Reading

Our school wants every child to ‘Be The Best You Can Be.’ This aspiration for each of our children means that we aim for them to enter the world of work as articulate and literate individuals with a love of reading.

We recognise our responsibility to send children on to secondary school having mastered the most basic elements of English: speaking, reading and writing. We want them to use talk well in discussion and to manipulate formal language to gain the higher GCSE grades. We want their writing to demonstrate grammatical and technical understanding and for reading skills to show a secure understanding of texts.

Reading takes place both inclusive and exclusive of the literacy session.

Inclusive of the Literacy Session

The children in EYFS and across Key Stage 1, follow the Ruth Miskin Read Write Inc Scheme. The children are grouped by reading ability and the adults follow a three day or five day plan, depending on the level the children are working at. The literacy lessons consist of a phonics session, a reading session and also a writing session. Some of our Key Stage 2 children are also taught Read Write Inc if we feel they still need support with their phonics.

In Key Stage 2, all of our children are taught using a ‘Writer’s Toolkit’. This is genre based and involves a reading phase, a writing phase and an editing phase. The reading phase involves deconstructing texts and identifying the features of the success criteria. The writing phase consists of the children following a set structure and using the success criteria to meet the needs of the genre. We take our reading, writing and speaking and listening objectives from the new National Curriculum (2014).

Shared Reading:

At Cambridge Road we use shared reading as an opportunity to share texts with children that they would not normally access or be able to interpret on their own. The reading skills taught in the shared reading session are usually appropriate to the age of the children rather than their reading ability. However, we ensure that children of all reading abilities will be able to engage with the text. These sessions give our teachers the opportunities to model how to read and the techniques that are needed. We take part in shared reading activities during our deconstruction phrase of our Writers’ toolkit. Whole class texts are also used to encourage the children to read for pleasure. For the majority of the time, these books are linked to the children’s work in literacy or they are linked to other areas of the curriculum. VIPERs are used to make sure all standards of the National Curriculum are met.

Comprehension:

Comprehension skills are taught during the literacy lesson through speaking and listening activities and also through other reading tasks. Texts are read and assessment focused questions are answered. Children who demonstrate poor comprehension skills are given additional support. Once again VIPERS are used in all our comprehension sessions.

Speaking & Listening:

Speaking and listening is a tool and skill used in the majority of our literacy lessons and in addition to this, whole lessons are planned for throughout each unit of work. The EYFS and Key Stage 1 children take part in ‘Book Talk’ activities. They also use role play areas to develop their speech and language. Photographs are taken of these opportunities for evidence.

Exclusive of the Literacy Session

Guided Reading:

At Cambridge Road, guided reading is timetabled into our curriculum. In Key Stage 1, guided reading is planned for during Read Write Inc lessons and additional sessions are planned for during the afternoon. In lower Key Stage 2, children take part in a carousel of activities and every group reads in a guided group at least once a week. In upper Key Stage 2, the teacher uses their own discretion to plan guided or independent reading activities depending on the cohort of children but also depending on the reading needs of the children. The children are grouped depending on their ability and texts are matched to their academic level. Assessment focused questions are asked and the children’s responses are assessed against the guided reading assessment grids. Written comprehensions are also used during guided reading sessions to teach the children how to word their answers and how to interpret written questions.

Reciprocal Reading:

Reciprocal reading sessions are used to encourage the children to create their own discussion. The programme progresses through four stages: predict, clarify, question and summarise. This cycle can be used during any reading session.

Phonics:

Phonics sessions are taught during the Read Write Inc lessons but additional sessions are planned for during afternoon sessions. The phonics session is taught at a fast pace to keep the children engaged and involves learning new sounds but more importantly reviewing previous sounds that have been taught. Our Phonics Screening results have gone from ­­­­20% in 2013 to 75% in 2018. In this same time period the average score per child has risen from 26 to 32.

Our Library:

In October 2019, we renovated our library. This involved sorting and clearing the old library, designing a new library and then replenishing it with so many new books. These books include books from around the world settings, recommended reading books for each year group and handpicked books to encourage the most reluctant readers.

Making Reading Fun:

At Cambridge Road we have a number of competitions and awards for reading. They are:

• Reader of the Month- chosen by the teacher for impressive readers.
• Author Visits- famous authors are invited in to share their work with the children.
• The celebration of World Book Day.
• Bring Your Mum/ Dad to School- parents took part in reading based activities alongside their children.
• Class reading assemblies
• ‘Kids Who Read Succeed’ competition for the class with the best reading record each week. The most successful class is presented with a reading trophy in Celebration Assembly each Friday.

Libraries:

Each class visits the local library at least once every term. Nearly all the children in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 have library cards and books are chosen and returned by the children. Specific tasks are set by each teacher so the children have a focus when they visit the library.

There are lots of opportunities for parents to talk to their child’s teacher about their progress in reading. Discussion can take place during parent’s evening, parent drop-ins and during the Year 2 and Year 6 SATs meetings. We also have an open door policy which enables parents to discuss their child’s progress at any convenient time.

During the global pandemic, the closure of schools meant that some children struggled to practise their reading skills. It also meant that the children didn’t have access to the enriched texts which are readily available in schools and libraries. Because of this, we enrolled all the Key Stage 1 children onto a Reading Wise Programme which helped them to practise their phonics. We also enrolled all the Key Stage 2 children onto a Programme called Reading Plus. This programme gave the children access to thousands of books, helped the teachers to monitor what the children were reading and also assessed their vocabulary, reading speed and comprehension skills. From April 20^th to the end of July 2020, the Key Stage 2 children managed to read 5,193,920 words on Reading Plus!

https://youtu.be/rFzPshuo43o Click on the link to view our reading video. This video has been made to help support you with reading at home with your child.