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Reading
It is our intent at Valley Invicta Primary School at Aylesford to provide pupils with a high-quality education in English that will teach pupils to speak, read and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others effectively.
With regards to Reading, phonics will be emphasised in the early teaching of reading to beginners when they start school.
We intend to encourage all pupils to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, to gain knowledge across the curriculum and develop their comprehension skills. It is our intention to ensure that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.
The intent of our Reading curriculum is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child so that they know more, remember more and understand more.
Intent
To build an English curriculum which develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowledge and skills so that all pupils know more, remember more and understand more.
To design a curriculum with appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding in Speech and Language, Reading and Writing as set out in the National Curriculum so that children can know more, remember more and understand more to help them reach and exceed their potential at Valley Invicta Primary School at Aylesford and beyond.
To build a curriculum which develops a love of reading to help pupils know more, remember more and understand more.
To design a curriculum which has reading at its core across all curriculum areas. Through choosing quality texts, we intend to develop a love of reading and allow children to recognise the pleasure they can get from their reading, as well as an understanding that reading allows them to discover new knowledge, revisit prior knowledge and understand more about what they learn, fuelling their imagination for ideas to use in their own work.
To provide opportunities across all curricular areas for the development and application of Speaking, Listening and Writing skills to help all pupils know more, remember more and understand more.
To design a wider curriculum that provides regular opportunities for pupils to use and apply the writing and spoken language skills they have acquired from the English Curriculum.
Implementation
National Curriculum Programmes of Study and Scheme of Work
· English is planned for, following the EYFS Framework and KS1 and KS2 school curriculum.
· English is planned for following the scheme of work (as suggested by The Power of Reading but supplemented by high-quality selected texts which also form units of work).
· Whilst the National Curriculum forms the foundation of our curriculum, we make sure that children learn additional skills, knowledge and understanding and enhance our curriculum as and when necessary.
Phonics
· The systematic teaching of phonics has a high priority throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. Phonics is taught daily to all children in Foundation Stage, Year 1 and those in Year 2 who have not passed phonics screening in Year 1.
· Staff systematically teach learners the relationship between sounds and the written spelling patterns, or graphemes, which represent them. Phonics is delivered in a whole class format because it enables staff to ensure application across subjects embedding the process in a rich literacy environment for early readers.
· Intervention is planned for those children who are working below expected levels.
· Read Write Inc. is used as the spine for delivery of the phonics sessions. Read Write Inc. is visual, audial and kinaesthetic thus increasing the likelihood of rapid progress.
· Pupils will be given reading books which closely match the phase of phonics that they are currently working within.
Reading
· Reading forms the core of our curriculum. All children read and are read to so that they develop a love of Reading. Books are selected by teachers with the knowledge of how they link to other areas of the curriculum.
· Reading Scheme – school uses different reading schemes to provide a wide variety of appropriate quality texts for children to read covering all genres. The schemes incorporated into our reading provision include: Read Write Inc. and The Power of Reading. All books are Book Banded in order to ensure progression and challenge for all children.
· Classic Texts – all children will have classic texts read to them in all year groups. This may include traditional fairy tales / rhymes in FS and KS1 to established classic novels in KS2.
· All children from year 1 complete the Phonics screening to ensure they read appropriately challenging books. This is regularly is checked termly and Reading books bands are changed accordingly.
· Individual Reading – all children in Foundation Stage read individually to a trained adult each weekly. Throughout school a minority of children will read 1 to 1 with an adult as a form of intervention.
· Home Reading – all children are expected to read at home and take home ‘home’ reading books. All children in UFS and Year 1 take home 2 reading books, a familiar read and a new read both of which are phonetically plausible. Children in Year 2 who did not pass Phonics Screening in Year 1 take home 2 reading books, a familiar read and a new read. Children in KS2 who did not pass Phonics Screening in Year 2 take home 2 reading books, a familiar read and a new read.
· Reading lessons – all children from Upper Foundation Stage take part in Reading lessons. Reading Sessions, which run x5 sessions per week, are planned by all teachers to teach a range of skills and techniques which enable children to comprehend the meaning of what they read and develop their understanding of the vocabulary used by authors.
· Reading Areas All classrooms have class reading areas with subject specific books and other age-appropriate reading for pleasure books. All classrooms have access to themed mental well-being books outside the classroom.
· Library - All children visit the school library each week and choose a book to read at home for pleasure.
Language
· The promotion of a language rich curriculum is essential to the successful acquisition across the curriculum.
· The development of speech and language is identified as one of the most important parts of our school’s early years curriculum.
· The promotion and use of an accurate and rich cross-curricular vocabulary throughout school is planned in all subjects. This is evident in all learning areas and is a key part of knowledge organisers.
· The promotion and implementation of tiered language across the curriculum provides the tools for children to make links across the subjects so that they know more, remember more and understand more.
· Pupils are given a wide range of opportunities to use and develop their Speaking and Listening skills to help them with the writing process across all areas of the curriculum. Appropriate Talk for Writing strategies are also used across school, where they will aid and benefit the writing process.
Impact
Children will make at least good progress in Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening from their last point of statutory assessment of from their starting point in Nursery.
Children will use their English knowledge and skills, in all curriculum areas, to enable them to know more, remember more and understand more.
Children will have a love of reading and make at least good progress in reading from their last point of statutory assessment of from their starting point in Nursery.
Children will use their Reading skills as a key tool in helping them to learn, and as a result, know more, remember more and understand more.
Children will be able to produce written work in all areas of the curriculum of a similar standard which evidence good progress from their last point of statutory assessment point or their starting point in Nursery
Please click on the links below to see our recommended reading lists for all year groups.
Recommended reading list - EYFS
Recommended reading list - Years 1 and 2
Recommended reading list - Years 3 and 4
Recommended reading list - Years 5 and 6
Other documents and information:
Developing Reading Skills Through Questioning
Reading Workshop for parents (October 2021):
Read Write Inc - a guide for parents