ENGLISH – READING 

 Why do we teach what we teach? (Our intent)

At Oak Green, we want all our pupils to leave Year 6 with a passion for reading; we want them to read fluently and with confidence, in any subject to support them within everyday life. Reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. In addition, reading develops curious minds by capturing pupils’ imagination and building a thirst for knowledge. This allows children to think ‘outside of the box’, ready to take up the challenge of innovation and creativity that today’s technologically savvy society may present them with. We want our pupils to have the skills to allow them to be problem solvers and change makers.

 How do we teach it? (Our implementation)

• We use the Read, Write Inc. phonics programme and reading scheme across the school.  Starting in Reception, pupils receive daily phonics lessons based on the Read, Write Inc. programme. This phonic development programme builds on pupils’ knowledge to ensure they are able to read with greater fluency and understanding. To support this, pupils are given a RWI Book Bag Book which matches their reading ability and includes the phonics sounds being taught.  Pupils continue on the programme until they are fluent with phonics sounds that transfer into their reading.  They then become independent readers and can choose books from their classroom, supported by staff, to ensure the books match their reading ability. 

• From Year R to Year 6, the speedy recognition of words and decoding of unfamiliar words, as well as the strategies for understanding a text are explicitly taught through a daily mix of whole class and small group guided reading sessions. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction texts that have been mapped against each year group. Comprehension activities are based on the VIPERS strands: vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and summarising. The children also make connections between texts and their own experiences. We use questioning to ensure pupils reach age-related expectations, and beyond, and that they are well challenged.

• To establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum, each year group has a core set of carefully selected texts that can be used as inspiration for writing.

• All pupils are encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live. They are regularly encouraged to share their recommendations to the class and wider school community.

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• Staff create a sense of awe and wonder through memorable and immersive experiences to launch the start of reading a new text.

 What is the difference that this makes? (Our impact)

Oak Green’s pupils have a love of reading, which is embedded across the curriculum and is evident in the awe and wonder surrounding reading experienced across the school. Through high-quality reading experiences, Oak Green’s pupils have an extensive vocabulary, obtained through a language-rich environment which is evident in their writing across all age groups. All children at Oak Green value the quality experiences linking to reading, that are memorable, worthwhile and challenging; such as, text launches, World Book Day, story-telling sessions and daily reading aloud. Our whole-class guided reading sessions, enable our pupils to build up a resilience around sharing their own opinions of a text, confidence in questioning themselves and others and self-sufficiency in sourcing evidence from a text. Pupils’ value books as a source of pleasure and enjoyment as well as for information.