Reading

'Reading Intent, Implementation, and Impact
‘Growing Global Citizens’

Intent

We intend each and every one of our students to learn to read fluently, as quickly as possible so they quickly build the bridge between word recognition and comprehension. This is essential for children to access all other areas of the curriculum and is the reason why reading is a key curriculum driver and the heart of everything we do at Broseley C of E.

In addition to this, we want children to establish an appreciation and love of reading at all stages of their learning journey. We are committed to sharing high quality and vocabulary-rich texts across the curriculum as the teaching of reading is integral to our children’s understanding and appreciation of the world around them. Children will know that reading is a platform that allows them to see beyond what they know, enabling them to share in cultural experiences, and will develop the vocabulary needed to effectively express themselves.

By the time our pupils leave Broseley C of E Primary School, we envisage that children will be competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, seek out books from a range of different genres, including poetry and engage in discussion about authorial choices or impact on the reader.
Once our pupils have unlocked the key to reading here with us at Broseley C of E, it is our intention that they will be lifelong lovers of reading and are able to apply their reading skills to access any subject in their secondary education and beyond.

Implementation:
This curriculum is delivered through synthetic phonics, a linked approach to shared and guided reading, home reading, reading across the curriculum, regular opportunities for independent reading and hearing quality texts read aloud every day.

We immerse children (and adults) in reading which is evident throughout the school with high quality texts available throughout the learning environment:  in classrooms, in book nooks, in corridors, in the staff room and within our school library which is run by our dedicated librarian, Ms Young.

Our reading curriculum is expertly mapped to ensure that children are exposed to a wide range of texts which include those that are linked to our key curriculum drivers of sustainability, equality, and empowerment; contain key knowledge and themes from our curriculum subjects; and explore texts which are difficult and deliberately resist comprehension, through our reading spines: archaic language, non-linear time sequences; narratively complex; complexity of the story; resistant, and diverse texts.

Early Reading (Word reading):
To ensure that every child in our school will learn to read we:

Use one synthetic phonics programme from YR to Y2:
We use Unlocking Letters and Sounds to teach phonics and graphic knowledge (common exception words and tricky words) as it offers precise structure and a ‘whole class mastery’ opportunity. We have fidelity to this one programme. We supplement this scheme with precision teaching to target specific areas that children need the most support with. The flexibility of which helps build the confidence of our students.

Using this programme, we are confident that:

• grapheme/phoneme (letter/sound) correspondences are taught in a clearly defined, incremental sequence;
• we introduce children very early on to a defined initial group of consonants and vowels, enabling them to read and spell as soon as possible many simple CVC words;
• children are taught the highly important skill of blending phonemes, in order, all through a word to read it;
• children are taught to apply the skills of segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to spell; blending and segmenting are reversible processes.
• Multi-sensory activities used are interesting and engaging but firmly focused on intensifying the learning associated with its phonic goal.

The programme is begun almost immediately as children enter Reception.

2. We make time to teach phonics:
EYFS/Yr1
We ensure enough time and priority are given to fully implement our Phonics programme. Children in EYFS and Year 1 have 5x weekly phonics session lasting for an average of up to 20 mins. However, the teaching extends beyond ‘dedicated time’ and is applied and reinforced when appropriate throughout day. The pace of the programme is maintained.
Children are grouped into year groups and assessments are carried out at different milestone points. Groups are differentiated to cater to the pupil needs through levels of teacher input and expected outcomes. Interventions are in place to support children who require further consolidation of sounds following regular assessments.

The structure of each session is as follows:

1. Revision and review of prior knowledge e.g., prior sound
2. Introduction and modelling of new sound through teaching
3. Practise of new sound
4. Application of new phoneme though either of selected activities:
- Identifying the new phoneme in a sentence
- Reading the new phoneme
- Recalling the new phoneme
- Writing the new grapheme

Year 2
Children who did not pass the phonics screening at Year 1 or need further consolidation, will continue with the structure of phonics sessions that were delivered in Year 1. All children in Year 2, get access to the consolidation of previous phases and phase 6.

