English Reading

 

Reading is taught through a structured and consistent approach that reflects pupils’ changing needs as they progress through school. Early reading begins with systematic phonics teaching through Read Write Inc., before pupils increasingly develop fluency, comprehension and independence through whole-class and targeted reading provision. The sister-school model similarly places secure decoding, daily fluency and explicit comprehension teaching at the centre of reading provision.

 

In Reception and Key Stage 1, Read Write Inc. provides systematic and explicit teaching of phonics. Pupils learn grapheme-phoneme correspondences, practise oral blending and segmenting and apply this knowledge when reading closely matched decodable books. Repetition and regular assessment ensure that pupils develop increasingly automatic decoding.

 

Pupils read books that are appropriately matched to their phonic knowledge so that they can practise taught sounds successfully and experience genuine reading independence. Familiarity with texts through repeated reading supports accuracy, fluency, confidence and understanding.

 

As pupils become secure in decoding and progress beyond the RWI programme, teaching places increasing emphasis upon reading fluency and comprehension. Pupils encounter appropriately challenging whole-class texts and develop the knowledge and strategies required to interpret these successfully.

 

Reading lessons follow our agreed structure of Revisit → I do → We do → You do, with checking for understanding throughout.

Revisit: Teachers activate relevant prior knowledge, previously taught vocabulary, reading strategies or knowledge of the text. This may include revisiting information from an earlier section of the text, retrieving meanings of vocabulary or reminding pupils of an aspect of comprehension previously taught.

 

I do: The teacher explicitly models the thinking process of an effective reader. This may include demonstrating how to use contextual clues to determine vocabulary meaning, retrieve evidence, make an inference, summarise information or explain an author’s choice. Teachers think aloud so that otherwise invisible reading processes are made explicit.

 

We do: Pupils apply the strategy with teacher guidance. Discussion, questioning and shared reading enable teachers to establish pupils’ understanding, address misconceptions and scaffold reasoning before pupils are expected to work independently.

 

You do: Pupils apply their developing reading knowledge independently. They read, respond and justify their thinking using appropriate evidence from the text, demonstrating increasing independence and sophistication.

 

Checking for understanding is continuous. Teachers use questioning, oral response, discussion, written answers, observation and reading aloud to establish what pupils understand. Misconceptions are addressed promptly rather than waiting until the end of a lesson or unit.

 

Reading comprehension is explicitly developed across a range of areas, including vocabulary, retrieval, inference, prediction, explanation and summarising, with increasing complexity as pupils progress through the school. Pupils are taught that successful comprehension often requires several of these processes to operate together rather than treating them as isolated question types.

 

Fluency teaching is an explicit and regular part of reading provision. Teachers model fluent reading and pupils have opportunities to hear, rehearse and reread texts. Approaches may include echo reading, choral reading, paired reading and repeated reading, with deliberate attention to accuracy, phrasing, expression and appropriate pace.

Fluency work develops pupils’ understanding of prosody. Pupils learn that punctuation, sentence structure and meaning affect how a text should sound and that expressive reading can demonstrate and support comprehension.

 

Pupils identified as requiring further support with fluency receive targeted reading fluency booster sessions. These provide additional opportunities for supported and repeated reading, with the aim of increasing accuracy, automaticity, confidence and prosody so that pupils are better able to access age-appropriate texts.

 

Assessment information is used to identify pupils whose reading remains below expected levels. Where appropriate, pupils whose reading age is below their chronological age access Reading Plus as an additional targeted intervention. This complements, rather than replaces, high-quality classroom reading instruction and is used to provide additional practice and support pupils in closing identified gaps.

 

Sparx Reader is also used to strengthen reading fluency, independence and regular reading habits. It is incorporated into class provision and used as part of home learning, providing pupils with additional opportunities to read regularly beyond discrete reading lessons.

