Reading and Early Reading
‘A vital skill that supports children’s learning across the whole curriculum.’
At Westlea Primary, reading is promoted as an intrinsic part of teaching and learning. The ability to read is not only the key to learning but it also has a huge impact on children’s self-esteem and future life chances.
As a school, we will ensure that our children are taught to read with fluency, accuracy and understanding through a variety of discreet and cross-curricular learning opportunities.
Above all, we want children in our school to become enthusiastic, independent and reflective readers.
We want our children to fall in love with reading so that it brings them pleasure and allows them to experience new things, discover new worlds and explore the emotions of others.
In EYFS and Key Stage One the children are taught to read and write following the ‘Read Write Inc.’ We believe children can achieve reading through a combination of strong, high quality, discrete phonics lessons combined with daily opportunities for remembering fundamental reading and writing skills.
In school, we teach children to read using the Read Write Inc. phonics programme. This phonics scheme has been designed and sequenced to support the early reading journey from Early Years to Key Stage 1 for children to have a solid knowledge of all phonic sounds and continues through to Key Stage 2, where needed. Children are provided with high quality teaching and reading books that help them decode successfully and confidently in order to become fluent readers.
As children progress through the Read Write Inc. programme they will learn three sets of phonic sounds, beginning with set 1 sounds. They will also learn to blend and segment using ‘Fred talk’ for blending and ‘Fred fingers for spelling’.
Read Write Inc. Phonics, is a highly successful literacy programmes for 4-11 year-olds created by Ruth Miskin and published by Oxford University Press. The training and support from Ruth Miskin Training, rated Outstanding by the Department for Education, ensure the programmes have the best chance of success in schools.
The Read Write Inc. programmes are carefully matched to the new curriculum, aimed at developing a love for reading and giving your children the best chance of success in the national tests. They show teachers, teaching assistants and parents step-by-step how to teach all children to become fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers.
Our school uses:
- Read Write Inc. This programme is used by over a quarter of the UK’s primary schools. It is a comprehensive literacy programme, weaving decoding, comprehension, writing and spelling together seamlessly. Rigorous assessment, tracking and fast track intervention ensures that schools guarantee progress for every child.
- For information and tutorials on how to support your child learning to read go to: http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents/
RWI in Practice
Regular assessments help to identify children who are making consistent progress and they are placed in a group where the books may be a bit more challenging. On the other hand, regular assessments also help identify children who may need extra help. This is provided on a 1:1 basis, at least three times a week.
Five key principles underpin the teaching in all Read Write Inc. sessions as taken from the Teacher Handbook:
- Participation– As they are in small groups, children participate fully in every session. They are able to maintain high levels of concentration and they do not miss key elements of the teaching.
- Praise– Children work together as partners. They take turns to teach and praise each other. They are motivated by praise from their teachers and teaching assistants.
- Pace– Sessions never drag. The lively pace keeps every child fully engaged and on task.
- Purpose– Every instructor has been trained in Read Write Inc. methods. They know the purpose of each activity, and how it leads into the next.
- Passion– Instructors, too, become passionate about their teaching as they see the children enjoying the progress they are making.
Sounds
Through the Read, Write Inc programme children are taught to recognise sounds and then to ‘sound-blend’ them into words for reading. The images show the sets of sounds, clicking on the image will enlarge it. Click here to hear the pronunciation of the sounds.
The trained teachers and teaching assistants will support children to use their phonic knowledge in everyday life, to enrich their reading for both pleasure and information. To ensure children have the opportunity to practise and apply the phonics they have been taught at school, ‘red’ words are sent home alongside accurately matched phonetically decodable books. The books sent home will be a reading book they have already read in school to continue to build reading confidence, fluency and expression.
Children are assessed regularly to ensure they are progressing through the programme at the expected pace. We deliver a daily morning Read Write Inc. lesson and an afternoon speed sound lesson. For children who risk falling behind, trained adults redeliver the sound/s in smaller groups. Children at Westlea are continually supported to be successful in gaining the solid base of the phonic code to further develop their reading, writing and access learning opportunities in KS2 and beyond.
Progress
- By the end of Reception we expect all children to know the single sounds in Set 1 and know some of the double digraph sounds, for example sounds like; ch, sh, th, ee, ng, nk.
- By the end of Year 1 we expect all children to know Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds. By the end of Year 1 children will undertake a phonics screening check to assess their reading ability of 40 real and nonsense words containing these sounds.
- By Summer term in Year 2 we aim for most children to be moving off the Read Write Inc. program but children will remain on the programme until they have secure phonological knowledge and are reading fluently. Some children will continue on this program into KS2.
Order of the programme
The programme is ordered through a series of colour-coded books, each progressively introducing new letters and sounds. Children are assessed every six weeks to review whether they are ready to progress onto the next book colour. Below, you can find the progression of book colours and the typical age-range that children will be exposed to them. You can also find, below, documents to download which identify exactly which new learning is introduced in each book colour phase.
Phonic Screening Check
The Phonics Screening Check usually takes place at the beginning of June when children are in Year 1. This check consists of 40 words that children have to blend and read. If your child is unsuccessful at passing the phonics screening check in Year 1, they have another opportunity to take the test in Year 2.
What is the phonics screening check?
This is a quick check of how the children have responded to phonics as a strategy for developing their ability to read. It is a statutory requirement, and it involves your child decoding words using only their phonic knowledge. It helps us to confirm whether they have met the expected standard for a child at the end of Year 1.
How does the check work?
- Your chid is asked to read 40 words aloud to a teacher who is known to them.
- Your child may have read some of the words before, while others would have been completely new.
- The check should only take a few minutes to complete; however, there is no time limit.
Meeting the expected standard
The check is scored out of 40 and the pass mark in the past has been out of 32. This can vary year on year.
All children, regardless of their mark, will continue to access phonics learning until the end of Year 2 at least. If your child did not achieve 32 marks or more, they will be given additional support in phonics to help them to improve. The nature of this support will vary depending on how close to the threshold they are.
Previous phonics materials can be found here: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Early Years Foundation Stage
Reading is a high priority within Early Years and underpins everything we do. This includes making sure topics taught are built around a wide selection of books linked to children’s interests.
Reading in Early Years
Books in Nursery
In Nursery, the importance of reading starts as links are established through the weekly ‘Family Library Time’ where children can choose a book, with their adult, to take home for the week. These are accompanied by suggested activities which help to engage families with the books and have fun!
‘OUR FAVOURITE FIVE’
Over the course of the academic year the Nursery team ensure that children attending the Nursery are provided with exciting reading opportunities and are reading high quality chosen books. These books have been selected to be topical, traditional tales and story-based language, enriched language and patterned language stimulus and to provide the start of a deep cultural capital with acceptance, diversity and equality being taught through stories, rhymes and books. Books will also be shared that assist children with moments of transition and help with emotions or life events. Click the image to see our favourite five books for nursery.
Reading in Early Years
Books in Reception
In Reception, children are taught the technical skills of reading but are also taught how to talk about books through whole class taught sessions and small group work. Reception children have a balance of phonics-based books and ‘real’ books to develop the wide range of reading skills. These ‘real’ books are our Dream Reads. We have selected a set of wonderful books which we feel will give our children an enjoyable and varied reading diet by the time they leave Reception. Our Dream Reads are sent home with the children during the weekly ‘Family Library Time’ to be enjoyed with their adult/s.
‘OUR FAVOURITE FIVE’
Reception team have selected 5 books per half term in which to read and reread with the children, To explore language, story, characters, plot. These books will link enable the children to extend and deepen their story bank in future years. Book choice has been carefully considered with each book having to earn the right to be read to the children. EYFS consider books that relate to past and present, people, cultures and communities, natural world and starting school and moving on.Early Years Foundation Stage.
“It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).” EYFS Statutory Framework Education Programme
By the end of their Reception year the children are expected to meet ‘Comprehension’ and ‘Word Reading’ Early Learning Goals (ELGs).
ELG: Comprehension
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary;
- Anticipate – where appropriate – key events in stories;
- Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play.
ELG: Word Reading
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs;
- Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending;
- Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.
Reading in Key Stage One
Children in Years 1-6 continue to be supported with developing their reading fluency, accuracy and stamina as well as the progression of comprehension skills. This is achieved through both group and whole-class reading sessions.
