English

At Linthwaite Clough Primary, we believe that the teaching of reading is integral to a child’s understanding and appreciation of the world around them.  It is a platform that allows our children to see beyond what they know, share cultural experiences and develop the vocabulary they need to express themselves effectively.

We understand the importance of phonics skills and how vital these are in the development of competent reader.  We cultivate behaviours that they need to inspire a love of reading at all stages of their learning journey.

We are committed to providing children with a curriculum with a literacy-rich environment, high quality texts and inspiring learning opportunities which will help them to:  

• Develop a life-long enjoyment in reading for pleasure

• Are exposed to high quality texts from a range of authors, genres and books on different topics and interests

• Develop a good linguistic knowledge of vocabulary and grammar

• Develop the necessary skills and strategies to become fluent and competent readers so they can access all areas of the curriculum

• Develop their comprehension skills so that they understand what is read to them

• Read for meaning, enabling them to respond to texts and justify their answers

• Develop their ability to retell a story or events in order, predicting what might happen next and inferring how someone feels or why something might have happened

• Appreciate the work of different authors, poets and illustrators from a range of different cultures

• Be exposed a wider variety of language, including story language, to develop both their oral and written skills and abilities

It is important that our children are motivated to read at home regularly; when their reading opportunities increase, so does their fluency and stamina which in turn increases their enjoyment of reading.  We know that reading for pleasure is beneficial not only for reading outcomes, but for wider learning enjoyment and mental wellbeing.

In reading, our curriculum is shaped by our school vision which encourages children to be bold, brave and brilliant, regardless of background, ability or additional needs. We are committed to promoting a love for reading and not only giving children opportunities to read in English lessons, but in the wider curriculum too.

The curriculum is designed to meets the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum and the Early Years Framework. We are committed to raising standards of children’s reading to ensure that all children are progressing and achieving at least in line with national expectations.

To achieve our aims, in EYFS and Key Stage 1 we follow a rigorous systematic synthetic phonic programme called FFT ‘Success for All Phonics’. It is built on strong pedagogical foundations and offers everything we need to teach systematic synthetic phonics to Early Years, key Stage 1 and beyond.

In Year 2 we continue the reading journey using a reading programme called ‘Routes to Reading’.  This enables the children to master the skills, knowledge and understanding for reading fluency and comprehension. 

Grammarsaurus is taught from Year 3 to Year 6

Our Reading curriculum is taught:

• So that our youngest children use phonetically decodable books that are matched directly to the child’s phonological awareness

• So that the books the children read are phonetically progressive

• So that children have the opportunity to take part in one-to-one reading with an adult, shared reading and whole class reading across a variety of different curriculum areas

• So that teachers share their love of reading and model reading skills at every opportunity

• So that children can develop their reading fluency, and this is monitored regularly by the class teacher

• So that reading comprehension is taught through the teacher using scaffolded questions which address vocabulary development and word meaning, alongside the development of deduction and inference skills

• So that all children’s progress is monitored and evaluated closely and that additional support and intervention can be put in place for those who are struggling

When does the teaching of reading take place?

• FFT ‘Success for All’ phonics is taught everyday in reception and year 1 (30 mins each day)

• FFT Routes to Reading is taught everyday to most year 2 children (30 mins each day)

• Grammarsaurus Reading Scheme is taught 4 days a week in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 (30 mins x 4 each week)

• FFT Shared Reader is taught every day in reception and year 1 (30 mins each day)

• FFT Spelling with Jungle Club is taught every day to most year 2 children (30 mins each day)

In addition to the above we provide targeted support for those falling behind.

This is done through:

• Same day interventions by the class teacher - QFT

• Additional timetabled interventions and targeted support using ‘Launchpad for Literacy’ to identify and tackle gaps that cause barriers to learning.

• Tutoring with Lightning Squad

SEND and disabilities

• We enable access to appropriate phonics instruction for children with complex needs. Under the Equality Act 2010, we make reasonable adjustments to enable pupils with disabilities to have full access to the curriculum and to be able to participate in it.

The impact of the Reading curriculum at Linthwaite Clough Primary will be assessed in line with the school’s assessment policy.

In addition to this through:

• Our children’s fluency when reading, including the use of expression

• Our children’s ability to read for meaning, allowing them to retell events, make justified predictions and provide evidence-based inferences

• Our children’s appreciation of a wide variety of authors and genres, and their ability to express justified preferences

• Our children’s ability to discuss an author’s use of language and the impact this has on the reader

• The wide vocabulary, including story language, used by the children in both their oral responses and written work

• Our children’s enjoyment of reading

• The percentage of children achieving GLD at the end of EYFS

• The percentage of children reaching the ‘expected standard’ in the Phonics Screen Check

• The percentage of children reaching ARE at the end of Years 1, 2 3,4 and 5

• The percentage of children meeting ARE or beyond at the end of Year 6, when compared to local and national outcomes

Phonics

• AFL – daily in class to identify children needing keep-up support

• Summative assessments at the end of each teaching block using FFT Reading Assessment Programme (RAP)

• Interim Phonics Screen Checks At the end of Autumn and Spring Term

• Phonics Screen Check – this involves children in Year 1 and children in Year 2 who did not reach expected standard the previous year

Reading

In Early Years and KS1 ‘Shared Reading’ and ‘Routes to Reading’ lessons (FFT) are used to formatively assess children to identify gaps and plan subsequent lessons and interventions.

KS2 children will be assessed using ‘unseen texts’ within the Grammarsaurus scheme, practise SATs papers at regular assessment points throughout the year.  Statutory assessments and NFER papers are used termly and at the end of the year respectively.

This information informs the pupil progress meeting taking place each term.

Progress in reading is shared termly at Parents Evenings and at the end of the academic year parents will also be provided with a written report about the child’s progress and attitude to learning.

We intend the impact of our reading curriculum will ensure our pupils are academically prepared for life beyond primary school.  We want them to possess the reading skills and love of literature which will help them to have high aspirations and access any aspects of learning they encounter in the future.