FOREST VIEW
PRIMARY
SCHOOL
READING
POLICY
DECEMBER
2014
Aims
All pupils will be given opportunities to acquire skills and strategies needed to read and comprehend a variety ofwritten texts. They will be taught to read with confidence, fluency and understanding and encouraged todevelop a love of reading and books.
Objectives
All pupils will be taught:
- To discriminate between the separate sounds in words.
- To learn the letters and letter combinations most commonly used to spell those sounds and words.
- To learn a range of strategies to decode the meaning of a text.
- To read words by segmenting and blending their separate parts.
- To use a carefully balanced and supported selection of reading materials to enthuse the reader at theappropriate level of attainment.
- To attain the expected level of progress in learning to read in order to become a proficient and ablereader.
Teaching and learning in EYFS and KS1
Phonics
The phonics skills needed to learn to read are established in the Foundation Stage with the introduction ofRead Write Inc programme. The children are introduced to the main 44 sounds of English, not just thealphabet sounds as they progress through the scheme. With this knowledge they are taken through stages ofblending sounds to form words and then to reading. The teaching of reading objectives set out in the EYFSPractice Guidance underpin the curriculum planning for the children aged four to five. In Key Stage 1 RWI iscontinued for those children still in need of this programme through differentiated phonic groups and this isdelivered through daily phonics lessons.
High Frequency Words
These words are taught alongside the 44 main sounds and are separated into phonetically decodable and trickywords. There is an expectation that the children can read all words by the end of Key Stage 1.
Intervention
For those children who have additional needs or who are finding it difficult to learn the sounds, our
Intervention teacher works with them delivering additional and personalised support. RWI resources aresupplemented by Letters and Sounds, Floppy Phonics, Better Reading, Sound Linkage and Nessy.
Reading independently
The focus of time spent with individual children is to aid and develop reading skil ls, such as decoding, blendingand fluency through reading books appropriate to their attaining level. The levelled text used is numbered and colour coded. A selection of books from a variety of reading schemes are used and these include books fromThe Oxford Reading Scheme, Tree Tops, RWI, Rigby Rockets and Ben AND Jerry books. The system consistsof graded levels, ranging from books with no words to books recognised to be at level 3. Children work theirway through the levels at their own individual pace of learning to read and when all the levels have beenconfidently attained, the reader becomes an independent reader and is able to choose a book from the Key
Stage1 library situated in their break out space.
The children read these books regularly to teachers, TAs and other classroom adults, who write a constructivecomment in each child’s reading diary at least once a week. As well as reading to staff, children take theirbooks home to read to parents/carers. Parents/carers are encouraged to hear their child read on a daily basisand inform teachers in their reading diary. These are started in Foundation and are continued throughout KeyStage 1. Teachers and TAs read any notes made by parents/carers concerning the child’s reading at home.
Teaching and learning in Key Stage 2
Phonics and Intervention
Children who have not achieved age expected phonics or reading levels will receive targeted support. This includes daily intervention teaching in addition to daily lessons delivered by teachers and is provided by the Intervention teacher, or HLTA or TA. Various schemes are used: RWI, Fresh Start, Letters and Sounds, Accelerated Readers, Floppy Phonics, Sound Linkage and Toe by Toe.
Reading independently
The main reading scheme in Key Stage 2 is Oxford Reading Scheme. This is supplemented by KS1 schemes,levelled readers and free readers. The levelled text are organised into stages up to level 3 and are located inthe LKS2 break out space. Children work their way through the levels at their own individual pace of learningto read and when all the levels have been confidently attained, the reader becomes an independent reader andis able to choose a book from either the LKS2 library situated in their break out space, or the UKS2 librarysituated in their break out area.
The children read these books regularly to teachers, TAs and other classroom adults, who write a constructivecomment in each child’s reading diary at least once a week. As well as reading to staff, children take theirbooks home to read to parents/carers. Parents/carers are encouraged to hear their child read on a daily basisand inform teachers in their reading diary. Teachers and TAs read any notes made by parents/carersconcerning the child’s reading at home.
Teaching and learning across the school
Guided Reading
This is where children put into practice their growing expertise in a structured group situation. The childrenare grouped according to their attainment and are given differentiated texts. The teacher supports thechildren to improve reading strategies, comprehension and understanding/use of the features of informationtexts. Guided reading books are located in EYFS, KS1, LKS2 and UKS2 break out areas. Books are organised into sets of group reading books, covering all levels, which are selected by the teacher.
Shared Reading
This takes many forms. One way is where the whole class joins together to read and re-read a text. Theteacher can take the lead to model different reading strategies, fluency and expression. Good quality storytimes are opportunities to develop and broaden children’s experience of books. During the sharing of texts, teachers should ask questions to gauge and extend children’s understanding and also highlight different textlayouts and features.
Library
Each Key Stage has a break out area with room for a library which contains a selection of non -fiction andfiction books. Children are also encouraged to visit public libraries, starting in Reception with a visit to BoldonLibrary.
Foundation subjects
Each foundation subject leader has organised topic boxes of books relevant to different areas of the
curriculum. These are stored centrally and used in the class room when a topic is being taught.
Assessment
Teachers assess children’s progress in reading using formal tests and against levelled reading objectives. Theassessments the teachers make help them to make judgements about children’s levels, progress and next stepson their learning journeys. From teacher assessments any child not making the expected level of progress canbe identified and remedial steps can be implemented. Teachers regularly communicate reading progress toparents at consultation sessions and formally in the end of year reports.
Equal Opportunities
All pupils will be given the opportunity to learn to read at their own pace of progress. All pupils will have theopportunity to share their reading progress with supportive adults at home. All pupils will be given access topersonal choice and variety of reading materials.
Basic Skills
The ability to read is an essential pre-requisite to communication in society and at Forest View Primary all pupilswill be given the opportunity and support to make a recognised and confident start in the process of learning toread.
Able, Gifted and Talented
All pupils will learn to read at their own pace. Those identified as learning at an accelerated rate 1 level above that expected in both reading and writing will be identified as more able and challenged through personalised teaching. These children are guided to explore the library areas to broaden their exposure to different texts and authors. They are supported to develop research skills, along with improving their inference and understanding of more demanding texts.
Enjoy and Achieve
We encourage children to:
- Develop a love of reading so as to enjoy the pleasure that this activity can offer.
- Become more aware of how they can develop a taste for self-improvement through reading and English skills.
We use:
- Literature of an excellent standard to inspire children in English lessons.
- Well-chosen stories to illustrate how we can care for ourselves and others, e.g., in PSCHE lessons and in assemblies.
Written by Rachel Glenn