Reading Intent
At Woolston Church of England Primary School, we are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become life- long readers. We believe reading is key for academic success. As the children enter our school, we intend for them to have a consistent and holistic approach to Reading and Phonics. We want every child to have the skills to decode words in order to be able to read fluently, with understanding of what they have read. We encourage children to read across a range of non-fiction and fiction genres, so our children develop a sense of the world around them, and immerse themselves in books, whereby they can let their imaginations flourish. We aim to provide children with a literacy-rich environment, high quality texts and inspiring learning opportunities, which will help them to be able to read with expression, clarity and confidence, develop a good linguistic knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and develop a deeper level of emotional intelligence and empathy. It is our intention to ensure that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.
Reading in EYFS
Our Early Years Foundation Stage follow Development Matters in English. Please see below for the EYFS Development Matters document related to Reading.
Reading in KS1
In KS1, there is a designated reading slot each day, where children read as a small group with the teacher or teaching assistant. The children are taught reading strategies such as blending words, self- correcting and using the context of the sentence to identify what a word is. They also practise their phonic and word building skills, as well as comprehension strategies to ensure they are reading for meaning.
Reading in KS2
In KS2, there is a designated reading slot each day. A class novel is used to teach a range of reading strategies, through a whole class approach, using VIPERS. This is the consistent approach to reading adopted in KS2.
The children enjoy the class novel approach, which is used to facilitate subsequent writing sessions. The children have opportunities to read aloud, listen to their teachers’ model reading and read independently.
VIPERS is an anagram to aid the recall of the 6 reading domains as part of the UK’s reading curriculum. They are the key areas which we feel children need to know and understand in order to improve their comprehension of texts.
VIPERS stands for:
The 6 domains focus on the comprehension aspect of reading and not the mechanics: decoding, fluency, prosody etc. As such, VIPERS is not a reading scheme but rather a method of ensuring that teachers ask, and students are familiar with, a range of questions. They allow the teacher to track the type of questions asked and the children’s responses to these which allows for targeted questioning afterwards.
Reading - Age Related Expectations
Please see below for the Reading Age Related Expectations for each Year group
Reading Books & Reading Diaries
Reading Books
Foundation Stage
In Foundation Stage the children take home two books per week, one of which is either phonic or non-phonic based and the other, a library book to share with a parent or carer at home. Children are encouraged to read daily.
KS1 Reading
Early readers continue to read a phonic or non-phonic based book until they become more fluent. When confident, children take a fiction or non-fiction book home to read. They also take a library book to share with a parent or carer at home. Books are self- selected by the children from the appropriate book band. Children are encouraged to read daily.
KS2 Reading
Children select books form their book band. Children in Year 3 continue to have access to books from Active Learn. Confident readers are also encouraged to read a book of their choice for pleasure. Children are encouraged to read daily and at least three times per week with a parent or carer.
In Year 4, less confident readers read books from their book band as well as having opportunities to read a book of their choice for pleasure. Fluent readers choose books from our school library or from home, which are checked for suitability and level of challenge. Children are encouraged to read daily and at least three times per week with a parent or carer.
In Years 5 and 6, children can take a book from the school library or from home. They are encouraged to read both independently and to a parent or carer. Books are checked for suitability and level of challenge. Children are encouraged to read daily and at least three times per week with a parent or carer.
Reading Diaries
Reading Diaries are used daily throughout EYFS - Year 6. Older children are expected to record their reading in their diaries independently. We ask that all parents listen to their child read regularly and record a comment about their progress and understanding in their child’s reading diary. Reading diaries are monitored by teaching staff on a weekly basis.
Reading Opportunities
Reaching Readers
At Woolston CE, we are lucky to have several volunteers from our school community that offer their time to help and support children who may be reluctant to read or who may find reading a challenge. They offer regular support to the children during the week. The children build wonderful relationships with their reader, developing confidence and thus building a positive attitude towards reading.
Reading Buddies
At Woolston CE, we encourage our older children to ‘buddy up’ with children in younger year groups. The older children rise to the challenge and enjoy the time they spend reading with their buddies during lunch time.
Secret Readers
In foundation Stage, the children thoroughly enjoy being read to by a ‘Secret Reader’.
Our ‘Secret Readers’ are volunteers such as parents, grandparents, PCSO’s, people from our school community, even Santa!
Top 20 Reading Lists
As a staff we have put together a list of our Top 20 books for each year group. The lists feature a selection of ‘classics’ and’ popular authors’.
School Library
“The simplest way to make sure we raise literate children…is to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity, and that means finding books that they enjoy, giving them access to those books, and letting them read them.” Neil Gaiman 2017
Our school Library is a welcoming shared resource and has a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction books for children to read and enjoy both at school and at home.
Our school library aims to promote equality, diversity and inclusion. Its role is to help create confident, enthusiastic readers and engage children in life-long learning.
We aim to provide good quality texts that inspire our young readers by offering current, popular authors alongside the classics.
Read and Relax (R&R time)
Our School timetable incorporates R&R time, a session set aside for children to relax and enjoy being read to by their teacher.
Virtual Library
The Oak National Academy has paired up with the Literacy Trust to offer free books and exclusive videos - please click HERE
Please click on the videos below to see some of our children reading their class Top 20 books