Reading

INTENT

Here at St John Henry Newman, we believe that fluency in the English language and being literacy-confident is the key to further success in life for all pupils, enabling them to access the next stage of their education and beyond. Our curriculum has been designed to ensure that pupils have opportunities to develop a love of reading. Our aim is to ensure that pupils gain a thirst for reading a range of genres and participating in discussions about the books; exploring the language used by different authors and the impact the written words have on the reader. Our curriculum has also been designed to ensure that pupils not only read for pleasure but to use books to research and gather new knowledge to extend their understanding.

IMPLEMENTATION

Reading is an important part of our curriculum and is an integral part of all of our lessons. At STJHN, we teach reading through:

• Discreet comprehension lessons: We teach lessons which focus on developing pupils’ level of understanding of the text, through discussion, written and oral tasks; and the exploration of new vocabulary. Pupils will be taught to retrieve, infer, predict, summarise, analyse and evaluate a whole class text.

• Whole Class Reading Lessons: We encourage our pupils to read for pleasure and to read widely. In these lessons, pupils explore a range of texts, developing their reading skills and their ability to understand the author’s intent, connections and links to their own experiences. Discussion and critiquing are key aspects of these lessons.

• Reading across the curriculum: We maximise opportunities for pupils to read by incorporating reading elements into all areas of the curriculum.

• Independent Reading: STJHN promotes independent reading on a daily basis for every child. Reluctant readers, or those pupils who struggle with reading are heard reading 1:1 several times a week to ensure that they make expected progress. Each classroom has a carefully-selected range of age appropriate fiction and poetry books mostly taken from the recommendations made in Pie Corbett’s Reading Spine. Every classroom reading corner also features diverse representation, including characters from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, as well as characters with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).Throughout the year, additional books are added into class reading corners. These books are delivered with enthusiasm by class teachers to both engage and excite the children receiving them and thus continue to develop keen readers.

Our school library is a well-stocked haven of non-fiction books, offering a diverse collection that caters to the curiosity and learning needs of all our students. Children are encouraged to freely access the library, where they can explore various topics and take books home to continue their learning. The library is also a comfortable, inviting space designed for quiet reading, providing a peaceful environment where students can immerse themselves in books and foster a lifelong love for reading.

Children to take books home and Reading Records to be completed and monitored by the teacher – expectation of at least 5 nights reading each week. Parents understand the expectation and can make comments in records. This is tracked electronically and a whole school reward system called ‘Reading Nights’ is in place for those classes who read most consistently or show the most improvement.

"Stop, Drop, and Read" is a whole school reading initiative that takes place every Friday afternoon from 2:25 to 2:45 p.m. During this protected reading time, all students and staff pause their usual activities to focus entirely on reading. The time can be used in various ways: sharing a class story, reading independently, or pairing older and younger students to share a story together, with teachers having the flexibility to arrange these activities as they see fit. This initiative is designed to foster a love of reading across the school, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to enjoy and engage with books.

In EYFS, reading is taught through shared reading, using large print books and picture books. Pupils are taught the process of reading; learning that words and pictures have meaning. Through a range of practical activities children learn familiar stories. Pupils explore skills such as sequencing, prediction and retrieval. Using the Read, Write Inc. phonics programme our pupils are taught the initial sounds (further detail can be found in our ‘Phonics and Early Reading’ tab). Storytime is a daily occurrence in EYFS.

In Key Stage 1, we use Read, Write Inc. for our phonics programme. Phonic awareness helps the development of reading by segmenting and blending sounds (further detail can be found in our ‘Phonics and Early Reading’ tab). The children will be heard reading individually and in groups. Reading is taught through a shared reading approach using books that are rhythmical and have repetitive patterns. Pupils explore vocabulary, prediction, sequencing, making inferences and retrieving information. Pupils are taught reading through a whole class approach. Pupils explore vocabulary, prediction, sequencing, making inferences and retrieving information. All classes will have a ‘class book’ used for the purpose of reading enjoyment within the class (writing may also be linked to this class novel).

In Key Stage 2, we teach reading through a whole class approach focusing on the national curriculum domains. Pupils explore vocabulary, prediction, sequencing, making inferences and retrieving information, ensuring that they are able to make justified responses using evidence from the text. Pupils explore a wide range of fiction, poetry and non-fiction texts in their foundation lessons, which are based around age appropriate texts. All classes will have a ‘class book’ used for the purpose of reading enjoyment within the class (writing may also be linked to this class novel).

IMPACT

Through the teaching of systematic phonics, our aim is for children to become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage One. This way, children can focus on developing their fluency and comprehension as they move through the school, (further detail can be found in our ‘Phonics and Early Reading’ tab). Attainment in reading is measured using the statutory assessments at the end of Key Stage One and Two. These results are measured against the reading attainment of children nationally.

The school measures impact through:

• Half termly Read Write Inc. assessments to ensure pupils are on the correct Book Bag Book.
• Twice-yearly formal assessment periods for Year groups 1-5.
• The use of previous SATs papers for year 6 to measure attainment against national standardised scores.
• Pupil Voice to assess learning.