 

Digital reading platforms are used as supplementary tools rather than substitutes for teacher-led reading instruction or access to physical books. Teachers continue to explicitly model fluent reading, teach comprehension and discuss texts with pupils so that technology supports rather than defines the reading curriculum.

 

Vocabulary instruction is an important part of reading. Teachers explicitly explore unfamiliar words, consider meaning within context and draw attention to morphology, synonyms and shades of meaning where appropriate. Previously taught vocabulary is deliberately revisited so that pupils can increasingly access complex texts independently.

 

Teachers also recognise the importance of background knowledge. Where a text assumes knowledge that pupils may not possess, key concepts and contextual information are introduced carefully so that comprehension is not unnecessarily limited by gaps in prior experience.

 

Pupils are taught to provide evidence-informed responses. As they mature, they move beyond simply locating information towards selecting the most relevant evidence, explaining how it supports an interpretation and recognising when different interpretations may be possible.

 

Reading is taught across the curriculum. Teachers model how reading a historical source, scientific explanation or geographical text may require different approaches and explicitly teach subject-specific vocabulary and text structures where these are necessary for understanding.

 

Reading for pleasure is deliberately promoted alongside formal instruction. Pupils have opportunities to hear adults read aloud, select books independently, discuss recommendations and encounter authors, genres and forms that may broaden their interests. The aim is to build reading habits rather than treating reading solely as an assessed curriculum skill.

 

In the Early Years, the foundations of Reading are developed primarily through Literacy and Communication and Language. Daily Read Write Inc. teaching develops early decoding, while stories, rhymes, songs and regular adult read-aloud sessions develop vocabulary, comprehension, narrative understanding and enjoyment.

 

Children are surrounded by meaningful print and have regular access to attractive and accessible books within continuous provision. Adults model book handling, talk about stories and encourage children to predict, retell, discuss characters and make connections with their own experiences.

 

Assessment is used carefully to identify pupils who are not acquiring early reading knowledge securely. Additional RWI practice or other targeted support is provided promptly so that gaps in foundational decoding do not become entrenched.

Across the school, reading assessment draws upon a range of evidence, including decoding, fluency, comprehension, teacher observation, written responses, pupil discussion and appropriate standardised information. No single data point is used in isolation to define a pupil as a reader.

 

Subject leadership supports effective implementation through learning walks, pupil voice, assessment analysis, scrutiny of reading provision and professional development. Monitoring considers decoding, fluency and comprehension as interconnected elements and evaluates whether pupils are becoming increasingly confident and independent readers.

 

 

 

The impact of our Reading curriculum is seen in pupils who develop into accurate, fluent, confident and thoughtful readers. Pupils increasingly read with independence and are able to direct greater attention towards meaning as decoding and word recognition become increasingly automatic.

 

In early reading, pupils demonstrate secure application of their phonics knowledge. They can blend unfamiliar words, recognise increasingly familiar words automatically and apply their decoding knowledge when encountering new vocabulary.

 

Pupils develop increasingly strong fluency. They read accurately, at an appropriate pace and with phrasing and expression that reflect punctuation and meaning. Their oral reading demonstrates increasing confidence and their fluency enables them to engage successfully with progressively demanding texts.

 

Pupils receiving additional fluency support demonstrate progress from their individual starting points, with targeted booster sessions enabling them to develop greater automaticity and confidence. Intervention is evaluated according to whether it enables pupils to participate increasingly successfully in the wider reading curriculum.

 

Pupils develop increasingly secure comprehension. They can retrieve relevant information, explain vocabulary in context, infer meaning, summarise key information, make predictions and discuss how authors use language and structure to communicate ideas.

Pupils increasingly support interpretations with appropriate textual evidence. They move from identifying evidence towards explaining its relevance and recognising that some texts permit more than one reasonable interpretation.

Pupils develop broad and increasingly sophisticated vocabularies through reading and are able to use contextual and morphological knowledge to support understanding of unfamiliar language.

 

Pupils demonstrate increasing reading stamina and can sustain attention across longer and more challenging texts. They approach unfamiliar material with growing confidence and know which strategies to use when meaning breaks down.

 

Pupils apply reading successfully across the curriculum, enabling them to access subject knowledge, interpret information and learn increasingly independently in History, Geography, Science and other areas.

Pupils demonstrate positive reading habits both in school and at home. Through class reading, independent reading, Sparx Reader and other reading opportunities, they increasingly take responsibility for maintaining regular engagement with books and texts.

Pupils demonstrate Honesty in their reading responses by distinguishing between what a text actually states and what they infer or believe. They understand that interpretations should be grounded in appropriate evidence.

Respect and Kindness are evident when pupils discuss texts and interpretations. They listen to different responses, recognise that readers may interpret elements of a text differently and engage sensitively with characters and experiences beyond their own.

 

Reading strengthens pupils’ sense of belonging. Pupils increasingly identify themselves as readers, regardless of their starting points, and recognise that improvement is possible through high-quality teaching, purposeful practice and appropriate support. They understand that reading is an activity in which everyone at Ascot Road can participate.

 

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are well prepared for the demands of secondary education. They can read increasingly complex fiction, non-fiction and poetry with appropriate fluency, comprehend texts at depth and communicate informed interpretations using evidence.

 

Curriculum impact is evaluated through statutory and internal assessment information, phonics outcomes, fluency, reading ages where appropriate, pupil voice, written and oral responses, intervention information and pupils’ ability to apply their reading independently. This reflects the sister-school emphasis on assessing reading through outcomes, discussion, written response and independent application rather than through one measure alone

 

 

At Ascot Road Primary School, Reading is inclusive by design. We believe that every pupil is entitled to become as confident and independent a reader as possible and recognise that difficulties in decoding, language, fluency, memory, attention or comprehension can significantly affect access to the wider curriculum. Early identification and carefully targeted support are therefore essential.

Pupils with additional needs remain part of an ambitious shared reading curriculum. Adaptation focuses on removing barriers to accessing the intended learning rather than routinely providing pupils with less intellectually ambitious texts or limiting their opportunities to discuss sophisticated ideas.

 

Pupils who have not secured foundational decoding receive targeted support through Read Write Inc. and additional practice appropriate to their identified gaps. Decodable materials are closely matched to pupils’ phonic knowledge so that they can practise successfully rather than being required to guess unfamiliar words from context.

Reading difficulties are considered carefully so that teachers identify the likely source of the barrier. A pupil who can decode accurately but lacks fluency may require a different response from a pupil with insecure phonics, limited vocabulary or difficulties with language comprehension.

 

Pupils who require additional support with fluency benefit from targeted reading fluency booster sessions, including carefully supported repeated reading and modelling of pace, phrasing and prosody. The objective is to increase automaticity and reduce the cognitive demand associated with word reading.

 

Where assessment indicates that a pupil’s reading age is below their chronological age, Reading Plus may be used as an additional intervention. Teachers use this alongside wider assessment information so that pupils continue to receive explicit teaching and do not rely solely upon an online programme.

 

Sparx Reader can provide additional structured reading practice in school and at home. Where pupils have SEND, teachers consider accessibility and ensure that any digital provision complements the pupil’s wider reading needs and does not become a barrier itself.

 

Vocabulary can be pre-taught where necessary so that unfamiliar language does not prevent pupils from understanding the central ideas of a text. Visuals, definitions, morphology, examples and repeated oral use support pupils in developing secure semantic understanding.

 

Complex texts may be appropriately scaffolded through chunking, teacher read-aloud, paired reading, additional processing time, visual support or guided questioning while retaining access to the same rich ideas and content as peers.

 

The Revisit → I do → We do → You do structure supports gradual release of responsibility. Teachers make expert reading processes explicit, provide supported practice and move pupils towards independent application at an appropriate pace.

