Reading
Learning: For a better future
“Once you learn to read, you will be free forever”
Intent
At Roskear Primary and Nursery School, reading is a top priority. Our Reading Leader works closely with EY, KS1 and KS2 to ensure coverage and progression.
It is our intention to ensure that by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education. We therefore intend to encourage all pupils to read widely across both fiction, non-fiction and poetry to:
- Develop knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live;
- To establish and appreciation and a love of reading;
- To gain knowledge across the curriculum;
- To develop their comprehension skills.
We are committed to providing vocabulary rich reading material across the curriculum.
Implementation
All children in Reception, KS1 and, where necessary, KS2 have daily phonics sessions in small groups where they participate in speaking, listening, spelling and reading activities that are matched to their current needs.
The teacher draws upon observations and continuous assessment to ensure children are stretched and challenged and to identify children who may need additional support. Timely intervention is planned for those children who are working below expected levels as soon as their needs are identified.
We recognise that systematic, high quality phonics teaching is essential, but additional skills and opportunities are needed for children to achieve the goal of being a well-rounded reader, namely comprehension.
When children have completed the Read, Write, Inc phonics programme, reading is developed during taught reading, using high quality texts and focused skill teaching. Children read and enjoy high quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts, which (where possible) are linked to their topics across the curriculum.
All children read aloud daily during phonics or taught reading; in addition to this they read at least once or more a week with teachers, teaching assistants and reading volunteers; the focus being on the lowest 20%. Furthermore, Pupil Premium children have Reading Champions who listen to them read as often as possible; these are staff and prefects (currently on hold due to covid restrictions).
In whole class taught reading sessions, children develop their key reading skills of decoding, retrieval, summarising, inference, prediction, meaning and use of language. Children also continue to develop their reading fluency skills, building upon their phonics knowledge of skills.
Reading at home every day is encouraged and the children working on the Read Write Inc. programme take home a book matched directly to their current phonics level; they also take home an additional book to share with their family, which develops their wider vocabulary.
Following this, children work through our school reading scheme – these are levelled books which match the child’s current reading ability, through Accelerated Reading.
Class readers
Where possible, ‘class readers;’ are linked to the topic. Where this is not possible they will read a classic novel, to ensure that pupils are experiencing a broad range of genres and developing their cultural capital.
Pupils should read archaic texts, non-linear sequences stories, symbolic texts, resistant texts and those with narrative complexity. Therefore, teachers review and agree the class texts in discussion with the Reading Leader.
Impact
Our aim is for children to become fluent and confident word readers by the end of KS1, through the teaching of systematic phonics and Read, Write Inc assessments.
As a Year 6 reader, transitioning into secondary school, we aspire that children are fluent, confident and able readers, who can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment, as well as using their reading skills to unlock learning and all areas of the curriculum. Therefore, throughout KS2
Pupils’ progress is teacher assessed daily throughout taught reading sessions and recorded termly on Target Tracker . Pupils are assessed against the specific reading domains and the reading progression document, which breaks down the age related expectation and skills. Within the taught daily reading session, teachers and adults provide immediate feedback, either written or verbally, as appropriate, to ensure no child is left behind. In addition to this, pupils develop metacognitive skills and deepen their learning, using the success criteria to self -asses and peer -asses their learning.
Pupils’ attainment and reading ages are monitored using half- termly Star Reader test which informs teachers and the Reading leader of any gaps or areas for concern along with celebrating the achievements of our pupils.