Reading
What does English at Bledlow Ridge School look like?
Intent
Reading is a life skill which is the cornerstone to enabling our children to become articulate communicators and we use the National Curriculum to do this effectively. We believe that all children should have the opportunity to be fluent, confident readers who are able to successfully comprehend and understand a wide range of texts.
We want pupils to develop a love of reading, a good knowledge of a range of authors and be able to understand more about the world in which they live through the knowledge they gain from texts. It is not only key for academic success across the whole curriculum but remains a crucial lifeline which prepares pupils for the next stage of their education. The aim for all of our children is to be able to read fluently and with confidence in many subjects. The foundations for successful reading at Bledlow Ridge School are formed through our comprehensive phonics programme: Little Wandle
At Bledlow Ridge School, we understand the importance parents and carers have in supporting their child to develop both word reading and comprehension skills, and so we aim to encourage a home-school partnership which enables parents and carers to understand how to enhance the skills being taught in school through good quality texts.
Implementation
There are many layers to the effective teaching of reading at Bledlow Ridge School.
How we build our reading culture
At Bledlow Ridge School, reading is an essential part of our curriculum offer. To ensure that our reading culture is sustained and embedded we use a range of strategies that are consistently evolving to adapt to the current needs of our pupils-if they see an adult, they see a reader.
All classes have reading areas where pupils can access a range of books.
EYFS: Reading for pleasure is prioritised. The reading area is accessible to all children; there is a range of books for pupils to choose from. Cuddly toys and cushions make this area a comfortable and inviting place for children to read on their own or share a book with a friend.
Stop and Read sessions
Dedicated time on every year groups timetable for adults to read aloud a quality text.
Guided Reading
We use 'Reading Explorers Whole-class text' to support the teaching of reading from Year 2-Year 6.
Reading Explorers focusses on implementing a skills-based approach to the teaching and learning of reading, The series provides teachers with a wide variety of genres, both fiction and non-fiction, which allow children to access, interpret and understand what they are reading. It increases the child's knowledge and understanding of why certain words are chosen by an author. It gives the reader the chance to speculate on the tone and purpose of the texts, as well as consider both texts' themes and audience.
Reading Enrichment
Once a year, during the autumn term, teachers share a wordless book with their class. This is used a stimulus to inspire our children to become authors. They have the opportunity to rewrite the story, using the pictures from the book. They get to share their stories with other children and adults in the school.
Buddy Reading
Specific children get to share a book with a buddy from another class. They enjoy reading and discussing the book that they have chosen together.
Reading Eggs
Many pupils in the school have the opportunity to use reading eggs to support their development and enjoyment of reading. Reading eggs is an educational app to help children become fluent and proficient readers. The learning resource supports children's reading journey with carefully designed online reading games and activities that are easy to follow, self-paced, and highly engaging for young learners.
Language-rich texts for English lessons
Whole school texts are used throughout the year. Each class teaches specific writing through language-rich texts to engage the children.
Impact
We always aim for children to leave Bledlow Ridge as competent readers who can recommend books to their peers; have a hunger for books and seeking out new authors, texts and genres which includes poetry and have a growing confidence in evaluating and discussing language. As a Year 6 reader, transitioning into secondary school, we aspire that children are fluent, confident and able readers, who can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment, as well as use their reading skills to unlock learning and all areas of the curriculum.
Reading outcomes at the end KS2 are above national.