Reading

Our Reading Aims and Values

At Moat House Primary School, we aim to instil a love of reading in all of our pupils. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that pupils not only learn to be fluent and confident readers, but also learn to love reading for pleasure. We want our children to become enthusiastic, engaged readers, who develop a life-long love of books. From Early Years right up to Year 6, children are immersed in high quality and vocabulary rich texts. Staff share a love of stories with our children, transporting them to different worlds, igniting their imaginations and exposing them to the rich knowledge of non-fiction books.

Our principle aims (from the National Curriculum in England) for reading are to:

put reading at the heart of the curriculum,
inspire pupils to develop a ‘lifelong love of reading’,
ensure that pupils develop fluency to confidently read at speed (90 words per minute),
provide pupils with the ability to understand what they have read and use that information for a given purpose,
and encourage children to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.

The core of our reading curriculum is the National Curriculum for England which is supported by the use of Read, Write Inc to teach phonics in EYFS and Key Stage One and the use of Accelerated Reader in Key Stage Two. Read, Write Inc is a systematic, synthetic phonics scheme that is validated by the Department for Education to ensure that children are able to learn the phonics code required for them to become fluent, confident readers. The curriculum has been specifically sequenced in a logical progression to ensure that new knowledge and skills build on what has been taught before: Early Years to Year 6. Key points within objectives are identified for each year group through a whole school reading progression plan.

From the moment children step through our doors, we teach them to be confident, fluent readers through a rigorous phonics programme that ensures by the time a child leaves our school, they are high school ready and ready to take on the world! Therefore, it is our promise to all of our pupils that by the age of 7, every child will be a reader. If they are not, we will do everything within our power to help them catch up, so that all children believe in the power of books!

All pupils are exposed daily to a variety of quality books and shorter texts that are both fiction and non-fiction. Pupils develop a love of reading; a good knowledge of a range of authors; understand more about the world in which they live to widen their horizons and raise their aspirations. Reading is prioritised across our broad and balanced curriculum allowing pupils to read and understand all subjects. Pupils develop resilience by reading and re-reading to develop their understanding of challenging vocabulary.

Reading Spines

At the heart of our Reading Curriculum are our book choices. The books experienced by our children have been especially selected to ignite an excitement around reading whilst simultaneously ensuring our children are exposed to a rich variety of texts which challenge and open doors to new worlds, whilst also acting as mirrors to enable our children to see a reflection of themselves and their own lives/experiences in the books they read. Our book choices are carefully mapped out in our reading spines, which run from Early Years right through to Year 6.

Authors of the Year

To ensure children at Moat House read a rich variety of books and have the opportunity to learn about different writers and genres, we have launched Authors of the Year. Each year group has a carefully selected range of authors who they will study throughout the school year. This is promoted in class as well as within our school library, where children are able to borrow books written by these authors.

Below are samples of the authors our children are exposed to in each year group:

EYFS to Year 6 Authors of the Year

Promoting a Love for Reading

Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. However, research specifically shows that the benefits of reading are more likely to be felt when reading takes place through free choice. The outcomes of reading will occur more often and more strongly if reading is enjoyable in the first instance. This is why the 'for pleasure' element of reading for pleasure is so important.

Reading is not just something that children should do in school; it needs to be an everyday part of their lives, something we choose to do at all ages and in different environments. At Moat House Primary School, we want to build a culture of reading for enjoyment that will develop a lifelong love of reading which could benefit children in so many ways. We recognise that reading for pleasure will encourage children to succeed both academically and socially.

At our school, we are all passionate to make a difference and promote this love of reading. We aim to empower children to explore the multitude of worlds beyond their own world. So how do we do this? First of all, we need to see this beyond performance league tables and transform the whole school ethos, so that EVERYONE loves reading. Here are some of the things we do:

Class reading time
Reading events
Engaging reading environments
School library with child librarians (picture of children in library with badge to follow once they have been selected in September)
Exposure to a wide range of exciting books and texts
Author visits
Book clubs
Themed reading activities linked to specific times of the year
Involving parents and carers

Pictures of children participating in reading/ events like word book day

Helping your child to read at home:

All children will bring home a banded reading book (EYFS and KS1) or an Accelerated Reader banded book (KS2) as well as a library book of their choice to read for pleasure. Reading these books regularly with your child is vital for their reading development. It is also crucial to ask them about the texts to develop their comprehension skills. Sharing books is also just as important as listening to a child read; this promotes a love of reading and shows the people around them as readers too. Any reading at home should be recorded in your child’s reading record, which also includes resources to support them (and you!) with reading at home.

Research shows that children who read for just 20 minutes a day are exposed to over 2 million words a year! The acquisition of vocabulary and reading fluency supports all aspects of the curriculum, supports good mental health and knowledge about the world. Evidence shows that there is a direct link between reading for pleasure, attainment, success at secondary school and those who gain the highest paid jobs in later life.

Here are some additional resources to support you when listening to your child read at home: