Intent

Stratton Primary School aims to deliver a rich and purposeful English curriculum which enables children to become confident, literate citizens in today’s society. Our goal is to foster a love for language and literature in order to maximise pupils’ life chances. An essential part of this is developing children’s speaking and listening skills in the early years and equipping them with a broad understanding of language as they progress through the school.

Through our rigorous approach to reading, from Reception through to Year 6, we aim for all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged backgrounds, to become confident, fluent readers.  Teachers strive to inspire and engage all children in reading by using rich, inspirational texts that promote learning. All children are expected to apply their English skills in subjects across the wider curriculum and it is our intention that all pupils reach at least their age-related expectations in phonics and reading.

Implementation 

Early Reading

Children from Reception through to Year 2 learn reading through the 'Read Write Inc.' (RWI) phonics programme. This scheme is used to teach children how to read individual sounds and to blend them to read words. Children are taught how to read fluently using books matched to their ability, once they have a secure understanding of their sounds.

Accelerated Reader

Once the children have completed the RWI programme, they will move onto the 'Accelerated Reader' scheme (also known as ‘AR’).  

AR is designed to ensure pupils select and read texts which match their reading ability. A termly ‘star reader’ assessment identifies the correct reading level zone to choose their books from. Pupils take a quiz in school after reading each book possible to check understanding.  Teachers give regular feedback and support during dedicated AR time in class. As a result, teachers, leaders and the SLT can assess and track children’s progress in reading comprehension. 

Whole Class Reading

Children in Years 2-6 who are confident readers take part in daily whole class reading sessions. In these sessions, children are given the opportunity to develop their fluency further, gain a deep and rich understanding of vocabulary, and to put their reading comprehension skills into practice. 

High-quality texts are chosen based on the Literacy Tree scheme and these provide the children with windows into other worlds and well as mirroring their own experiences. These rich, 'real' books (poetry, fiction and non-fiction) help to develop children's knowledge and understanding of the world. Some examples of these can be found below.

Independent Reading

Each day, children across the school are expected to engage with at least 15 minutes of quiet independent reading. This often happens in the morning when children arrive in school or straight after lunch. Children have access to a range of books in class book corners and also in our two well-stocked libraries.

1:1 Reading with Adults

Throughout Reception and KS1, children have the opportunity to read 1:1 with an adult at least fortnightly. Children who require extra support with their reading will be heard several times a week in school.

In Years 3-6, children are heard 1:1 by their teacher at the start and end of each half term. They are set specific reading targets at the start and these are reviewed with the child at the end of the half term. Children requiring additional support are heard at least once a week. Parent helpers are used to support additional 1:1 reading in most classes.

Reading Buddies

At the start of each year, every child in the school is allocated a reading buddy from another class. Each week, reading buddies meet to share books and practise their reading.

Story Time

Every day at 3pm, children are read to by their class teachers. The texts chosen are wide-ranging and include books from our 'Stratton School Top Reads' lists, as well as books linked to topics, pupil preferences, and teachers' individual choices.

Links to Cornwall Library Service

We also have strong links with Bude Library. Children visit this local resource regularly as part of their Stratton journey and we frequently have a high level of engagement in the Summer Reading Challenge. Cornwall Education Library service supply many of our library books and some of our whole-class reading texts too.

Impact

The English team monitors the impact of this policy in the following ways:

• Learning walks
• Work scrutinies
• Pupil conferencing
• Test data – NFER, SATs, AR scores and quiz data

As a part of the monitoring process, pupil progress and attainment are tracked rigorously by middle and senior leaders.