Reading

Intent

At Brunel Field, we believe reading is the key to learning. We prioritise the teaching of reading, because being able to read is essential for children to accessthe school curriculum, participate fully in our literate society and appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage. A reading culture isfostered in all classes, and we give our children access to a variety of genres, to read and listen to; to develop their vocabulary and comprehension, and a love of reading. Children are taught to build their phonic knowledge over the first 2 years at school and they practice this by reading books which are matched to the phonic phase that they are learning.

Implementation

Oracy provides the foundation for children's growth in reading and writing. It increases vocabulary and develops semantic understanding. From Reception, children are encouraged to express their ideas clearly and listen to others. They also learn to listen attentively to a wide range of stories, non-fiction and poetry, with which they become familiar and respond to with comprehension. Reading consists of two dimensions: word reading and comprehension. Word reading skills are mostly taught from Reception to Year 3, predominantly through phonics and morphology. Comprehension is taught throughout the school, but it is developed through more complex texts in Years 3 to 6. The school’s approach to teaching early reading and synthetic phonics is systematic. We follow the ‘Unlocking Letters and Sounds’ teaching programme for phonics, which begins by developing phonemic awareness, and then sets a clear progression of systematic and synthetic phonics teaching from Reception to Year 2. Children are taught to apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode unknown words. On-going assessment ensures that any pupil who falls behind can be given targeted support immediately, so that children can catch up quickly. Initially, children are given phonetically decodable books with which they can practice their increasing phonics knowledge and fluency. Once children have been taught the main grapheme-phoneme correspondences and can read fluently, they are given reading books that are colour banded to ensure a progression of phonics skills, structure and content. Our books come from a variety of reading schemes including Bug Club, Collins Big Cat, Nelson PM, Engage Literacy, Reading Champion, Dandelion Readers, Start Reading, Oxford Reading Tree and Rigby Stars. Children are taught to read with accuracy, fluency and comprehension at each level, and their pace and stamina should increase with age. At Brunel Field Primary School, we are determined that every pupil will learn to read with fluency and comprehension appropriate to their age, so that they become confident and enthusiastic readers. Encouraging fluent reading is particularly important for children in the lowest 20% and is in part taught by re-reading familiar texts. Children’s progress is assessed at regular intervals, and those who have not reached the expected level will receive extra support from trained volunteers, teaching assistants, their class teacher, or the reading specialist. Children read widely across the curriculum, throughout the school day, but reading is explicitly taught in whole class lessons, shared reading, guided reading and one to one sessions. Comprehension skills are developed through discussion with the teacher (or adult) whilst reading a range of stories, poems and non-fiction texts. Opportunities to enhance pupils’ vocabulary and grammar arise naturally during these sessions, as well as developing their understanding of the author’s intent and nuances of the text. The texts chosen for guided reading are slightly more challenging than those that the child can read independently. Children are encouraged to see the reciprocity between reading and writing, and how each skill can help with the other. Meetings are held to inform parents and carers about how reading is taught, and how they can help. Parental support, at home and in school, is strongly valued and encouraged. Pupils are expected to read and re-read books at home. These texts should be at a level that the child can read fluently and independently, thus increasing their confidence, comprehension, and stamina. Children will be directed towards a mix of fiction and non-fiction texts, to develop their love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. Books are readily available in the classrooms and the school library, and children are given time to read independently in class every day. Reading is also encouraged through displays and communal areas. We have book weeks, author visits, reading challenges, enticing book displays and recommendations from teachers and peers to encourage a love of reading and a whole school reading culture.