Reading Intent: 

Within our broader English curriculum planning, our intent for reading is clear:

• Carefully chosen, imaginative, rich texts are at the heart of our  English curriculum. These promote a love of reading, a buzz within the classroom, deeper thinking, cultural discussions and personal development. Through these texts children are exposed to excellent models of language and their understanding of the world around them deepened through reading
• Children become fluent readers across Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. They develop prosody and a growing understanding of what they have read. This then enables them to access and fully immerse themselves in all that Key Stage 2 has to offer. As our children move through the different stages, we ensure that they develop a vast vocabulary. 
• With few exceptions, all children meet the expected standard in the Year One phonics screening check. Reading fluency is the main driving force in our reading curriculum – so they are ready to gain greater reading comprehension skills as their decoding secures.
• Develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.

 

Our approach ensures that our children meet the national curriculum expectations for Reading:

• 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

 

Reading Implementation

In EYFS, the curriculum is driven by books and fostering a love of reading. All areas have books in them so that they are always readily available. Children are read to as a class many times during the school day and also in small groups and 1:1 when children are in continuous provision and want to listen to a story. Teachers model the use of intonation when reading and children enjoy taking part in discussions about books; answering questions and giving their opinions. Alongside this, children, once they have gained the necessary phonic knowledge, are given a reading book to take home and share with their family. This is linked directly to their phonic knowledge. Children also take home a story book ti enjoy sharing with their family. Story books expose children to more vocabulary and continue to build a love of reading.

Children in Key Stage 1 and 2  are also exposed to four reading sessions per week , following the CUSP curriculum. The CUSP curriculum provides a list of reading books alongside planning, which ensures all National Curriculum objectives are covered. Children are exposed to a wide variety of genres of books. In addition to the four reading sessions, children also have a stand alone comprehension lesson where they are able to put their taught skills into practice. Alongside the reading sessions, children are given the opportunity to read aloud (FASE) and read to teachers/teaching assistants. St Clare’s follows the find it fix it model. If children do not understand a given concept/skill, intervention and support is given in that moment to move the children on. All children take home a reading book. Children in Key Stage 1 completing Little Wandle, take home a book matched to their phonic knowledge. Once children have completed the phonics programme they move to choosing their reading book from the school library. 

 

Assessment 

Children are assessed half-termly using Accelerated Reader. This then informs the reading level at which they are working. Children from Year 1 -6 complete termly NFER tests. This informs teachers of gaps in reading and is used to aid assessment decisions. Children are listened to read through FASE sessions. Texts are carefully selected and children are asked to read different parts of the text (this is prepared previous to the session). This ensures all staff are aware of children’s current reading abilities and next steps. Children who are working more than six months below their actual age are targeted for daily reading interventions. All of this knowledge is then used to inform the whole school assessment three times a year.

Reading LTP: Reading-LTP

EY Checkpoints:EYFS Checkpoints