Reading Strategy

 

Our Reading Strategy is a whole school approach to develop reading comprehension skills. It takes place EVERY day for a minimum of 30 minutes, incorporating age-appropriate, challenging texts, which are rich in vocabulary.

 

There is a clear focus on core comprehension skills which are age appropriate. The strategy aims to develop ‘depth’ in pupil’s responses to their reading. The use of a clear planning and structure supports staff and develops confidence in their delivery of reading. All pupils are exposed to high quality texts and discussions, despite potential barriers to their word reading and comprehension.

 

The core principles of the Reading Strategy are as follows:

• A 30 minute whole class text reading session (Additional reading time to be organised by the school).

 

Reciprocal Reading is a reading technique which we use to promote students' reading comprehension. A reciprocal approach provides students with four specific reading strategies that are actively and consciously used to support comprehension: Questioning, Clarifying, Summarizing, and Predicting.

 

• Wherever possible, whole class reading should take place during the morning this is a non-negotiable session which must not be missed.
• Texts will either last for one full term or half a term.
• The text used in the reading session may not nor need not necessarily link to the work in other areas of the curriculum. The quality of the text is paramount.
• Teachers will identify children who are not yet on track to meet Age Related Expectations (ARE) for their year group and will plan sessions in addition to develop their decoding and fluency.
• All year groups will have a reading record and reading comprehension book. There should be 2 pieces of written response per week. These may be independent, guided, formal or informal responses to reading. These books should reflect the pride and importance of reading.
• Cross curricula reading resources will be supplement with non-fiction and poetry to ensure that a broad range of literature is experienced.

 

Rationale for the implementation of the Reading Strategy

The Strategy has been developed in order to support and develop teaching and learning across our school. The Strategy aims to:

• Ensure that ALL children across school are exposed to high quality, challenging texts.
• Allow for better collaboration both within small schools’ team approach and within year groups to share best practice.
• Reduce teacher workload through planning and resourcing.
• Develop teacher confidence by allowing them to get to ‘know a book well’.
• Ensure that all staff, at all levels, have a sound overview of each child’s basic reading diet across their school.
• Create greater opportunities for school moderation- raising staff awareness of reading expectations in each year group.
• Draw upon expertise of teachers across school and in our small school collaboration as books can be shared and planning too.
• Strengthen the quality and quantity of CPD opportunities offered to staff.

 

Impact

• Increase in outcomes – social, language and communication by offering good quality discussion around high quality books.  
• Improvement in confidence in reading and comprehension skills
• All pupils are exposed to, and begin to utilise a wider vocabulary.
• Evidence of high quality written responses.
• CPD to increase staff confidence in the teaching of reading.
• Networking of teachers to provide high quality lessons and sharing of planning.
• Allows better collaboration across schools, and within year groups to share best practice.
• More effective use of National Curriculum objectives to raise staff awareness of reading expectations in each year group.
• Peer to peer support for reading provides scaffolding for Lower Ability pupils and enables Higher Ability pupils to develop mastery.
• Ensure that all staff have a sound overview of each child’s basic reading diet across school.

 

Next Steps

• Ensure KS1 and KS2 classroom reading sessions are observed by teachers and teaching-assistants to demonstrate and evaluate current good practice in reading is shared.
• Ensure Literacy Cluster meetings are attended to receive new ideas for writing and reading.
• Use links with the Small School’s Cluster to ensure that texts- whole class reads - can be shared amongst the classes across KS1/KS2.
• Continue to develop links at KS3 to ensure that our pupils’ reading journey is high quality and rigorous.