All of our English units are planned around high quality texts to ensure our pupils are immersed in quality literature. We use The Power of Reading and enrich learning in the foundation subjects with high quality fiction and non-fiction books.
Our favourite 5 books in Year 1 and Year 2 are shared during ERIC time (Everyone Reading In Class) which happens at the end of every day.
Children receive daily reading sessions in Read Write Inc. or guided reading when the program is finished, which run in small groups, and a daily whole class reading to support their reading skill development in relation to the year group outcomes.
Books in Year One
‘OUR FAVOURITE FIVE’
In Year 1, children continue to be taught the technical skills of reading and develop their talk about books through whole class taught sessions and small group work. Year 1 children have a balance of phonics-based books and ‘real’ books to develop the wide range of reading skills. These ‘real’ books are our Favourite five books and a carefully selected range of books that support these chosen texts. We have selected a set of wonderful books which we feel will give our children an enjoyable and varied reading diet that will extend and further develop reading knowledge and vocabulary. The favourite five books are selected to cover all aspects of curriculum, challenge stereotypes and broaden horizons. They will support life changes and new situations that children may experience.
Year 1 National Curriculum objectives
Books in Year Two
‘OUR FAVOURITE FIVE’
In Year 2, children continue to build upon their learning of reading to become more fluent and knowledgeable about texts. This will be taught through whole class sessions and small group guided reading work. Year 2 children have closely matched phonics-based books and a wider selection of ‘real’ books to develop the wide range of reading and language skills. These ‘real’ books are our Favourite five books and consist of a varied selection of texts ranging from high quality picture books to chapter books. We have carefully selected a set of wonderful books which we feel will give our children an enjoyable and varied reading diet that will extend and further develop reading knowledge and vocabulary. The favourite five books are selected to cover all aspects of curriculum, challenge stereotypes and broaden horizons. They will support life changes and new situations that children may experience.
Year 2 National Curriculum objectives
Reading for Pleasure
At Westlea, we place high quality story, non-fiction and poetry books at the heart of our curriculum. Books are carefully chosen for each topic to engage and inspire the children to develop a passion for reading. We want children to move from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’ and for enjoyment as soon as possible. In this regard, children bring home a ‘Library’ book each week alongside their closely matched phonics based book. This is introduced in Nursery with a library box and our ‘Dream reads’ are books for children to use and lend in Reception.
By Year1 children are encouraged to select books from our school library. These books are clearly marked with WPS stamp and are for you to read to your child and enjoy together building those special times where family and friends can share a book. Children will also develop preferences and favourite books so may bring the same book home more than once. The ‘library’ books are chosen by your child each week as part of their daily routine and will come home in their reading folders. These will be encouraged to be returned each week.
In school, children have Read Aloud time each day and this can be a story, poem or non-fiction book which has been selected for the class from their favourite five list or perhaps voted for by the children. These experiences are beneficial as reading aloud to children allows them to relax, enjoy the text and absorb the language they are hearing.
Author of the term
Each class in school has an author of the term that the class teacher shares with the children. The teacher will read books surrounding this author and perhaps learn a little more about them. The children will have a photograph of the author in their book corners and a selection of books that they can enjoy in class.
Seaham Local Library
Please remember to make use of the amazing local library in Seaham. They offer a fantastic range of books, games and resources for you to borrow and use at home- free of charge with your library card.
Seaham Library – Durham County Council
Book Bags
Every child in school receives a book folder with their name on. These folders are provided to protect our books and transport them to and from school and home. Please send your child’s book bag in every week along with their home reading diary. Lost or damaged reading folders can be replaced at the school office for a fee of £1:00.
Reading Diaries
Reading diaries are used to communicate between home and school. Inside your child’s reading diary, you will find information pertinent to their reading age and ability. Teachers will communicate reading progress and possible suggestions for your child if they feel it is suitable. Please support your child by listening to them read and signing their book weekly. The routine of reading daily and the time given to this should increase as your child moves up through the school. Teachers will suggest timings in their welcome meetings and information that reflects this. If you have any queries or need support in any way with reading then please contact the school.