Reading

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift”
Kate DiCamillo

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark”
Victor Hugo

At Wellesley Park School, we recognise that reading is one of the most important skills that we can equip our children with. We support all children to be motivated and enthusiastic readers and to be confident to read across a range of text types and genres. All of our staff recognise the importance of reading and work together as a team to help every child reach their potential. Our reading curriculum is deliberately designed to teach the initial building blocks of reading (phonics, story structure and language) and sequentially develop these skills, building on and developing skills until children leave us as confident readers.

• Children take part in daily, high-quality reading sessions, (phonics and/or guided reading), following a well-structured progression for the teaching of skills.

• Staff follow a progression of key texts for each year group, in order to ensure that every child has access to high-quality texts. This includes guided reading, non fiction texts, poetry and class reading novels.

• Children read books that are carefully matched to their phonic or comprehension ability.

• Staff are given regular reading CPD to ensure provision is high-quality. Staff regularly share good practise across the school.

• Reading is embedded across the curriculum, with non-fiction texts used to support the teaching of the wider curriculum.

Reading is monitored regularly across the school. This includes lesson observations, planning scrutiny, book scrutiny, analysis of assessments and pupil voice. Teachers use ongoing, formative assessment (including questioning, marking and low-stakes quizzes) to ensure progress for all pupils. Termly summative assessments are used from Year 1 upwards and these give a clear indication of attainment at each point in time. The impact of our Reading teaching is clear – children leave Wellesley Park having made good progress from entry. Most children attain or exceed the expected standard of reading.