Reading at Pucklechurch

Intent

Reading is a vital skill that will support children’s learning across the whole curriculum. As a school, we will ensure that our children are taught to read with fluency, accuracy and understanding through a variety of discreet and cross-curricular learning opportunities. Above all, we want children in our school to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers who love and enjoy reading.

The development of reading cannot be seen in isolation from writing, speaking and listening and role-play. The best readers are the best writers - we read as writers and write as readers! Strategies for writing, speaking and listening and role-play therefore form an integral part of this reading policy.

In our school, we will strive to give pupils a stimulating environment, where children explore reading in a variety of ways and help them to progress. Furthermore, within English lessons we create an environment that stimulates the generation of ideas from texts where all ideas are accepted and valued.

Implementation​

• • Instil children with a love of reading that lasts for their lifetime, share with them an enthusiasm for children’s literature and help children to recognise the value of reading as a life skill.
  • Encourage children to become enthusiastic and reflective readers by introducing them to good quality books, from a variety of cultures and in a range of different styles and formats.
  • Develop our children’s understanding of a variety of text types including non-fiction, fiction, poetry and drama.
  • Develop children’s confidence, fluency, and independence when reading for different purposes.
  • Develop children’s abilities to reflect on and have an interest in what they have read and the language and punctuation choices made by the author.
  • Use drama and role-play, where appropriate, to immerse children in the text.
  • Ensure our children have sound phonic awareness and use phonics as a first approach to reading.

Impact

As we believe that reading is key to all learning, the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the result of statutory assessments. Children have the opportunity to enter the wide and varied magical worlds that reading opens up to them. As they develop their own interest in books, a deep love of literature across a range of genres cultures and styles is enhanced.

Through the teaching of phonics and reading skills, our aim is for children to become fluent and confident readers who can apply their knowledge and experience to a range of texts through the Key Stage 2 curriculum.

As a Year 6 reader, transitioning into secondary school, we aspire that children are fluent, confident and able readers, who can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment, as well as use their reading skills to unlock learning and all areas of the curriculum. We firmly believe that reading is the key to all learning and strive for the children to have a passion and love for reading!

Phonics

We use the Little Wandle Phonics Scheme.

Phonics is taught daily in Reception and KS1 through a range of whole class phonics sessions and small group sessions following the different phase sounds. 

For more information on how to support your child with their phonics please use the following website 

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/

 Big Cat phonics reading books

The children's phonics levels match their phonics books so they can continue to practise their phonics at home. Alongside their banded books the children can also take home a 'Reading for pleasure' book which has been zoned accordingly. We believe that children should be exposed to range of books where they can practise their phonics as well as enjoy a book that they would just like to read.

Key Texts

In every year groups we have a text that drives each unit and allows the children to get fully immersed within their theme for that term. We believe children should be expsed a range of texts to instil a love of reading.

Please find our texts overview here

Diversity in Reading

Our texts for Reading and Writing help children to connect with and develop their understanding of different cultures, different characters in the story or texts they have read. We have carefully chosen our texts to show protected characteristics such as, Malala Yousafzai in KS1, Me, My Dad and the end of the Rainbow in LKS2 and The Boy at the Back of the Class in UKS2.

The texts help us to build our sense of community within the school and outside, develop their empathy and build cultural capital. By providing children with a range of accurate representations of the many cultural groups that make up the world around them, children can learn to identify stereotypes and biases.

Recommended reads

We believe all children have a passion for reading, here is a list of recommended reading books for each Key Stage that we encourage the children to read before the end of their Key Stage.

EYFS-KS1 (Years R-2)

​LKS2 (Years 3-4)

UKS2 (Years 5 and 6)

National Literacy Trust Recommended Reads