children love reading comics, magazines, newspapers, information books and poetry. All of these reading activities should be encouraged.
Children in Key Stage 2 will all be at very different stages of development, but even for the most fluent readers there is a need for parental support. Most parents or carers are able to create quality time to share a book individually with one child. This is the time when children can develop a much deeper understanding of the books that they are reading. Rather than reading at home being ‘reading practice’, it should extend and enrich the reading experiences of school.
One of the most powerful ways in which parents can do this is to show real enthusiasm themselves. Your sense of excitement about books and stories, your anticipation about what will happen next in a story and a discussion about your own likes and dislikes, will greatly influence your child.
Reading Incentive
The reading incentive is a scheme to encourage children to read regularly throughout the term. To meet this, children need to:
1. read at least 4 times a week, at home
2. record daily, when and what they read in their Home School Reading Record
3. adults to sign off
Teachers will check the Home School Reading Record. When children change book bands they are rewarded with badges. The school also has Reading Passport scheme where children are encouraged to read for pleasure at home.
Impact
By the time children leave St. George's we wish our children to becompetent readers who can recommend books to their peers, have a thirst for reading a range of genres including poetry, and participate in discussions about books, including evaluating an author’s use of language and the impact this can have on the reader. We want the children to also read books to enhance their knowledge and understanding of all subjects on the curriculum, and communicate their research to a wider audience.
Attainment in reading is measured using statutory assessments such as the end of EYFS, Key Stage 1 and 2 and following the outcomes in the Year 1 Phonics Screening check. Additionally, we track our own reading attainment through the use of RWI half termly and screening assessments, and NFER assessment tests termly. Children also complete PM benchmarking in order to ensure that they are on the correct book band for their ability.
National Curriculum Objectives
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