“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” - Phillip Pullman

Implementation

At Firs Primary School, the scheme used to develop early reading is Little Wandle Letters and Sounds revised. Children have books that are matched to their reading ability and phonic phase. In EYFS, Year 1 and 2, the reading sessions are taught until the children are secure decoders.

The reading practice sessions ensure that children gradually develop their phonics skills. At the start of each session, children consolidate their knowledge of GPCs and use sounding and blending to read words.  Teachers ‘tap in’ to hear every child read without any distraction three times a week. Every child gets individual attention, and each session has a very clear focus.

Children also benefit from repeated practice in the pre-read part of each session. It helps them become quicker at reading the GPCs, words and tricky words they will find in the book. Their language learning is supported by the introduction of key vocabulary. Teachers use the same strategies as used in the daily phonics lesson sessions which helps reduce cognitive load.

In Year 2 and KS2, reading is taught systematically and progressively using the Ready Steady comprehension scheme, which provides a clear and structured approach across all year groups. In Year 2, once children are confidently reading, typically during Autumn 2, they move onto access the Ready Steady Comprehension programme. This approach focuses on improving understanding, vocabulary and critical thinking through engaging, structured activities. Children are exposed to a wide variety of high-quality, language-rich texts to expand their ability to comprehend different genres. The units of work progressively develop comprehension skills gradually from Year 2 to Year 6. It provides a structured and engaging approach to fostering reading skills such as decoding, inference, summarising and understanding vocabulary in context.

EYFS and KS1

• Each session starts with a revisit and review. This is an opportunity to reinforce previous learning, supporting children’s retention and apply sound they’ve already learnt.
• Session 1: Decoding – focuses on applying phonics knowledge to word reading.
• Session 2: Prosody – teachers model reading with prosody and children practice applying this skill independently. During the session, children learn to read aloud with appropriate meaning, stress and intonation.
• Session 3: Comprehension - focuses on developing children comprehension skills.
• Vocabulary development is prioritised, with explicit teaching of new vocabulary which is reinforced over the three sessions.

Year 2 and KS2

• Daily reading lessons follow the Ready Steady Comprehension structured approach, which includes key reading skills such as predicting, decoding, inference, summarising and understanding vocabulary in context.
• Daily anchor questions ensure children read with a purpose.
• Daily choral reading is included to develop fluency.
• Vocabulary development is prioritised, with explicit teaching of ambitious vocabulary daily.
• Explicit teaching of reading skills and strategies is embedded within the reading lessons to ensure these key skills are developed and applied.
• A wide range of high-quality, engaging texts to promote a life-long love of reading.
• Progressive genre coverage ensures pupils engage with a range of text types (e.g., poetry, non-fiction and fiction) with increasing complexity as they move through school.

Progression & Assessment

• The Ready Steady Comprehension progression framework ensures clear skill development from Year 2 to Year 6.
• Termly summative reading assessments, ensuring a consistent and rigorous approach to monitoring progress.
• Fluency Assessments in Year 2 (Autumn 1/Autumn 2) ensures that children have sufficient fluency and decoding skills before they take part in Ready Steady Comprehension.
• Pupils receive structured feedback using teacher modelling and peer/self-assessment strategies to improve reading outcomes.

Impact

The impact of our reading curriculum is evident in:

• Fluent and confident readers who can confidently apply their knowledge and experience through a range of texts through the Key Stage 2 curriculum and beyond.
• Children develop a deep love in literature through the consistent exposure to high quality texts.
• A whole school culture of a love of reading and reading for pleasure.
• A rich and varied vocabulary, which immerses and enhances all pupils’ wider knowledge of spoken and written word.
• Consistently strong attainment and progress, measured through termly reading assessments, and end-of-key-stage outcomes.

We measure impact through:

• Termly summative assessments to track progress and identify next steps.
• Little Wandle Fluency Assessments to assess the fluency and decoding skills of children in Year 2.
• Book monitoring and pupil voice feedback to ensure pupils are engaged and progressing.
• End-of-year reading outcomes, ensuring all pupils meet or exceed age-related expectations.

By the time pupils leave Firs Primary School, they will have developed the skills, knowledge, and confidence to succeed as confident, fluent and passionate readers in secondary education and beyond.