3. Children practise early reading with fully decodable books:
Reading books in EYFS and Year 1 are:

• matched to phonic knowledge alongside use of alternative strategies e.g. whole-word recognition and/or cues from context, grammar, or pictures.
• are closely matched to the programme used;
• are fully decodable at child’s current level and practise phoneme(s) most recently taught
• are not mixed with non-decodable books for independent reading practice
• include a controlled, small number of ‘tricky words’ the decoding of which has been specifically taught
• are continued in progressive sequence until a child can confidently decode words involving most common grapheme representations of all phonemes.

4. There is effective provision for all children:
Grouping is appropriate for our school and effective in ensuring success for all children. TAs are deployed and used to optimum effect. Progress is continually assessed using a simple but effective system. Regular progress meetings are held.

5. We have the expectation that all children will attain or exceed expected standards:
Teacher and school expectations are high for all children regardless of background. A ‘can-do’ ethos permeates all our teaching. There is confidence that teaching the programme will ensure success. Small-steps success is built in and celebrated, and all children are continually praised and encouraged.
We expect our children to meet the following milestones in terms of their phonological development through EYFS and Key Stage 2:

EYFS:
(Unlocking Letters and Sounds):
- End of Autumn Term: Completed Phase 2 and Started Phase 3
- End of Spring Term: Completed Phase 3
- End of Summer Term: Completed Phase 4

Year 1:
End of Autumn Term: Y1: Consolidated Phase 4 - Completed Phase 5

We assess our pupils using a combination of half termly assessments:
November: Expected Score on Phonics Screening Check of 8/10
February: Expected Score on Phonics Screening Check of 16/20
April: Expected Score on Phonics Screening Check of 24/30
June: Expected score on Phonics Screening Check of 32/40

Year 2:
Phase 6 (consolidation of Phase 5 depending on pupils needs)

We particularly closely monitor children making the slowest progress. Children in danger of falling behind, or who are working under expected levels (lower 20%), are swiftly identified and additional support is provided to enable them to keep up. We give catch up support by providing group interventions. The content of these sessions is determined by ongoing gap analyses and our in-depth knowledge of each child. Children experiencing significant difficulty are provided with intensive, individual support to reach the required standard.

6. We build a skilled team who can teach phonics:
Members of staff from each key stage (teachers and teaching assistants) have accessed external training (Unlocking Letters and Sounds), our EYFS and ks1 teachers and support staff have accessed further in-house training and development from our senior leader for EYFS, Mrs Davis. For those staff who are providing additional support for our weakest readers, we support staff trained in using precision teaching and echo reading.

7. We have a dedicated Phonics lead who ensures quality, consistency, and continuity of teaching:
Our Phonics Lead is a teacher with expertise in and direct experience of teaching phonics. Our Phonics Lead has dedicated time to fulfil the role and her responsibilities include monitoring, mentoring, and modelling. Consequently, all Phonics teaching is consistent and of high quality.

8. The development of word-reading is fully balanced by the development of vocabulary, comprehension, and a love of books:

A wide range of high-quality books are read to, and shared with, children daily accompanied by frequent discussion of books to develop understanding. Teachers have extensive knowledge of children’s books and read aloud with enthusiasm and in engaging ways. Books have high profile around classrooms and school and are used across all curriculum subjects.

Reading Comprehension

• Guided reading/Reciprocal reading:

We encourage our pupils to discover new information and develop their comprehension skills by reading widely using both fiction and non-fiction texts. We cultivate the behaviours that they will need to be discerning readers as they read frequently and widely using self-regulation strategies and discuss what they read, allowing the children the ability to make informed choices about their book selections through high-quality book talk.
Comprehension texts are carefully selected by the Literacy Lead across Key Stage 1 and 2 to ensure progression and breadth of coverage.

Explicit teaching of reading comprehension takes place from Reception. In Years 1 and 2, this takes the form of small, guided reading groups using a variety of texts throughout the week which follows a consistent structure which supports their phonics learning.

From the middle of Year 2 (or when the children are deemed ready to progress) to Year 6, we use a reciprocal reading strategy that explicitly teachers the key reading domains of prediction, clarification, questioning and summarising. The level of challenge increases throughout the year groups through the complexity of texts being read. This approach has extensive evidence of successfully improving reading comprehension (EEF Improving Literacy Document).

