Hullavington CE Primary and Nursery School

Intent

At Hullavington we believe that reading is the best gift that you could give your child and we recognise that reading is an essential part of all areas of learning. Pupils read in daily guided reading session and when possible individually to teachers, TA’s and volunteers. Reading lies at the heart of the curriculum at Hullavington.  We are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers and we believe reading is the key to academic success.

The study of literacy develops pupils’ abilities to listen, speak, read and write for a wide range of purposes.  Pupils learn to use language to communicate their ideas, views and feelings. It enables pupils to express themselves creatively and imaginatively, as they become enthusiastic and critical readers of stories, poetry and drama, as well as non-fiction and media texts. Pupils gain an understanding of how language works by looking at its patterns, structures and origins.  Pupils use their knowledge, skills and understanding in speaking and writing across a range of different situations.

At Hullavington CE Primary and Nursery School we passionately believe that all pupils possess the potential to become readers and writers. It is up to us as practitioners to nurture and unlock that potential.

Implementation

As a school we:

• Adopt a whole-school approach to the teaching and learning of reading
• Ensure that enabling pupils to master the ‘basic skills’ in reading is the absolute priority of all staff.
• Teach all pupils to read at or above age-appropriate standards.
• Rigorously track pupil progress in reading through a variety of formative and summative assessment methods to ensure all pupils make accelerated progress in literacy. We use Aspire Tracking to store tracking data. We use PIRA reading tests periodically to track progress.
• Ensure that pupils have access to the quality-first teaching of phonics and reading.
• Ensure that all pupils can see a purpose in reading and are inspired to continue to learn beyond the school setting and throughout life.
• Ensure that pupils have sound phonic knowledge to enable reading and writing.
• Pupils have daily guided reading lessons where they are exposed to a range of different texts and can demonstrate and understanding of these.
• Pupils choose books from our excellent school library and a wide range of reading books in each classroom. All pupils chose a reading book to take home and this is changed frequently.
• Children are read to each day by the class teacher.
• Acknowledge parents and carers role as the primary educators of their pupils by involving them in every stage of their child’s learning in literacy.
• Intervene immediately if a child is identified as failing to make expected progress in literacy.
• Provide inspiring environments of the highest quality, which promote creativity, independent learning and fire the imagination.

Reading skills are considered a priority, thus enabling pupils to read fluently and with understanding, to read for information and to use with confidence a wide range of printed material. We have a range of attractive books and a variety of reading scheme books, which we add to and update regularly. Pupils are encouraged to believe in themselves as ‘readers’ and to enjoy all books; by reading and being read to at home and in school. The school library has a large selection of both fiction and non-fiction books which the children may borrow. We want children to have a love of reading for pleasure as well as being able to read for imformation. Good reading skills empower the learner and are essential for accessing all other curriculum areas.

At Hullavington all teachers read aloud to their class on a daily basis and regularly discuss theirs and the children’s responses to their reading. We actively encourage the children to read for pleasure through;

·        picture books sharing at Reception

·        access to our school library which contains a large stock of fiction texts as well as information books;

·        author and storyteller visits;

·        author studies as part of the English curriculum;

·        the promotion of the summer library reading challenge.

Impact

By the time pupils leave Hullavington, they are competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, have a thirst for reading a range of genres and be able to participate in discussions about books, including evaluating an author’s use of language and the impact this can have on the reader.  They can also read books to enhance their knowledge and understanding of all subjects on the curriculum, and communicate their research to a wider audience.

Please click on the list below to find a recommended list of books children of all ages should read.  There is a summary of the books listed too which is useful.

https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/category/reading-lists-for-ks1-school-pupils/