The teaching of reading at Our Lady & St Werburgh's complies entirely with the findings of current research and is compatible with DfE guidance on reading instruction. In consultation with our children, we have produced a reading pathway which focusses on three key criteria for successful, life-long reading:
*Reading for pleasure
*Reading for development
*Reading for information
Our children take home two books and understand the difference in purpose for reading these books. All children have a book-banded book that they are able to read with 90% or above accuracy- this book helps to develop their developmental reading, so will be matched to their phonic ability or reading age. Class libraries and our school library are stocked with 'reading for development' books alongside carefully selected class books to supplement topics and themes being taught in class.
Our well-stocked library also enables our children to read any book that peaks their interest. We encourage children to borrow a book of their choice from our library for parents to read with them if they feel unable to read it themselves, so as not to put a cap on their reading. This is their 'reading for pleasure' book. We keep a list of these borrowed books to keep tabs on what children are choosing to read, and make recommendations and suggestions to broaden their reading knowledge where appropriate.
Class teachers read to and with children frequently, across the whole curriculum, to develop children's love of story telling and reading skills such as fact retrieval, inference and deduction, vocabulary acquisition etc. High-quality texts support children's knowledge and understanding of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
Termly summative tests support teacher judgements in assessing reading, but do not take the place of formative, ongoing assessments that teachers make on a daily basis.
Whole Class Reading
Children in Years 1- 6 take part in daily 20 minute whole class reading sessions.
Children in Key Stage One use the Pearson, Bug Club, KS1 Guided Reading texts as the basis for their reading session, with a key text as the focus for each week. In year 1, sessions are focused upon continuing to develop the children's reading fluency, ensuring that they can decode words accurately. One of the weekly sessions also focuses on comprehension, ensuring pupils are beginning to read with understanding. Pupils in Year 2 continue to practice reading fluency daily within their whole class reading session, whilst also being explicitly taught key reading skills across the week's sessions to develop their comprehension and understanding of vocabulary.
Children in Key Stage Two are exposed to high quality texts using Pearson, Phonic Bug KS2 Guided Reading resources. KS2 Bug Club Comprehension provides 30 weeks of teaching for each year group (Y3-6), with ten weeks of teaching per term. Each week of teaching is anchored by a key text. Texts are varied in genre and style, and some are studied for one week while others are studied over a period of up to five weeks. Whole Class Reading takes place outside of the standard English lesson and the progression of activities across the five days helps to develop children’s comprehension strategies and deepen their comprehension of the week’s key text. Pupils in KS2 are also given opportunities to practice reading fluency daily through their Whole Class Reading lessons.
Progression in Reading
Teachers plan reading opportunities carefully to ensure that the strands of the National Curriculum are met and that learning is progressive and builds upon prior knowledge and skills. Our progression grid for Reading ensures the correct content and skills are covered at the appropriate stages within the curriculum: