Reading Intent

At Charlton CE Primary School we want to foster a love of reading so that every child acquires the knowledge and skills to be able to demonstrate an understanding of what they have read and also show enthusiasm and excitement for it. We believe that reading is an integral part of a child’s development and that it underpins all other learning. Therefore, reading is at the heart of the school curriculum. It is our view that every lesson is a reading lesson.

The English National Curriculum underpins the planning of reading at Charlton CE Primary School. This ensures a broad and balanced curriculum that is progressive throughout the key stages. 

Our main aim at Charlton CE Primary School is to ensure that all children learn the knowledge and skills to read at least age-appropriate books regardless of their background or circumstances. We ensure this by teaching reading lessons which follow a clear progression through EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and phonics lessons that are pitched to a child’s individual needs. Also, our reading progression map is sequentially structured to make clear the endpoints that the learning is building towards and what pupils need to know and be able to do to reach those endpoints. This progression allows us to build a strong community of confident reading children who are able to learn how to change the world through the books and texts they read.

We also believe that a love of reading plays an important part in a child becoming an independent reader. At Charlton CE Primary School, we foster this by encouraging children to choose their own reading books which are not only suitable for their reading level but that also interest them. We allow children to experience a broad range of texts and genres which in turn broadens their vocabulary and supports them in becoming more confident speakers and writers. Consequently, it builds the children’s knowledge across the curriculum and promotes the children’s love of reading as they are able to read widely. Finally, we also ensure that our reading lessons reflect the school's local context by addressing typical gaps in the pupils’ knowledge and skills and equip them with the cultural capital they need to succeed in life.

Reading Implementation

At Charlton CE Primary School, we have spent a lot of time researching and developing a reading spine that has been designed to give children the opportunity to have exposure to high quality texts, which are slightly above the average reading ability for their age, and which we believe should be the staple diet of all primary-aged children. The reading spine also includes a balance of genres, including: fiction, non-fiction, rhymes, raps and poetry. Additionally, we have kept cultural diversity at the forefront of our decision making when selecting books and authors, therefore enabling children exposure to a high-level of cultural capital.

Reading skills are taught in discrete, daily phonics and reading sessions and the knowledge and skills are then implemented across the curriculum thus ensuring that children are applying what they have learnt. All of our phonics and reading lessons are inclusive to ensure that all children, including those with SEND, can access it. 

Strategies we implement to provide children with the best possible chance at learning to read and developing a love of reading:

Phonics

At Charlton CE Primary School we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds phonics scheme in EYFS and KS1 and where needed in KS2. Children are assessed and grouped for reading practice sessions based on their current phonic knowledge which means that lessons target the needs of the pupils regardless of their age or starting point, and this promotes personalised progress for each child. Children read out loud frequently from carefully selected books that closely match their phonic knowledge. Children are assessed at least once per term and more frequently if their progress is more rapid. This allows progress to be tracked effectively and key areas for development to be fed back to teachers and parents. Little Wandle focuses on developing spoken language, reading comprehension and writing which are the key skills children need in becoming proficient readers and writers. Those children who require additional support, and have not passed the phonics check at KS1, will continue on the Little Wandle programme in KS2. These children will be in smaller, targeted focus groups and will have additional 1-1 sessions designed to plug their gaps and get them reading accurately and fluently as quickly as possible. This further ensures provision and equal opportunities are provided for all children no matter their starting point.

Story Time

Story time is a valued part of the daily routine at Charlton. All children have the opportunity to hear an adult read aloud. This is to allow for high quality discussions about books with their teacher and peers, as well as hearing a good model of fluency, comprehension, intonation and expression.

Whole Class Reading

In KS2, children take part in various whole class reading activities to promote discussion around what the children have read. In EYFS and KS1, we share stories and incorporate these into our teaching of Oracy and Writing. Key reading skills are taught as part of these lessons to run alongside Little Wandle. 

At KS2 (and when children no longer require Little Wandle, whole class reading activities are Fred's Teaching. This progressive scheme of whole class reading teaching enables teachers to follow a set format, with each session clearly focused on individual reading skills and a broad range of texts.  This is to increase their exposure to high quality texts and give the children a broad and balanced reading curriculum to further promote the love of reading. The success of these programmes will be evident in the development of their spoken language skills, their vocabulary development and the quality of writing they produce.

Interventions

At Charlton, we regularly assess reading to ensure children receive any additional support they may need. Throughout the school, reading interventions are put in place to provide extra opportunities for children to develop their reading skills. Children may take part in 1:1 reading sessions where they can share their book with an adult, 1:1 phonics interventions in order to pick up on any sounds they may not know or to develop their blending skills, or they may be part of small group interventions, with children who are all at a similar level, which aim to close the gap. Any child in KS2 who has finished Little Wandle but is not yet at the expected standard will be part of PiXL intervention groups until they reach the expected standard for their year group. 

Library Areas

Across the academy, the library areas outside the classroom further promote the love of reading through the inviting displays, comfortable seating and opportunities for the children to share their favourite books with their peers. We have invested in high quality books from a range of book levels, genres and authors to engage all types of readers. Inside each classroom, there is also a reading area where children can pick books that spark their interest to read in purposeful, independent, free choice reading time during the school week.

Home Reading

At Charlton, once children have completed Little Wandle, they follow the Little Wandle fluency books and then the Accelerated Reader scheme which provides them with recommendations for books which match their reading level. Children can then complete a quiz on the book they have read to check their reading and comprehension skills. We believe that reading is an integral skill to learn and we strive to have a partnership between school and home so that this continues seamlessly. Children take home a reading book which matches their current reading level in order to promote progress and consolidate their reading skills.

Across both Key Stages, where appropriate to a child’s current focus, they are encouraged to read a book more than once in order to develop their pace, fluency and expression. Alongside our parents, we have worked incredibly hard to emphasise the importance of children being praised and celebrated for what they can read rather than pushing them on before they are ready. This has had a huge impact on the way children at  view and value reading and our children are always excited to change their reading books. As well as levelled reading books, children also take home a sharing book, which promotes reading for pleasure, from our school library once a week. These books are chosen solely by the children based on their interests and have inspired our children to widen their book choices.

CPD and Quality First Teaching

Subject knowledge of teachers is paramount and so we ensure that teachers have expert knowledge of phonics and reading through CPD opportunities. This empowers teachers to check pupils’ understanding effectively and so they can quickly address and correct any misconceptions. We then use assessment to check pupils’ understanding in order to inform teaching and to help pupils embed and use knowledge fluently. Therefore, children embed key concepts in their long-term memory and can apply them fluently. This will be evident when they are given opportunities to discuss what they have read.

Reading Impact

At Charlton CE Primary School, we create a positive reading culture and shape children’s confidence, enthusiasm and love for reading. Children will coherently and enthusiastically discuss their learning and the books they have read and also offer opinions and recommendations to adults and their peers. We have high expectations that all children reach at least the age-related expectation at the end of each year and ensure that those with gaps in their knowledge receive appropriate support and intervention to progress towards this. As pupils progress through the school, they will build on their knowledge and skills from previous years and in doing so will know more, remember more and be able to do more thus achieving good outcomes for themselves. Our reading curriculum is intended to ensure that all pupils, including those that are disadvantaged and pupils with SEND, have acquired the knowledge and cultural capital that they need to succeed in life and are academically prepared for life beyond primary school. We give children of Charlton the gift of reading and, in doing so, a pass to all that school and life beyond education has to offer.