Our Reading curriculum is underpinned by the National Curriculum for Reading within the English Curriculum. We have placed reading at the heart of the curriculum and the teaching of phonics and early reading takes priority in Key Stage 1. We aim to ensure that all children can read fluently by the end of Key Stage 1 at the latest. Through exposure and exploration of a wide range of texts and sharing in others’ enjoyment of texts, children are taught to understand and evaluate through questioning, clarifying, summarizing, and predicting. Our pupils develop a passion for reading, and recognise how reading is critically important in whatever they choose to do in later life. Pupils will recognise the creativity and skill of authors of all genres, and through their inside-out understanding of great texts will be supported in developing as authors themselves. From the earliest stages, pupils learn that the marks on a page or screen have meaning, and that by decoding that meaning they are able to experience a world beyond their own.
Reading is a core component of our curriculum, and is taught daily. Teachers use our progression documents to underpin their planning as well as a range of reading resources. Teachers also plan for children to access unfamiliar and challenging texts, and through their teaching enable pupils to develop their ability to explain their comprehension of that text. The skills taught in their reading and phonics lessons will then be applied across the cirrulcum in other books and texts. All children will read and be read to every day.
There is intentional time to promote a love of reading, and teachers involve pupils as active partners in choosing books that inspire, excite and motivate their reading from the widest possible range of genres.
Early Reading
Early reading is developed through our RWI phonics curriculum and through accessing phonically decodable books, supported by routine opportunities to read aloud to an adult. Early reading is assessed half termly as a minimum, within the RWI phonics programme, and through regular formative assessment when pupils are reading aloud to adults.
Year 2 and KS2
When phonically proficient, we use Star Reader to ensure pupils access books that are matched to their developing ability to decode and interpret texts.
We follow the graduated approach so that the level of planned and intentional support is reduced progressively when assessment confirms that pupils are developing the appropriate levels of fluency, comprehension and motivation. Teachers monitor pupils’ choices of text, and use this information to recommend texts that will inspire as well as texts that will broaden the range of genres encountered.
By Key Stage 2, the teaching focuses on developing comprehension, and teachers plan from the Reading Progression document. Lessons occur daily. There is an expectation that teachers enable pupils to use and rehearse their increasing range of reading skills when accessing texts across the curriculum.
Through studying our Writing Curriculum, underpinned by the National Curriculum for Writing within the English Curriculum, our pupils can communicate confidently and articulately through their writing. They develop passion and enthusiasm for creating and producing high quality text that informs, inspires and enthuses their intended audience. They recognise the different skills and techniques that underpin writing across genres, making use of the grammatical and language techniques particular to each. They recognise how grammar underpins our language, and are able to use grammar creatively to achieve their intended effect. By being confident writers, pupils are able to express themselves clearly.
Writing is a core part of our curriculum, and is taught intentionally every day throughout the school. It is intrinsically linked to our high quality inside out texts, which enables children to read as a writer and write as a reader. Handwriting is taught explicitly, and reinforced daily, until the fluency standard is achieved. Teachers plan using our progression documents to ensure appropriately paced development of grammatical knowledge, and development in an appropriate breadth of genres. Writing lessons focus on accuracy of spelling and grammar, alongside the development of the use of language necessary to write within the specific genre being taught. Knowledge and understanding learnt through the writing curriculum are rehearsed and reinforced when writing across the curriculum ensuring clear, precise communication of learning.