• Reciprocal reading involves a dialogue between the teacher or teaching assistant and the children for the purpose of jointly constructing the meaning from text;
• It is a group activity – the adult initially leads the group with effective reading strategies which the children learn to use for themselves, independently;
• It is interactive and suitable for all readers including children with SEND;
• The strategies practised are prediction, clarification, questioning and summarising.

Reciprocal Reading Texts

Broseley C of E Reading Spines

The Rationale

• Our guided/reciprocal reading selections are the types of texts that our students need to have extensive experience with if they want to be able to succeed and compete in the wider world – think cultural capital.

• The idea is that in each year, a child will cover all 6 plagues of reading so that, by the time they reach year 6 and beyond, they have a good understanding of all of them and are able to access the more complex books introduced in secondary school.

• This only considers narratives and poems so a good balance of topic appropriate non-fiction will also be read to help further develop children’s background knowledge of the subject they are studying. This will be delivered through the non-fiction texts that are read and examined at the start of each term that are directly linked to our key areas of study: science, history, geography, art, maths etc.

• We have taken to using these “Six Plagues” as markers of text complexity and to explicitly ask our teachers to expose students to books that feature them to ensure the rigor of their reading and their preparedness for secondary school. 

The 6 Plagues of Reading:
Archaic Language
The vocabulary, usage, syntax, and context for cultural reference of texts over 50 or 100 years old are vastly different and typically more complex than texts written today. Students need to be exposed to and develop proficiency with antiquated forms of expression to be able to hope to read more complex texts when they move to secondary school and beyond.

Non-Linear Time Sequences
In most texts written specifically for children, time unfolds chronologically in a logical sequence. The story is narrated in a given style and this remains consistent.

In the best books, time moves in fits and starts. It doubles back (think starting with the end and then jumping to past events and back to the present).

The only way for children to master such books is to have read them time and again and to be carefully introduced to them by a skilled teacher.

Narratively Complex
Unreliable narrator:  Books are sometimes narrated by an unreliable narrator. A narrator is “unreliable” when we have reasons to doubt the versions of events he or she is presenting to us as factual in a story. Whether it be for reasons of mental instability or self-preservation, we know the narrator isn’t disclosing everything to us, or isn’t telling us the whole truth.

Multiple Narrators: Other books have multiple narrators which make the story more complex as the offer the reader differing perspectives and experiences (sometimes of the same event).

For example: ‘Wonder’ by R J Palacio explores the effect of disability on the main character, August but also offers an alternative perspective of his sister Via.

Multi-plots: Some books have multiple intertwined and apparently (for a time) unrelated plot lines. These are far harder to read than books with a single plot line and students need to experience these as well.
Non-human narrators: some stories are complex as the narrator is non-human.

For example: War Horse, Why the Crayons Quit etc.

Figurative/Symbolic Text
Texts which happen on an allegorical or symbolic level. Not reflected in Lexiles (how difficult the words are to read); critical forms of text complexity that students must experience.

For instance, what is the meaning behind the green light in The Great Gatsby or the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings? These things symbolize the characters’ internal struggles and central themes of the texts. Symbolism (Think Boomtastics) is one of the things that elevates writing to an art form. It allows the writer to paint a portrait with their words and helps readers visualize what is happening on the page to uncover hidden meanings.

The literary definition of symbolism is “the use of symbols that represent other concepts or ideas in order to convey a deeper meaning.” Symbolism can use an object, person, situation, event, or action with a deeper meaning in the overall context of literary work that goes beyond surface understanding.

Resistant Texts
Texts written to deliberately resist easy meaning-making by readers. Perhaps half of the poems ever written fall into this category. You must assemble meaning around nuances, hints, uncertainties, and clues.

Diverse Texts
These texts will encompass our drive for our children to be empowered global citizens: to understand that the world is inhabited by a range of diverse people whose lives and experiences may be different to our own. These books teach children about all aspects of diversity, empowering them to discuss what makes all of us unique, valued and respected in terms of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, education, disability, identity, nationality, religion, sexuality, neurodiversity, social background, and beliefs.

Reciprocal Reading Texts: Year 2 to Year 6

Long Term Plan