 

Pupils with speech, language and communication needs may require additional processing time and structured opportunities to rehearse responses orally. Sentence stems or guided discussion can support pupils in articulating an inference or explanation without reducing the intellectual demand of the question.

 

Pupils with visual, sensory or physical needs are supported through appropriate adjustments to text presentation, positioning, technology or method of access. Where adaptations are required, the intended comprehension and literary learning remain ambitious.

 

Adults support pupils strategically rather than routinely reading or answering for them. The aim is always to develop increasing independence, with scaffolds reduced when pupils demonstrate that they no longer require them.

Pupils who demonstrate secure understanding are challenged through greater depth, including richer texts, greater independence, nuanced inference, comparison, evaluation and increasingly sophisticated discussion rather than simply completing additional questions.

 

Our value of Fairness is central to reading provision. Pupils may require different texts for decoding practice, additional fluency rehearsal, technological support or different scaffolds, but every pupil is entitled to rich language, meaningful discussion and the opportunity to develop a positive identity as a reader.

Through this approach, pupils understand that needing additional support does not place them outside the community of readers. Every child is supported to experience progress and develop a genuine sense of belonging within the reading culture of Ascot Road.

 

Reading provides one of the most powerful means through which pupils can encounter the breadth of human experience. At Ascot Road, texts are selected thoughtfully so that pupils encounter a diverse range of authors, characters, cultures, identities, settings, experiences and perspectives within fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

 

We aim for our reading curriculum to provide pupils with both mirrors and windows: books in which they can recognise aspects of their own lives and identities, alongside books that introduce experiences, cultures and perspectives beyond their own. This is fundamental to our commitment to belonging.

 

Pupils should not encounter diversity only when reading explicitly about difference or discrimination. Diverse characters, families, authors and communities are represented naturally within the range of texts pupils read so that diversity is understood as a normal feature of modern Britain and the wider world.

 

Reading helps pupils develop Respect by enabling them to encounter beliefs, cultures and experiences that may initially be unfamiliar. Through careful discussion, pupils learn to distinguish between understanding another perspective and being required to adopt it themselves.

 

Literature provides powerful opportunities to develop Kindness and empathy. Through engaging with characters, narratives and lived experiences, pupils are encouraged to consider motivations, emotions and circumstances beyond their own immediate experience.

Fairness is reflected in the range of voices represented within our curriculum. Text selection seeks to avoid giving pupils a narrow view of whose stories, experiences or achievements are worthy of being read and discussed.

 

Pupils are encouraged to identify and discuss stereotypes and representations where these are relevant to a text. As they mature, they consider how authors construct characters and perspectives and recognise that written texts can both reflect and influence attitudes within society.

 

Honesty is developed through critical reading. Pupils increasingly understand that texts have authors and purposes and that not all written information is necessarily objective, complete or accurate. Within age-appropriate contexts, they learn to consider evidence, perspective and reliability.

 

Reading across the curriculum broadens cultural knowledge further. Historical accounts, geographical writing, biographies, scientific texts and religious or worldview sources expose pupils to the achievements, experiences and perspectives of communities across different places and periods.

 

Teachers are sensitive to the cultural contexts of texts and avoid reducing a character, author or story to a representative of an entire community. Pupils learn that there is diversity within cultures and groups as well as between them.

The literature and reading experiences already present within pupils’ homes and communities are valued. Pupils are encouraged to share recommendations and reading experiences and multilingual reading is recognised as an important part of the linguistic richness of our school community.

 

Reading also contributes to pupils’ understanding of Responsibility. As readers become more independent, they learn to engage critically with the information and ideas they encounter and recognise the importance of not accepting every written claim without thought or evidence.

 

Ultimately, reading strengthens belonging by connecting pupils with other people, experiences and ideas. Through Respect, Honesty, Kindness, Responsibility and Fairness, we aim to create a community in which every pupil can recognise themselves as a reader, see their experiences valued and develop the curiosity to understand lives beyond their own.