Reading
Reading at Roebuck.
The overarching aim for English in the National Curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word; and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment.
Our intent
To develop a reading and writing culture across all areas of school. We want children to develop a love for reading. For them to enjoy reading and want to read and discuss books, different genres, styles and authors.
As well as a reading culture, we want the children to enjoy writing. Children are to write with purpose and flair, demonstrating appropriate skills throughout their learning. When children leave The Roebuck School they will have a wide range of reading skills, from decoding words to discussing a book or extract in depth.
Children begin reading phonetically decodable books in the Reception Class as soon as they can recognise the first set of sounds in phonics. The books are matched to children’s phonics ability and reading these books supports the development of the children’s skills in learning to decode and blend words.
Children progress through the remainder of their time in Reception, Year One and Year Two working through the reading scheme until they are ready to move onto free choice colour-banded books. They take their books to read at home and this is monitored weekly in class. Guided Reading also takes place in each KS1 class to teach reading strategies and whole class comprehension is delivered across KS2.
Throughout this process the children are assessed on a regular basis to check their reading ability and to ensure that they are reading the correct stage of books for their ability.
Teachers continually use assessment for learning to assess the children's reading fluency, understanding and skills. Each term, the children are formally assessed and this information is used to support teacher's planning.
Our Reading aims are:
v To develop phonetic skills which lead to blending and reading accurately and fluently.
v To promote confidence and positive attitudes to reading through access to a wide range of literature.
v To develop their vocabulary and comprehension of what they have read.
v To encourage good home/school partnerships.
v To enable children to analyse what they read and to participate in discussion and debate about texts.
v To monitor each child’s progress through the use of a range of assessment strategies eg Reading Age tests, on-going reading observations, application of Assessment and Progression criteria, as well as the new Curriculum Staged criteria.
v To support those children who require additional support with their reading.
As a school, we have signed up to the ‘We are Reading’ campaign and will continue to promote reading throughout the year (please see attached pledge). The campaign is aimed at all-ages, from babies to grandparents, to encourage reading for pleasure and to improve standards in reading across the curriculum. We will post pictures of books that we are reading in class and other activities held in school.
We will be looking at ideas to promote reading in school and out. Watch this space!
We look forward to an exciting year and thank you for your support!