St Stephen's Primary School

Here at St Stephen's, reading is embedded across the curriculum. Our foundation subjects are consistently structured in such a way that children have opportunity to read in all of their lessons. We see this as giving them a gateway to acquiring new knowledge and another vital opportunity to develop their reading skills. 

Our Reading curriculum is shaped to provide children with the skills to read fluently, confidently and with good understanding.  It develops children’s understanding of vocabulary and the techniques authors use to show meaning, build atmosphere and communicate with clarity. We are also passionate about instilling a love of reading in our children!

Through reading well-chosen literature, children have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. We are always looking for ways we can ensure our libraries represent the wonderful diversity we have in our school community. 

Teaching reading in a way that is aligned with research allows us to spend more time appreciating stories, more time unpicking the intricacies of language choices and more time learning about the world through fascinating information texts.  We aim to select valuable texts and then facilitate children interacting with them in a way that will open their minds and broaden their horizons.

Our focus follows: decoding, prosody and comprehension, the same practise used within the EYFS and Year 1 phonics teaching.  In following this structure, we can ensure that all children are progressing.

In practising a shared reading experience, children are given the best opportunity to deepen their understanding of a text and develop their reading skills.  Not only does this give them greater sense of collective security in their exposure to challenging texts, but they also have more frequent chance to engage in meaningful discussions as part of a group.

• Following the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised scheme for phonics.  Thereby ensuring consistency across all phonics teaching.

• Following the St Stephen’s Long Term Reading Plan, which enables the progression of knowledge and skills in developing fluent readers.

• Providing opportunities to read aloud and to share books, becoming immersed in language and hearing and experiencing a wide range and depth of vocabulary.

• Supporting and signposting parents and children to our ‘Recommended Reads’ list.  This acts as a reading spine to ensure variety and quality of texts read.

• Ensuring children in EYFS and Year 1 take home decodable books matched to their phonic word knowledge.  The books that go home are the same books used in class that week to give children further opportunity to deepen their understanding of familiar texts read.

• Assessing children regularly to ensure progression (in both reading fluency and comprehension).

• Using assessments to identify children who need interventions and whether this is decoding, fluency or comprehension skills.

• Encouraging children to read at home on a daily basis and to be read to.

• Using a reading record book to communicate between home and school.

• We use reading VIPERS to analyse and unpick books using a variety of questions.  Vipers use the content domains set out in the National Curriculum.

We use Accelerated Reader in KS2.  This is a computer programme that aims to foster independent reading.  The system supports teachers to track and monitor children’s independent reading and diagnostic tools show where ‘catch-up’ is needed.  This enables our children to progress.  The children themselves are also empowered to track their own reading record and to select books appropriate and recommended to them. We find this has a fantastic impact on motivation!

• We deliver whole-class guided reading across the school for 30 minutes each day.  All children take part in this process ensuring everyone is exposed to high-quality texts and discussion.

• We use daily vocabulary pre-teaching so that children’s understanding of texts is greater.

•Each class will have priority readers and these children have a time during the day to pre-read the whole class guided reading text to unpick complicated phonic patterns, prosody, vocabulary understanding and comprehension through talk.