Reading

'The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go.'

- Dr. Suess, 'I can read with my eyes shut!'

We are passionate about the power of reading and the opportunities our children have once they are able to read. The exposure of rich and exciting texts happens throughout the school in reading, writing and the wider curriculum. 

Early Readers:

Our children are exposed to sounds and vocabulary as soon as they start with us in Reception. We use the Read Write Inc (RWI) programme to systematically teach phonics from Reception to year 2 and it is taught daily for 45 minutes but most importantly it is then applied in all subject areas. RWI comes with a range of supporting materials for parents accessible via the website. As well as this, children are captivated into the world of imagination through Talk Through Stories and are read daily. Books are readily available in the learning environment.

Developing Readers:

To develop the ability to understand and comprehend what has been read, the children are continuously exposed to 1:1, group or whole class reading opportunities where teachers and teaching assistants explicitly teach children key strategies to succeed in accessing texts that are progressively challenging their abilities and their levels of critical thinking.

Once children have secured their phonetic approach to reading, the children access whole class teaching of reading. Children develop their understanding of vocabulary and develop an analytical approach to reading by taking part in the rich and meaningful discussions with the class adults and their peers. The developmental reading approach is key to develop the ability of the children to take part in these high quality discussions as they progress across the school. 

Independent Readers:

We use Accelerated Reader to promote independent reading opportunities both in school and at home. The books are closely matched to their reading range in year 3- 6 and this celebrates their achievements as independent readers as they work towards their reading targets. Every classroom has a reading area where they can change their reading books. As well as the development of our comprehensive school library.