Reading & Phonics

 

Intent

At St. Joseph’s we intend for children to:

• read fluently with a good understanding

• read often for both pleasure and information

• acquire a wide knowledge and vocabulary from a range of genres and text types

 

Implementation

Phonics

At St. Joseph’s we intend for all children to become confident readers and writers. We believe that phonics provides the foundations of learning to make the development into fluent reading and writing easier. The teaching of phonics is of the highest priority.

Phonic lessons at St. Joseph’s are taught following the Read Write Inc scheme. The sessions include:

• daily direct teaching to children’s needs

• a consistent approach

• a secure, systematic progression in phonics learning

• a maintained pace of learning

• provide repeated practice

• ensure application of phonics using matched decodable books

• regular assessment

• early identification of children at risk of falling behind, Fast Track to support ‘keep up, not catch up’

 

We teach ‘red words’ (tricky words). These are words that appear frequently in books for children and are usually learned using a whole word approach.

At the end of Year 1, children take the statutory Phonic Screening Check, this shows how well children can use the phonics skills they've learned. Any children who do not pass this test have one to one or small group interventions to continue and review their phonics journey in Year 2 and KS2.

For further information regarding the Read Write Inc scheme and learning to read at home, please visit the Ruth Miskin website.

 

At St Joseph’s we teach the National Curriculum for Reading, this ensures knowledge and skills are built upon each year. Teachers use a variety of texts and written material for group reading lessons, these often link to writing genres being studied or other curriculum areas being taught.

To support the development of early reading skills, EY and KS1 children will participate in three group reading sessions each week. During these sessions, children will have the opportunity to develop skills such as decoding, prosody and comprehension which in turn, will support children’s fluency and confidence when reading.

In KS2, children participate in four adult-led group reading sessions. Children will independently read the text in the  first session, followed by an adult-led comprehension lesson. To ensure a holistic approach to reading comprehension and vocabulary, beginning in Year 2 we use VIPERS (vocabulary, inference, prediction, explain, retrieve and sequence/summarise) reading domains.

Written comprehension sessions happen on a weekly basis linked to either the book being studied in writing or to the group read text.

Beginning in Year 2, children access our online reading platform, Accelerated Reader, three times a week for thirty minutes. The platform recommends books for each child using their reading levels and individual interests. Once the children have read a book, they complete a quiz about the story which  monitors their comprehension and extends their learning. Accelerated Reader can also be accessed from home. 

 

Assessment

As well as day-to-day formative assessment as adults hear children read, and through questioning during discussions about group and class texts, children are assessed termly using the NFER tests.

Each time a child reads a book on Accelerated Reader, they take an online quiz and get immediate feedback.

Accelerated Reader monitors students’ reading practice and makes informed decisions to guide their future learning.

Star Reading online test is taken at the beginning of each term, it gives us access to an accurate set of data including:

• Reading age (in years and months)

• Zone of Proximal Development

 

Additional Support

Any children not making the expected progress in reading have access to a variety of interventions depending on their individual needs. A Star Reading test is completed at the start and end of an intervention period in order to measure impact.

 

How do we promote a love of reading?

• Every day at 3pm, teachers read to their class to promote a love and enjoyment of stories, immersing them in the

world of imagination.

• We have a wide range of group texts available and group reading sessions allow time for pupils to discuss their

reading, helping them to make sense of what they have read.