National Curriculum

Curriculum Intent

Reading is such an important life skill and it is at the heart of everything we do. Our staff agree that we are aiming for the same endpoint - children who enjoy reading, read widely and often and have age-appropriate fluency and comprehension.  Our reading curriculum is designed to provide a balanced and engaging approach to developing reading skills, which include both decoding and comprehension.  Our focus on high quality texts (we are an Associate School of The Power of Reading programme - CLPE ) helps excite and engage children and develops resilience and stamina for reading.

Curriculum Implementation

All staff have a clear and ambitious vision for providing high quality teaching of reading.

• Rigorous, sequential approach to teaching reading
• Reading materials closely matched to children’s phonic knowledge
• Reading attainment - assessed - gaps addressed quickly and effectively
• Sharp focus on phonics knowledge and language comprehension which are necessary to read and give children the skills to communicate - foundations for future learning
• Teacher’s own speaking, listening, writing and reading of English, supports children in developing their language and vocabulary

Oracy in all subjects

Our curriculum design allows for as many speaking opportunities as possible as our teachers understand that speaking and listening are at the heart of language.  Not only are they the foundations for reading and writing, they are also essential skills for thinking and communication.  Our teachers are role models for good spoken English, using ambitious vocabulary and correct grammar.  Children are encouraged to read aloud, discuss ideas with their peers and teachers, engage with and learn new vocabulary to extend their spoken and receptive vocabulary.

Phonics - 

Systematic Synthetic Phonics is the foundation which allows young readers to  learn the sounds progressively, access simple texts and engage in early reading.  We follow the Letters and Sounds sequence. Lessons take place daily in Reception and Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2).   They are also introduced to “tricky” words, words which have to be learnt rather than spelt out. As each new sound/word is taught, the children continually revise and practise the previous sounds.  As they become more confident, they begin to segment words into sounds in order to write whole words.  They continue this journey in Year 1 and in Year 2 the children revise previously taught phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (ways of writing the sounds) and learn a range of new ones. Children who need extra support are invited to Early Morning Phonics, Early Morning Reading or may receive 1:1 Literary support or be included in small group work.

In June, the children in Year 1 are tested on their phonics in a National Phonics Screening check.  This is a check of 20 real words and 20 alien words.  Parents will receive their child’s results with their end of term Report. Our school results are listed below together with the national and RBK results.

Phonics 

Phonics Letters and Sounds

In Year 2, the pupils revise previously taught phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (ways of writing the sounds) and learn a range of new ones. Children who do not meet the expected standard in the Year 1 National Phonics Screening, are expected to repeat it in Year 2.

Sight words

Alongside, phonics, our children learn “sight words” through games, patterns and repetition.  As each new sound/word is taught, pupils continually revise and practise the previous sounds. We use Precision Teaching, dictation and word games.

Guided reading, shared reading, 1:1 reading, whole-class reading

Our curriculum provides reading opportunities in all areas of learning.  Reading skills are explicitly taught through guided, shared or 1:1 reading, according to the needs of the class.  Books are chosen carefully to match each child’s reading ability and children in KS1 can also change their free choice books frequently.  

Our new library is used by all of the children and has been stocked with a diverse range of high quality texts to engage all readers.  

Whole class reading takes place throughout the day as the children read instructions, the day and the date on the board, refer to the class visual timetable, access labelled resources etc and read text from the Interactive White Board.

Comprehension

We develop the skills of comprehension alongside the decoding and sight reading skills to ensure that children learn to read and comprehend at the same speed.  We teach this skill through reading to and with the children.

Key Stage 1 Reading Outcomes 

Reading

Link to 45 Reception Words

Year 1 and 2 Common Exception Words

Looking For a Good Book? Suggestions from CLPE and BookTrust’s Great Books Guide