Reading Overview

Intent

“Everyone is a reader. Pupils can read fluently and confidently, comprehending what they read from a broad range of texts and genres. Pupils enjoy reading, choosing their own books and reading for pleasure.”

Implementation: overview

Phonics.

At Pennyhill Primary School, we provide structured and explicit phonics by using the DfE approved scheme: Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. This proven synthetic phonics programme ensures early success in reading, writing and spelling. This is carried out daily and immediately from entry in EYFS. The teaching of LW phonics allows children to learn and read fluently and at speed so they can focus on further developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary knowledge and spelling. LW phonics sessions are taught in whole class groups, as recommended, and at Pennyhill we follow the structure and plan of the programme with fidelity. The phonics lead delivers weekly CPD to support staff, using the reading leader organisers and monitoring is carried out informally on a weekly basis and formally every 6 weeks. Daily keep up and intervention is used for those who need additional support to maintain the pace of the group or for those in danger of falling behind. Where needed, phonics sessions are delivered to smaller groups of pupils where we know that teaching and learning can thrive. Additional to this, children also receive LW reading practice sessions which take place three times a week starting from Week 4 in Reception. As children master the phonics code, we put that blossoming knowledge into practice. The 3 reads structure ensures that teachers teach pupils to decode, read with prosody and comprehend. Children’s phonic knowledge is matched to the appropriate decodable book for this session, where they are grouped accordingly.

Phonics transition.

After completion of the phonics programme, children will continue to have phonics revision lessons for a half term alongside reading practice sessions. To make the transition from full phonics sessions into Whole Class Reading sessions, we then move to Whole Class Reading to introduce reading skills alongside a phonics introduction daily plus 3 fluency afternoon reading lessons.

Whole class reading.

When pupils move into full Whole Class Reading sessions, they are explicitly taught the reading skills using the term ‘VIPERS’. We use VIPERS to remember the skills we learn across 4 WCR lessons per week. Skills are taught progressively through each year group, with Autumn 1 revising and revisiting previously taught skills.

KS1 VIPERS = Vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and sequencing.

KS2 VIPERS = Vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and summarising.

Structure of the 4 days – see link above

 

We ensure that teaching is well planned, explicit, has regular rehearsal and deepens learning. Children are exposed to a range of quality texts which are challenging but accessible and cover a range of contexts and themes including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. There are weeks when WCR lessons are based on whole school themes such as Remembrance, Shakespeare, Black History month etc. Revisiting is also carried out for example, when Year 1 do the Great Fire of London in History, this is revisited in Year 2. Knowledge of context aids pupils’ ability to improve their reading skills – particularly vocabulary and inference. Within WCR, each year group build their own vocabulary vault to ‘lock in’ vocabulary. The vault uses the vocabulary, a definition, a sentence using the vocabulary, a picture as a ‘hook’ and synonyms and antonyms. The vocabulary vault is revisited everyday through repetition, use of actions and call and response in order to widen knowledge. It is the knowledge of vocabulary we wish to grow, not the skill as recommended by Doug Lemov.

Impact

As we believe that reading is key to all learning, the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the results 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 systematic phonics and reading enquiry, our aim is for children to become confident and fluent 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 the children are able readers who can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment and that they feel prepared for the next stage of their journey as a result. In addition to this: parents and carers will have a good understanding of how they can support reading at home and contribute regularly to home-school reading records. The % of pupils working at age related expectations and above within each year group will be at least in line with national averages and will match the ambitious targets of individual children. There will be non-significant gaps in the progress of different groups of pupils such as disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged.