Reading at St Nicholas

We aim to…

  • Foster a life-long love of reading in our pupils
  • Develop pupils’ comprehension skills
  • Teach pupils a range of strategies to confidently decode and read new or unknown words
  • expose pupils to a wide range of high-quality and engaging texts by authors with diverse backgrounds and experiences
  • develop children’s perseverance skills and a ‘have a go’ attitude when it comes to reading challenging texts
  • develop children’s understanding of language and vocabulary
  • support children in empathising with characters
  • help pupils recognise key features and structures of a range of fiction and non-fiction texts

How we will achieve our aims…

  • Twinkl phonics programme is used in KS1 to teach initial sounds and blending to lead into reading
  • whole-class guided reading sessions taught each day in which pupils work on the reading domains as set out in the National Curriculum
  • a reading for pleasure focus daily in which staff read a high-quality text, modelling reading with expression and intonation
  • the Rainbow Reading challenge across the school
  • promoting and focusing on a different author each month
  • providing pupils with dictionaries, thesauri and other resources to support their learning
  • on-going teacher assessment informed by day-to-day reading activities and summative assessment through Benchmarking/NFER/SATs

How will we know we’ve achieved our aims?

  • Children talk enthusiastically and passionately about books and authors that they enjoy
  • Children can read independently using a variety of strategies
  • Children use their comprehension skills to understand and engage with more complex and mature texts
  • Children have accessed a range of genres, texts and authors
  • The majority of children have a secure understanding of why there are different text types
  • Children are prepared for the next stage of their learning
  • Most children reach age-related expectations by the end of the academic year
  • Children demonstrate a broadening vocabulary through reading
  • Children are supported through interventions to make progress from their individual starting point

A Systematic Approach to Planning

Reading Termly Curriculum Overview- Year 1

Reading Termly Curriculum Overview- Year 2

Reading Termly Curriculum Overview- Year 3

Reading Termly Curriculum Overview- Year 4

Reading Termly Curriculum Overview- Year 5

Reading Termly Curriculum Overview- Year 6

Phonics

Phonics Screening Information for Parents

Phonics information for Parents

Audio Guide to Sounds

Audiobooks

Follow the link to the World Book Day’s World of Stories where you can enjoy FREE audiobooks. Audiobooks are a brilliant way of enjoying stories, whether you’re reading together with the family, or listening alone.

For Younger Readers: Share A Story Corner videos have familiar characters and easy to follow stories, and tips for reading together. Look at the pictures together, guess what the characters are up to and ask your child what they think will happen next.

In school, we follow the Ashley Booth approach to whole class reading

Click the link to see him on Twitter