Intent

Being able to read with fluency, skill and understanding is a crucial skill for education and for life, both in terms of enjoyment and for learning. At Clyst St Mary Primary School and The Three Rivers Federation, we are committed to ensuring that all of our children are taught to read well through a purposeful, systematic and engaging curriculum, in discreet reading lessons and through learning opportunities across the curriculum. Above all, we want children in our school to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers who love to read.

A reader from Clyst St Mary Primary school will:

• Be able to read with confidence, skill and understanding.
• Read for pleasure and have a lifelong love of reading.
• Discuss the things they enjoy in the books they read and recommend books and authors to their peers.
• Know about a wide range of authors and genres.
• Be able to apply the things they have learnt in phonics to help them read and decode unfamiliar words.
• Enjoy reading and understanding the meaning of new words.
• Be exposed to high quality books, from a variety of cultures and in a range of different styles and formats.
• Apply their reading skills in both their writing and their understanding of the wider curriculum.
• By the end of year 6 all children will be reading at age related expectations or above.
• By the end of year 2 all children will have completed the RWI phonics program and will be at age related or above expectations according to the national curriculum.

Implementation

Our approach to reading at Clyst St Mary Primary School is to develop fluency, comprehension and a love of reading. Individual reading at school, together with guided reading groups, both teaches and assesses reading and the Benchmark book banding assessment tool enables judgements about reading ability and progression. The coloured book banding scheme is followed until children are competent and fluent readers when ‘free reading’ choices enable the development of individual reading preferences and breadth of understanding.

Phonics: We follow the Read Write Inc. phonics programme for our children in Reception to Year 2 and for our children in Years 3 and 4 who require additional support. It is a comprehensive literacy programme, weaving decoding, comprehension, writing and spelling together seamlessly. The children are taught in small groups everyday and one to one coaching is provided to children where additional phonics interventions are required.

APPROACHES TO READING

The opportunities, organisation and provision for the teaching and learning of reading are as follows:

• Shared reading: Children in Classes R, One and Two take part in individual and group reading at least once a week.
• Guided reading: All children in all classes are grouped in ability and take part in daily guided reading sessions.
• Independent reading: In classes R, One and Two children have a book sharing session each day. Children in key stage two read independently at least three times a week.
• Resources – A book banded reading scheme operates across the school which comprises of a range of different schemes. Children work their way through the key stage one and two schemes and then become free readers.
• Links to parents – Each child has a reading record book which logs books they have read and comments about their reading. Parents and teaching staff write in this book.
• Class books: Stories are read to the children on a daily basis throughout the school. In key stage two classes this takes the form of a class novel.
• Reading at home: Children are encouraged to read at home every day – this is given high priority.

In Classes R, One and Two reading is assessed every half term using the RWI assessments. In classes 3, 4 & 5 NFER reading tests are used termly to look at children's progress and Class 6 use past Key Stage 2 SATs papers.

Impact

All pupils will be able to read with accuracy, speed, confidence, fluency and understanding, ready to access the secondary school curriculum. All pupils will make at least good progress from their starting points. Pupils will develop a life-long enjoyment of reading and books.