At Kempshott Junior School, we teach to the National Curriculum expectations and intend that all our children:

Are able to read fluently, and confidently comprehend the wide range of texts (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) that they will encounter within our curriculum. 

Increase their range and knowledge of vocabulary through the words they encounter, and learn to understand and use, in their reading. 

Have a deeply ingrained love and appreciation of reading for pleasure that will follow them through their lives.

Make use of their reading to become questioning, imaginative and curious learners who are prepared to take risks, play with language structure and meaning to develop their imagination and writing.

Have had access to, and are encouraged to read and discuss, a wide range of literature that will enable them to appreciate our heritage, learn about other cultures, develop empathy, and gain knowledge across the curriculum.

Will be ready to access the secondary school curriculum with confidence and resilience.

Implementation 

Reading is taught with a focus on mastering word reading and comprehension skills in order that children become fluent in each of the domains:  Word Reading, Clarify, Summarise, Select and Retrieve, Respond and Explain, Inference, Language for Effect and Themes and Conventions.

We make use of the Hampshire Teaching reading for comprehension toolkits which supports understanding of comprehension strategies.  We use the Year 2/3 toolkit in Year 3 and the Year 4/5/6 toolkit in Years 4-6.

The comprehension strategies explicitly taught to children in whole-class reading sessions are:  applying word reading strategies, notice breakdown and fix it, infer, skim, scan, form opinions, think aloud, visualise, connect to prior knowledge, ask questions, get the gist, note text structure and predict.

With mastery, many reading strategies become innate reading skills.  We aim to achieve mastery of the reading curriculum through modelling, questioning, giving opportunities for talk and independent practice so that children can be explicitly taught reading strategies that become skills.

Our Long Term Reading Overview ensures that we cover a range of challenging texts:  fiction (including literacy heritage texts), non-fiction and poetry and, where possible, these texts are linked to other areas of the curriculum.

The teaching of comprehension for each text in the Long Term Reading Overview is developed into a unit plan which identifies:  the text/s used; the domain/s included; the reading strategies/skills to be taught within each lesson; the activities and questions to be used and the work to be completed by the children.

Children complete independent practice in a Reading Journal which forms a record of the development of strategies to skills.

There is an emphasis on the development of vocabulary skills when accessing texts which may include pre-reading with identified groups of children.

Teachers identify children who need support in developing comprehension skills and will work with them as a focus group within the lesson, and/or these children are given additional support in an intervention group.

All year 3 children and identified children in years 4, 5 and 6 are assessed for reading at the start of the Autumn Term.  Those children who are identified as below their chronological age for reading are then tested using the ELS diagnostic test to pinpoint gaps in learning. Children identified as needing extra support for reading take part in the Project Code X programme and take home a reading book that is linked to this programme. In addition to this, all children who are on a colour banded reading book have access to a phonics based reading book.

Children are encouraged to read at home at least 5 times each week and record their reading in their Reading Planner. 

Children in the lowest 20% of readers for each year group are listened to reading by an adult on at least three occasions per week.

Reading for Pleasure

Teachers read from a class story for 15-20 mins every day.  As an expert reader, the teacher can model fluent and expressive reading, and encourage children to see the enjoyment in reading for pleasure as they enjoy, and engage with, the text.

Children have access to our school library and a class library, so they have a wide range of books to choose from.  Exchange visits with our SLS ensure that a wide range of up-to-date books are available to the children.

Author visits are arranged with book signings to engage children in reading for pleasure.

Children are given time to read from a book of their choice during the school day.  They record their reading in their Reading Planner.

Impact

Children in all Year Groups complete the NFER Reading papers in each term.  Teachers use the results of these to identify areas of success and those for development either with a whole class or groups of children.

At the end of each milestone, a summative teacher assessment is made and data is analysed to support with adaptation of planning and intervention.

Year 6 children will sit the end of key stage two statutory assessments and they will have an opportunity to practice these and monitor their progress prior to the test.

The teaching of reading is also monitored regularly, at least half termly, through the data, book and planning monitoring, learning walks or observations.

                                           

           Reading overview                                          Reading progression 

Recommended Reads 

                  

 

Useful Links

Whatever your child's age and whatever books they like to read, this is a useful website to help you find something new.	Another great website to support in the finding and choosing of new books.	Sign in using your google log in to access a range of eBooks.	Here you will find the best reads, reviews and recommendations of children's books for children families and teacher to browse.
The next World book day takes place on 2nd March. Don't forget to use your book voucher.	Find out more about Hampshire libraries reading challenge and how to become a member and library events.	A useful website for children to read poems and have their poems published.	Would you like to win a free book to review for us? Just enter a giveaway and follow the instructions.