Reading

Subject Leader: Mrs Crosland- Nash

Reading Intention

From the moment that children join Barnfields Primary School, early reading is prioritised. High expectations drive our reading curriculum to ensure that all children develop into confident, capable readers.

At Barnfields Primary School, reading is at the heart of all that we do; it is our aim to nurture a lifelong love of reading though a curriculum where children learn to read with confidence, fluency and understanding. Each day, children are exposed to the wonders of high-quality texts which inspire a sense of awe and wonder, develop their imagination and allow them to grow culturally, socially and emotionally.

Developing a culture of reading at Barnfields Primary School is fundamental to the progression of the children not only in reading but across all other subjects. Reading is recognised as the key to extending vocabulary, improving communication and building knowledge so that children can delve deeper into the curriculum.

Our Reading Approach at Barnfields

Reading is at the heart of all that we do and this begins as soon as the children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). We recognise that the early years of a child’s life are crucial and the experiences that we offer the children in Reception and KS1 are fundamental in laying the foundations for future reading success. It is a skill which underpins a child’s ability to access the wider curriculum and allows them to broaden their vocabulary and develop vivid imaginations. To ensure that pupils at Barnfields Primary School are given the best opportunity to succeed, we ensure that they are given daily reading teaching that build skills in fluency and comprehension.

Taking inspiration from Doug Lemov’s ‘Reading Reconsidered’, we have carefully and thoughtfully selected texts from Year 1 - Year 6 that expose the children to the five different key text types. These include: Archaic, Non-Linear Sequence, Narratively Complex, Symbolic and Resistant. This experience will support the children in navigating reading with confidence.

Example of the Yr1 text overview taken from our Yr1 Curriculum Outline

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pupils read regularly in all areas of the curriculum and in every part of the school day through:

Reading Practice Sessions (EYFS and Yr1): Children in Reception and Year 1 read fully decodable books with an adult up to three times per week during our ‘Reading Practice’ sessions. These books are matched to the children's secure phonic knowledge using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. These are then sent home for children to build their reading fluency and showcase their developing skills and phonetic knowledge to their parents/carers. Each reading practice session has a clear focus, so that the demands of the session do not overload the children's working memory. These sessions have been designed to focus on the three key reading skills: decoding, prosody (teaching children to read with understanding and expression) and comprehension (teaching children to understand the text). From Year 2, a rapid catch-up programme is taught to those children who have not yet secured their phonic knowledge to achieve the expected level of fluency by the end of our phonics programme.
Whole Class Reading Instruction: From Yr2 onwards, children are taught reading skills through discrete lessons, which take place four times a week. Whole class reading instruction is used to teach the reading skills from the National Curriculum. Word-reading and comprehension are taught using a variety of texts as well as developing a love of reading. Over the year children will get to encounter a wide range of genres – fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
Reading Across the Curriculum - Pupils read a range of books linked to other areas of their learning. There is very much a focus on reading across the curriculum, with children engaging in wider research, both online and through fiction and non-fiction texts.
Home Reading: When children successfully complete the phonics programme, colour-banded (purple through to lime) Big Cat Collins books are assigned to them.
Once children are confident and capable readers of lime books, they complete a Star Reader Quiz on Accelerated Reader, which allocates them a book band that matches their reading-age. All children have reading diaries which are checked weekly to monitor the texts, frequency of reading and to communicate between school and home about reading.
Library Time - Children visit the school library every week (fortnightly for KS2) and can borrow a book to take home.
Special Events - We love to celebrate books and reading. Each year we celebrate World Book Day by dressing up and undertaking a variety of fun, book-based activities.

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Reading for Pleasure

Reading for pleasure is promoted and encouraged throughout our school. From EYFS to Year 6, texts are shared and chosen carefully to inspire and motivate children to want to read. We recognise the value of teachers reading aloud, modelling appropriate use of story language and reading with expression to children, in order to improve their understanding of different story structures, to enthuse them with a love of books, inspire them as writers but most importantly, to make reading fun.

Some of the ways in which we develop reading for pleasure include:

Ensuring that the classroom has a book corner with challenging, age-appropriate texts.
Caring for books through the use of the school library and pupil librarians.
Finding daily opportunities for children to read independently.
Ensuring that daily reading aloud of aspirational and engaging texts happens at the end of everyday
Themed reading activities throughout the year e.g. World Book Day
Recommended Reads - a selection of texts, fiction and non-fiction, full of age-appropriate texts that have been recommended by their teacher or peers to read.
Celebrating achievement in Reading through Accelerated Reader.