Reading

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

Intent  

At Firs Primary School, we believe that reading is the foundation for learning and is a vital skill that underpins the success of our students across all subjects. We prioritise reading as a fundamental skill that opens doors to knowledge, imagination, and emotional understanding. Reading enhances comprehension skills, fosters critical thinking, and enriches vocabulary.  Our intent is to cultivate a lifelong love of reading by ensuring that every pupil is equipped with the skills required to read fluently and with comprehension, regardless of their starting point. 

Reading is at the heart of our learning approach. Through structured reading lessons, guided reading sessions, and exposure to a wide range of texts, we aim to build fluency, comprehension, and critical thinking skills. We understand that strong reading skills support and enhance learning in every subject, from mathematics to science, history to the arts, and beyond. Whether students are reading instructions, exploring new ideas, or engaging in creative writing, the ability to read effectively is essential for academic achievement. 

We aim to: 

• Foster a Reading Culture: Create an environment where reading is valued and promoted through diverse literature, author visits, and engaging reading challenges. 
• Develop Fluency and Comprehension: Implement a rigorous curriculum that comprises systematic phonics instruction, comprehension strategies, and vocabulary enrichment throughout the year. 
• Promote Inclusivity: Provide tailored support and interventions for pupils with differing abilities, ensuring that every child, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), has equal opportunities to develop their reading skills. 
• Encourage Critical Thinking: Stimulate critical discussions and reflections about texts, allowing children to develop their opinions and engage meaningfully with a range of genres and formats. 

Our reading intent is to make reading an enjoyable and integral part of school life, encouraging students to become lifelong readers who value books, knowledge, and the power of words. Through a supportive, inclusive, and nurturing environment, we aim to develop a deep-rooted passion for reading that will stay with our pupils throughout their lives. 

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 Year 1onwards , children receive a dedicated whole class guided reading lesson every day, using our structured reading curriculum. 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 1 to Year 6. Lessons follow an I Do – We Do – You Do model and are tightly aligned to the reading domains. These are broken down into child friendly language (acronym VIPERS): 

• Vocabulary is explicitly taught and revisited. 
• ​Inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, sequencing and summarising are taught progressively using sentence stems guided practice and structured tasks. 

Teaching Sequence & Structure 

EYFS  

Reading lessons are taught in small, guided groups. Teaching this way gives staff the opportunity to work closely with students, tailoring the teaching and the level of the text to their needs. Children practise reading sight words and use their phonic knowledge to decode. We use the Collins Big Cat phonics reading scheme books during these lessons. In addition, the Early Years provision is planned around a weekly story. These texts have been carefully selected to link with half termly topics and are changed to follow the children’s interest. 

Year 1 and KS2 

• Daily reading lessons follow using our structured reading curriculum, which and are tightly aligned to the reading domains. 
• Daily reading opportunities included to develop fluency and prosody skills. 

• 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 

• Our structured reading curriculum progression ensures clear skill development from Year 2 to Year 6.
• Termly summative reading assessments, ensuring a consistent and rigorous approach to monitoring progress. 

• Half termly STAR reader assessments to assess children’s reading ability and comprehension skills.  

• Weekly Comprehension quizzes  
• Fluency Assessments in Year 2 (Autumn 1/Autumn 2) ensures that children have sufficient fluency and decoding skills  

• Half termly Reading Speed Assessments to monitor the reading fluency in Year 3 to Year 6. 

• 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 reader 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.