Reading for Reading 

Vision

Excellence achieved through care, creativity and challenge.

Intent

We value reading as a key life skill and want to enable our pupils to become lifelong readers. The systematic teaching of phonics has a high priority throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.  We acknowledge that pupils need to be taught the key skills in segmenting and blending to be equipped with the knowledge to be able to read fluently and develop a love of reading as they progress through the school.

Implementation

Central to the teaching of reading is a secure knowledge of phonics. As a result, phonics is taught through a systematic, consistent approach, beginning from Nursery through KS1 or until pupils are secure in their phonological knowledge.

For the teaching of phonics, we have developed our own systematic synthetic phonics programme called ‘Reading for Reading’ which is based on the Early Reading Research project (ERR).  This programme is implemented rigorously throughout Early Years and Key Stage 1 whilst pupils are learning to decode. The aim of our approach is to equip pupils with the most frequently occurring letter sounds, combinations and words in children’s literature, thus increasing their ability to access real books and the wider curriculum.  A Reading for Reading programme handbook is available to everyone that teaches early reading along with staff training and coaching for individuals.

Throughout the school, dedicated phonics sessions are taught at least twice a day (this may increase to ensure pupils can read as soon as they are ready). Each session lasts 20 minutes. The sessions are delivered within a whole class setting, with adapted and interleaved learning, presenting new learning alongside old learning, thus reinforcing prior knowledge. Central to our systematic approach is the ‘My Turn, Together, Your Turn’, which provides pupils with a model and scaffold for their learning.

Impact

Through the teaching of systematic synthetic phonics, our aim is for pupils to become fluent readers as soon as they are ready. This way, pupils can focus on developing their fluency and comprehension as they move through the school. Attainment in reading comprehension is assessed using NTS tests in Year 1 and 2.    Attainment in phonics is measured by the statutory Phonics Screening Check at the end of Year 1.   Pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 undergo regular phonics assessments during 1:1 daily reading time and half-termly phonics check practises.  These on-going assessments ensure that phonics teaching is adapted to accommodate all learners and gaps in learning and misconceptions are addressed quickly.

Enhancements

Daily reading for pleasure sessions are timetabled in for Nursery through to Year 2. Extra-curricular clubs run which continue to develop pupils’ reading for pleasure and offer access to high-quality texts that pupils may not have access to outside of school.  Catch Up Club is offered to any child who does not read at home daily.

Reception and Year 1 parents/carers are invited to attend Reading for reading sessions in order to see how early reading is taught in school.  During these sessions parents/carers are shown the vocabulary that is used and can see how they can support with reading at home.

Click here to view Nursery Reading for Reading resources

Click here to view Reception Reading for Reading resources

Click here to view Year 1 Reading for Reading resources

Click here to view Year 2 Reading for Reading resources

Additional pages within the Home-School Partnership Book provide support for parents and carers, so that you can practise these sounds and the 100 high frequency words with your children.

A greater emphasis is placed on developing children’s comprehension skills as they become more confident in their phonological knowledge. In Key Stage 2, children receive one session of Reading for Reading daily, and one independent reading session. In the place of letter combinations the children spend 3 minutes learning and rehearsing prefixes and suffixes and age appropriate common exception words. They then spend 3 minutes learning new vocabulary words with actions and finally spend 10 minutes develop their comprehension skills through Reading for Meaning.

Letter sounds and combinations

These are the letter combinations which children will be learning in school. You can help your child learn these by reading them at home and finding them in the words of the books that they bring home.

Key Words

These are words that cannot be sounded out or words that come up often in books. The first 16 words are below. You can help your child learn these by reading them at home and finding them in the books that they bring home.

Once children are confident reading these words children are introduced to the ‘next 24’ words.

The last key words we teach the children are the ‘last 60 words’.

Useful websites/resources:

• Making sounds in to words (Oxford Owl)
• How to blend sounds (YouTube video)
• Pronouncing pure sounds (YouTube video) 
• Combination articulation (YouTube video)