Reading

IMPLEMENTATION - APPROACHES TO READING

Phonics

We place a focus on the early acquisition of phonics in Reception and Year One to enable children to use this strategy to access print.  We have adopted a structured approach to the teaching of phonics (Read Write Inc) with an emphasis on review, learn and apply and have devoted phonics teaching sessions daily with trained staff.  This enables phonics to be taught to small groups and ensures progress is carefully monitored and adjustments to teaching are made to meet the needs of each group.  Groups are rearranged according to need and half termly meetings monitor the progress of all children towards the expected benchmarks in Year One. 

Early Readers

Phonics teaching begins in the Reception class with the use of the Read Write Inc Phonics programme which is continued into Year One.  The reading books at this stage are Read Write Inc Book Bag Books and are closely linked to the pupils phonic knowledge taught in their Read Write Inc groups. 

Whole Class Reading

We use the Ready Steady Read Together scheme for whole class reading from Year 2 through to Year 6. The scheme provides high quality extracts from a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry books. It also teaches the children key comprehension and breakdown stratgies to help children understand what they are reading.

High Quality Texts

Inspirational high quality texts are used throughout the curriculum to develop our children’s vocabulary, comprehension, experience and knowledge.  The texts that we use are identified in our Read to Write units and form our Reading Spine. Other texts are used as part of our daily Drop Everything And Read time.

Reading Enjoyment

We strive to generate a sense of fun, excitement and pleasure in reading to encourage our children to become lifelong readers.  Each class has a dedicated, stimulating reading area with books updated regularly. 

Many exciting and rewarding activities are arranged in school to promote the pleasure and knowledge that can be gained from books. Annual Book Weeks include visits by published authors, shared reading with older and younger pupils, making books, using drama, dance and music to illustrate texts.

Children learn poems to perform and present to the school during assemblies and to enjoy in class linked to the topics they are learning.

Year One and Year Five participate in BASH in conjunction with the Schools Library Service to review new fiction and to meet the authors.  Each summer we promote and celebrate the Summer Reading Challenge to encourage reading over the summer holidays.

Reading at Home

Children in the Nursery are encouraged to borrow books whilst Reception and KS1 children take home a book banded book from a reading scheme.  In addition to this children have the opportunity to choose a book from the class and school library.  Each child has a reading folder and a home school reading record that teachers and parents can use to share information about a child’s reading.  Parents are encouraged to read with their child daily. Information is given on how to support their child in reading at reading workshops in Nursery, Reception and Year One with advice leaflets and homework. 

In Key Stage 2 children choose books to take home and read from the class and school library once they have completed the book bands. We believe that this not only helps to develop inferential skills, but also supports a lifelong love of reading. Throughout the Key Stage children become more independent in recording what they have read in their reading journals.

We recognise the value of adults (both in school and at home) reading aloud to children, in order to improve their grasp of story language, enthuse them with a love of books and inspire them as writers.

Reading Ambassadors

At Rivington Primary School we have children who are our Reading Ambassadors and they work with Mrs McKenny, Miss Heeley and Miss Hogg in developing reading for pleasure across the school. Together we have created a Reading Ambassador Challenge Tree which comprises of 8 books that we recommend other children should read. We also organise events during World Book Day and generally spread lots of enthusiasm about reading.