Reading at Wilbury

As reading is at the core of accessing all areas of the curriculum, it is essential that at Wilbury Junior School there is focused and dedicated time given to the teaching of the mechanics of reading. As well as daily reading activities there will be periods for teaching reading every day as part of the English Curriculum.

Aims for reading

The school aims to develop literate pupils who:

• Read for pleasure
• Read to acquire knowledge
• Read a wide range of quality texts
• Make close links between reading and writing
• Read fluently with confidence
• Read to develop vocabulary
• Select own choice of texts
• Read in all subjects

Core teaching methods

The school teaches reading through a combination of approaches:

• Whole class shared reading
• Modelling reading
• Close reading
• Paired reading
• Independent at school and at home
• Decoding
• Reading comprehension with written answers
• Reading assessments

Home-School Reading

Children choose an independent reading text. They record the date, title and page number in their reading record. At Wilbury Junior School we encourage a reading partnership where parents share books at home with their children and provide valuable help and support for this area of the curriculum. Parents are encouraged to make comments in reading records, regarding pupils’ progress.

Intervention programmes

For children who are not making expected progress, a range of intervention programmes are used to ensure pupils ‘catch-up’. These may include 1-1 or in small groups. Children with Special Educational Needs may have targets on their Personal Learning Plan relating to their work in intervention programmes.

Individual Reading

All children will be heard to read by an adult in school on a regular basis at least once per week; more for children who need additional support.

Whole class shared reading

Children are explicitly taught the skills of reading (outlined in the National Curriculum and the KS2 test domains) through the use of VIPERS, which were created by Rob Smith (The Literacy Shed).

In Key Stage Two children, reading skills are taught and practised using VIPERS during whole class reading sessions.

VIPERS whole class reading sessions take place 5x a week for 30 minutes. During these sessions, classes focus on a chapter, while teaching the skills.

• Classes focus on vocabulary within that chapter and complete tasks to boost their general knowledge.
• Teachers focus on the teaching of fluency and will just read the focus chapter. During this session, teachers will use a variety of strategies e.g. echo, choral or paired reading.
• Teachers will select an extract from the chapter and complete a close reading activity.
• Children will complete activities or answer comprehension questions focussing on one of the VIPERS.

Assessment

Reading will be continually assessed through whole-class guided reading. Children will undertake a termly test using the Twinkl reading test, once completed teacher will analyse them.

The PM Benchmark Kit is used to assess and monitor the impact of intervention programmes and to assess the reading ability of pupils.

Reading across the curriculum

As well as reading during English lessons and for enjoyment, appropriate texts are used in the classroom to support the wider curriculum.

The skills of skimming and scanning are developed as the children progress through school and the emphasis

is on applying these skills across the curriculum, using reading skills to further develop knowledge and understanding across a range of subjects.

The school takes part in events such as World Book Day and holds at least one book fair a year, at which parents can buy high-quality books at reduced prices. In addition to this, a reading raffle is held weekly; during which children who have read regularly in the week have a chance to win a reading book.

Equal opportunities

All children have equal access to the curriculum regardless of their race, gender, disability, or ability. A wide range of materials, which promote equality and represent individual characteristics positively and inclusively, will be studied and available to children. Classic books, which do not represent protected characteristics and equality issues, may promote debate and discussion about historical expectations and compare them to society today.