At Kingslea Primary School, we prioritise the teaching of reading both as a key component of our English provision and one which unlocks opportunity in all other subjects. We aim to develop positive attitudes towards reading so every child thinks of themselves as a reader and has fostered a love of the written word in all its various forms. We wish to create a community of readers that share, enjoy and promote reading as a skill and desirable pastime.
Implementation
Our reading lessons are delivered through a myriad of means; including but not limited to, carousel teaching, whole class, close text analysis, discreet phonics teaching, shared peer and 1:1 reading. Furthermore all classes have texts read to them throughout the year. This helps to promote reading as a desirable past time and something that should be valued and treasured. All children receive directed reading instruction daily, led by class teachers and supported by teaching assistants. This ensures that all children are supported, challenged and developed as readers. This provision looks at a range of texts types including novels, poetry, reports, diaries and many more. For children in Reception and Key Stage One (and for selected readers in Key Stage Two), class teachers undertake a benchmarking assessment which determines the colour book band that the children will take home and which colour book band they will read at school (one book band higher than the home reader) These books are in a central location and the children are responsible for changing their book and knowing which colour book band they are reading within and working towards.
All classes contain a range of high quality fiction books for children to enjoy at school and at home. They are kept up to date and new books are regularly discussed in whole school assemblies, as a means of promoting reading as a pass time. Furthermore, non-fiction books are readily available in classrooms and are rotated with fiction books as the book that children take home to read. This has helped to develop children’s general knowledge and their interest in a range of subjects. In Key Stage One, the children are able to take a book of their choice from their classroom, alongside the book banded colour books. In addition, we offer parent workshops that enable our parents to learn how to support their child/ren reading at home and spend time in class taking part in a reading session with their child. These sessions begin with a talk from our English team leaders, parents then complete a reading focussed activity, they then join their children in their reading lesson.
Impact
The impact of our reading curriculum can be clearly seen across the school through children talking about their love of reading, the quality of texts the children
are reading, the quality of teaching across the school and the above national average end of KS2 reading results that are achieved year in year out, alongside an above national average progress measure.