Reading
Intent
At Willow Wood Primary School we believe that a quality Literacy (English) curriculum should develop children’s love of reading and discussion. We believe that reading is key for academic success so we aim to inspire an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage and a habit of reading widely and often. We want to inspire children to be confident in the art of speaking and listening and who can use discussion to communicate and further their learning.
We believe that children need to develop a secure knowledge-base in Literacy, which follows a clear pathway of progression as they advance through the primary curriculum. We believe that a secure basis in reading skills is crucial to a high quality education and will give our children the tools they need to participate fully as a member of society.
Implementation
These aims are embedded across all of our literacy lessons and the wider curriculum. We have a rigorous and well organised English curriculum that provides many purposeful opportunities for reading and discussion. We have developed a curriculum based on Brunner’s spiral curriculum and Ebbinghaus’ ‘forgetting curve’. This is based around a set of core texts taken from the 5 plagues of reading. In addition, we ensure reading is embedded across the curriculum with reading activities included in every curriculum area.
Our curriculum closely follows the aims of the National Curriculum for English 2014.
The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:
● read easily, fluently and with good understanding
● develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
● acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
● appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
● use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
● are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
In addition to daily literacy lessons, children excel in early reading through the use of the Sounds~Write phonics programme through Reception and Year 1 and continue to develop a range of reading skills.
We use a wide variety of quality texts and resources to motivate and inspire our children. Reading books from our Sounds~Write or Big Cat reading scheme are changed weekly so children have time to become fluent and confident in reading their book. They also have access to a ‘Willow Book’ which is to share as a family and develop a real love of reading.
Impact
As a result we have a community of enthusiastic readers and writers who enjoy showcasing their developing literacy knowledge and skills. They are confident to take risks in their reading and love to discuss and share their ideas. Our attainment in reading at the end of EYFS, KS1 and KS2 is improving through our relentless focus on reading and instilling a love of reading in our children.
