Oldfleet Primary School recognises that reading is key to effective learning and as such, it has a very high priority and profile in our school. Reading, Language and Vocabulary development are at the heart of the curriculum. We aim to inspire our children to explore, learn and grow, and make connections by giving them frequent opportunities to read widely. 

 

Children are encouraged to take great pleasure in reading, to read independently, leading to good progress and an appreciation of books. We aim to cultivate a love of reading which will remain with the children for life. We support our children to become language rich. At Oldfleet Primary we believe this is best achieved through reading widely across the curriculum, for information and for leisure.

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In the Foundation Stage classes we foster a love of reading by sharing stories, rhymes, songs and non-fiction texts on a daily basis. The children learn to handle books, they are encouraged to talk constantly about what is happening and they begin to retell familiar stories. All this is happening alongside a systematic, synthetic phonics programme called Read Write Inc. When the children learn letters and sounds, they can apply the skills to the tailored books they are given. 

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In Year 1 and Year 2, as well as continuing the highly-structured programme of teaching phonics, there is also an increasing focus on comprehension. We use reading books from the Read Write Inc. programme which includes carefully-levelled book-bag books to ensure rapid progression in line with their phonic understanding. All children have an opportunity to read with learning partners and their reading teacher regularly. Once children have completed the Read Write Inc. programme, Guided Reading takes place daily. During this time, we develop the children’s fluency, accuracy and comprehension skills. A wealth of high-quality texts, across a range of genres, are used to promote this. 

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To ensure all children keep up, for some the Read Write Inc. journey continues into KS2. Additional tutoring also supports these children on their journey to mastering reading. Throughout KS2, daily Guided Reading allows the teachers to ask a range of highly focused questions and to challenge the children’s ideas. More challenging, high-quality texts are selected to engage all learners. In fiction, we develop the children’s ability to infer, deduce and speculate on the reasons why authors have made particular language choices, choose certain characters, settings and plots. We use different texts as an opportunity to grow a rich spoken vocabulary. We have a range of high quality non-fiction texts which support our Theme learning in both KS1 and KS2. We are seeking to ensure that children appreciate that reading helps them to understand the world around them. 

 

We encourage all parents to read with their children regularly at home. These home reading books are linked to their stage in reading and are reviewed regularly by the class teacher and children are moved on when they are ready. 

​Our school reward system is linked to reading with children able to select a book from our vending machine when they have collected enough Dojo points.

Daily story sessions happen in every class using a well-crafted reading spine which broadens children’s cultural horizons. 

 

Our Woodland Library is an inviting space with a vast collection of fiction and non-fiction texts appropriate to all ages. Timetabled sessions allow all children to select books which can be enjoyed and shared in school. Y6 Librarians support children in making appropriate choices and take responsibility for promoting a love of reading throughout the school.