Reading
Intent
End Point
At Harbour Primary, we enable our children to develop and discover a lifelong love for books and reading. We are determined for every child to learn to read regardless of their background, needs or ability. We will respond to any gaps identified in children’s learning.
All children are expected to:
- read fluently with good understanding
- read with confidence and enjoyment
- develop the habit of reading widely and often – for both pleasure and information
- develop a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of convention for spoken language and reading
- appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage.
Implementation
At Harbour we take a consistent approach across all year groups by following a quality first phonics programme; Sounds Write. This programme starts with what all children know from a very young age – speech sounds. Then using a very systematic approach, it teaches the children how these sounds are coded within our writing. This concept enables children to become better readers, spellers and writers. Regular training and development days ensure that staff are equipped to teach with the expertise and skills required to promote excellent progress, as well as a love of reading.
Entitlement
- Every child in YR-Y3 have daily, systematic phonic lessons.
- Some children in Y4-Y6 will receive continued phonic intervention sessions.
- Every child has a daily reading lesson, including teaching of new skills, practising fluency and comprehension skills.
- Some children receive additional support, for example pre-teaching, daily 1:1 reading support with an adult, or other intervention identified to support the child.
- Well-trained teachers and support staff ensure that all vulnerable children are supported at the appropriate time.
- All children are entitled to focused teaching time from their teacher.
To develop confident, keen readers, our children read every day, across all subjects taught at our school.
EYFS and KS1
The very beginnings of Sounds Write will be introduced to school ready children during terms 5 and 6 in our Nursery department. It will be taught daily from YR to Y2, and used when appropriate in KS2. It will also be used as an intervention and catch up programme during KS2.
Sounds Write is supported by a comprehensive scheme of decodable reading books, which build on the set teaching sequence, and these books are used both for reading in the classroom during lessons, and as home readers. Children in Year R and Year 1, will take home a decodable reading book, as well as a ‘Read with Me’ book to share with an adult – honing the love of reading and sharing stories. Where children do not read at home, 1:1 reading sessions are in place to ensure all children have access to regular reading and sharing of stories.
We use the EYFS East Sussex County Council Understanding the World Book Project in Nursery, Reception and Y1 to enrich and support our curriculum.
KS1
In KS1, Sounds Write supports our children with the further development of blending, segmenting and phonemic manipulation – the key decoding skills. Also, in KS1, children take home a decodable reading book after each session, along with a ‘Read with me’ book.
Children who have not met the required standard for phonics in Year 1 and 2, have daily phonics sessions either individually or in small group sessions. These interventions continue into Key Stage 2 as necessary.
KS2
In KS2, when children have completed the phonics phases of Sounds Write, children develop deeper reading skills, both through a structured lesson approach, focusing on fluency and comprehension, and through own wider reading. Teachers and support staff regularly recap the necessary phonic knowledge, closely monitoring those in need of catch-up sessions, applying Sounds Write strategies well-known by children.
In KS2 lessons, high quality texts and passages, at a higher than instructional level, are chosen for reading instruction. Daily reading lessons focus on developing fluency and comprehension. Teachers use this to model the application of reading skills. Children are taught to identify words/phrases they do not understand and Tier 1 vocabulary is taught and reviewed discreetly to support children’s vocabulary development.
In KS2, year group libraries offer a wide range of quality reading materials which are levelled and book banded, to ensure children are reading independently – at their instructional level. In the classroom, teachers select books to read aloud or study, based on The Harbour Reading Spine, suggestions from children or personal choice.
Across all phases, we ensure our children listen to, read and discuss high-quality books that reflect the diversity of our world and their own lives. Rich reading opportunities are provided across the subjects of the curriculum, exposing children to a wide range of quality texts in a range of genres.
Home School Reading Partnership
At Harbour Primary, we believe that regular reading at home is imperative for developing reading. In YR-KS1, children daily take home decodable books for practice; with children and parents/carers practising reading the book several times to embed the learning deeply and develop fluency. Children also take home an additional book that can be read together with an adult for enjoyment, to ensure that children experience a breadth of reading opportunities across different genres.
In KS2, most children take home book banded books that are appropriate for their reading age. Teachers monitor progress and determine when best for children to move onto the next bookband by listening to readers and using RM benchmarking when appropriate.
Story-time and Reading for Pleasure
We provide daily opportunities where pupils can listen to stories/texts or read independently in a quiet and reflective environment. We have a reading spine of stories, poems and other texts that not only link to lessons, but provide opportunities to discuss feelings, situations, different cultures, current issues or are read just for enjoyment.
Our library is a valuable resource, where all children can read, share texts or during break time listen to stories read by members of staff.
Teachers select class readers for pleasure, to excite and to expose children to the wider world and to new and varied vocabulary. The reading spine is continually updated to ensure that teachers and pupils in different year groups can also use personal choice about texts.
We build in times when children can read and enjoy books during the school day. In EYFS, the children have access to a range of books and enjoy the daily story times. KS1, children have book sharing mornings, and in KS2, all children have DEAR time daily.
Impact
Our Reading curriculum allows children the opportunity to enter the wide and varied worlds that reading opens up for them. Teaching the children to think critically and analytically, to understand and learn about different cultures, broaden their imagination, develop problem solving skills and expose them to new perspectives and ideas.
Through our systematic phonics teaching, we aim to ensure that children become confident, fluent readers by the end of Key Stage 1. Decoding is taught as the prime approach, which gives children the confidence to work out unfamiliar words in new texts. As children move through the school, they have opportunities to develop fluency and comprehension; accessing chosen texts independently.
Our children will leave Harbour Primary as fluent, confident and able readers who can access texts for pleasure and learning, giving them the best opportunities for success in future lines of study and employment.
Attainment in reading at the end of KS2 is 73%, after SATS and moderation in June 2022.
Please click the link below to see which books each of our Year Groups will be reading this year
