“You can find magic wherever you look.  Sit back and relax all you need is a book!” – Dr. Seuss

Intent for Reading Curriculum

At Sawley Infant & Nursery School, we aim to develop our children’s confidence, fluency, understanding and engagement in reading. We ensure all children have the opportunity to read widely and often, encouraging a love of books and nurturing life-long readers who can easily access information and read for pleasure. 

Reading is one of life’s most essential skills and a child's reading experience is much more than the reading books which come home from school. Reading is happening all the time in our classrooms and across school. It is taught in English lessons, but children are practising and using their 'reading' constantly across all subjects too.

Implementation of Reading Curriculum

Reading is taught across school through our English planning. Curriculum objectives are taught explicitly through modelling and application. Reading objectives are covered throughout units of work, which are either skill-based sessions or linked to topics and key themes. High quality texts are used to plan and deliver English lessons and children are taught effectively through Shared, Guided, Paired and Independent reading.

Staff create a positive reading culture in our school. Reading is promoted, enjoyed and considered ‘a pleasure’ for all pupils. Our curriculum is designed to ensure pupil’s read across a range of subjects, lessons, activities and experiences and this is consistently embedded into daily routines.

Reading Scheme Books

Our Reading Scheme begins in Nursery and progresses throughout Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. The children have a reading record which stays with them throughout school. Children are given two books which can be changed throughout the week. As well as this, children can choose a book from our School Library.

Star Reading Books are our Collins BigCat Letters and Sounds books. These Fiction and Non-Fiction books are carefully banded to match closely to the child’s phonetic ability. These books develop their confidence to decode accurately, build their independent reading skills as well as develop their comprehension and love of reading. Phonemes/graphemes covered within weekly phonics teaching appear within the books. The children are encouraged to apply their phonics knowledge to blend phonemes as a route to decode words accurately.

Shooting Star Reading Books are a range of Fiction and Non-Fiction books by different publishers but are banded to the child’s reading ability. Children can apply their reading skills as well as be able to choose texts and develop a love of reading.

Children are given keyrings to practise sounds at home. These will contain graphemes covered in phonics as well as common exception words (words that cannot be decoded phonetically). These are used as flashcards to consolidate phonics learning at home. Staff check these on a regular basis and provide new sets when required.

Library

The children have access to our well-stocked Library and this is timetabled for each class on a weekly basis. The children have library cards so that books can be scanned and loaned. Our online library System, Micro-librarian, creates a database so children can search for specific books. Children can also swap and change books using our class libraries/reading trollies.

Word Reading and phonics

We teach phonics through the Twinkl Phonics Scheme. This is a systematic, synthetic approach to teaching phonics. This covers all the statutory requirements for synthetic phonics-based reading and writing. Phonics sessions are structured in the same way each day, utilising a daily teaching PowerPoint and a wide range of engaging activities, to build strong, consistent and familiar routines. Each session is based around a decodable shared text.

Reading Keyrings

The children on the earlier book band stages will have keyrings in their reading folders to practise at home. These have sounds they have been learning in Phonics and Common Exception Words which are learnt through sight rather than phonetically blending sounds together. The children need to be able to rapidly recall these to support them with their reading fluency.

Reading Time and Story Sessions

Reading Times are timetabled across school where children develop clear routines and reading behaviours. Activities take place to target ability groups as well as provide opportunity for children to enjoy reading in groups, pairs or individually.

Reading is promoted by teachers reading out loud to their classes and a regular basis. Story time sessions take place on a regular basis. Teachers are able to model their love of reading as well as develop their children’s comprehension. Books are selected by the class teacher and are carefully matched to children’s interests and topics.

Enhancing and enriching Reading:

Reading at home (including communication)

Sawley Home/School Partnership

Children read in school with a member of school staff every week. Staff read with the child 1:1 to support their ability to blend as a route to decoding as well as develop other reading behaviours and comprehension strategies. Parents are encouraged to read with their child at home on a regular basis. Home/School communication takes place through Class Dojo where achievements and targets are communicated on a regular basis.

Parents are supported with reading at home through our parent workshops. Information is shared with parents about our reading curriculum and how to teach reading at home.

Lexia app

In KS1 all children have access to our Online Reading Platform, Lexia. Lexia is tailored specifically to the child’s reading development. Differentiated Literacy instruction ensures each child is working on activities closely matched to their reading ability. It is able to target skills as well as recognise gaps as they emerge. Children are encouraged to develop their reading ability using Lexia on a weekly basis, both in school and at home. 

Pompom Reading challenge

Children who read at home receive a pom-pom and are entered into a book prize draw each term 😊 Staff and parents share posts on Class Dojo to recognise and reward engagement and achievements in reading at home.

Cross-curricular links and Reading Events:

Reading is embedded and applied across our curriculum. Topic-based lessons have the opportunity to practise decoding and comprehension skills as well as give the children the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding through research and enquiry. The teaching and learning of language skills and vocabulary are at the heart of our curriculum, providing opportunities to explore subject language and use books to research or gather knowledge and extend understanding across the curriculum. We regularly promote our love of reading by holding reading events in school. We celebrate books through reading competitions, dress-up days, author visits, parent reading sessions and themed reading weeks.

Impact of Reading provision

We aim for pupils of all abilities to make expected or accelerated progress in Reading to ensure they acquire the knowledge and skills needed to become fluent, independent readers. Displays and Working Walls are used as a teaching aid as well as to share children’s work and achievements.

Attainment and Progress in Reading

Attainment and progress in reading is tracked and monitored throughout the year. Reading is assessed termly and attainment is tracked and shared with the English Subject Leader and/or SLT. Attainment and progress is analysed for groups of children to identify trends and gaps. Future planning and provision is adapted to respond to this rigorous monitoring. Termly pupil progress meetings allow for discussion and reading moderation.

Reading Assessment

Individual reading records track the children’s reading progress throughout the school. At the end of each book band, teachers will use their judgements of when children need to move on. A miscue analysis will be used to check a child’s accuracy, fluency and comprehension before moving a child onto the next book band.

PIRA tests

Termly assessment tests are given to pupils to check for fluency and comprehension. Children are given a standardised score which is compared to teacher assessment and standardised scores across the school and Willows Academy Trust

Phonics Screening

Staff will use on-going assessment from daily phonics lessons to identify those pupils who need additional intervention to secure good progress. These interventions should be timely to ensure children ‘keep up’ with the pace of phonics learning/progression. Adults working with the identified children should be made aware of the grapheme/ learning that the child/children are struggling with. Staff share this information, which is submitted to the Phonics Leader.

Statutory Assessment Tests (SATS)

In Year 2, attainment is measured using national standardised SATs scores. Attainment is shared with the local authority and national data for schools is published by the Department for Education (DfE)

Inclusion

Provision for pupils, and required interventions, are carefully planned to meet the needs of individuals and groups. These are monitored carefully by year group teams to ensure pupils are on track to reach end goals and make expected progress or better.    

Monitoring

The English Leader will ensure the teaching of Reading is monitored throughout school. A robust monitoring timetable ensures reading is monitored on a regular basis through Lesson observations, book scrutiny, reading conferences, moderation and learning walks. Pupil/parent voice helps to inform future planning.