Reading

Reading at VRPS

INTENT

At Victoria Road Primary School, we endeavour to create a lifelong love of reading. There is considerable evidence that RfP and reading engagement are strong predictors of reading attainment and attainment in maths, spelling and vocabulary.

Reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s future success – OECD 2002

We are very mindful of the above statement as we wish to create the best life chances possible for our children. We work towards developing a strong reading for pleasure ethos in our school. Our intention is for all our teachers to be "Teachers as Readers", understanding childrens reading lives, sharing their own reading practices and preferences and having dedicated space in the school day for children to read for pleasure. Staff have a vast knowledge of reading for pleasure through our work with other ASPIRE schools and the Open University (please see the link below). We strive to be a school where reading is embedded in every aspect of what we do.

Throughout their time at Victoria Road Primary School children will develop their reading skills by exploring a wide range of quality texts both in reading lessons, in less formal situations and right across the curriculum. We want every child to leave our school with the skills of an excellent reader who

• is an enthusiastic and passionate reader who reads widely for a range of purposes.
• can actively use decoding and blending skills to access familiar and unfamilar words.
• can independently active their prior learning when exploring a new text.
• is a fluent reader who uses correct intonation and pace when reading aloud.
• expresses pleasure in reading and can discuss stories they have read themselves or had read to them.
• can infer and analyse an authors choice of vocabulary, illustrations and layout and link these to other texts they have read.

IMPLEMENTATION

In EYFS and Year 1 (Year 2 where needed) reading is taught three times a week in specific reading lessons using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds. Books are matched to the children's secure phonics knowledge. Each reading session has a clear focus based on three key freading skills:

• decoding
• prosody - teaching children to read with understanding and expression.
• comprehension - understanding the text.

From Year 2, sequences of lessons are taught which focus on particular reading skills for each year group. Learning builds throughout the week and their is an emphasis on developing fluency for each child. Reading is taught in mixed ability classes where scaffolding, timely intervention and individual support help those children who may struggle with a particular skill. Some children who have been identified with a specific need will attend targeted support sessions. Within any lesson, any child who grasps a concept or skill quickly will be challenged with deeper, richer questions. 

Our school reading curriculum sets out the reading objectives that will be a main focus each half term, however many skills are ongoing. Teachers select high quality texts which link to other curriculum areas, writing and relevant themes. A range of texts are used including fiction, non-fiction and poetry and children are exposed to a variety of diverse authors.

Across the whole school, other reading opportunities will take place in other areas of the curriculum, such as history, geography and science. In addition to this, Reading for Pleasure sessions take place in all classes. Classes have also developed their own reading spines which ensure all children listen to and discuss at least six carefully chosen quality texts in reading time each year which also builds on their 

Children take home books to read daily and are encouraged to record their reading journeys in their reading diaries. Children who access phonics take home books matched to their phonics learning as well as a reading for pleasure book of their choice. 

We strive to involve parents as much as possible with their child’s reading, holding reading family learning sessions and  Reading for Pleasure events throughout the year.

IMPACT 

By the end of their time at Victoria Road, pupils will have experienced a range of high quality texts and reading experiences. They will have been part of a reading community which puts a high value on reading. They will have learned how to be secure in their reading identities and how to use their reading skills effectively in a wide range of situations.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods: 

• Tracking of ability through phased/banded reading books
• Pupil discussions about their reading.
• Reading responses, both oral and written
• Assessments
• A cycle of work that gradually releases scaffolding and promotes independence/self-regulation.

We are very proud to be featured in the following book based on our work on Reading for Pleasure!

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