Reading:

Intent

At Barming Primary School, the intent of our Reading curriculum is to deliver a curriculum that instils a lifelong love of literature in our children through reading for pleasure.   We strongly believe that it is every child’s right to learn to read and to develop an enjoyment of reading.   Our children have access to a wide range of high-quality texts both in the class libraries and the year group phase libraries.  Through reading a wide range of texts both for personal enjoyment and quality texts shared in whole class guided reading lessons, pupils at Barming Primary School have opportunities to develop their cultural, emotional, moral, social and spiritual understanding of the world. 

Our Reading curriculum intentions are to:

• apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words
• develop stamina to read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading and which act as models for their own writing
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage and understand/internalise the structure of texts
• link texts to the children’s own experiences, learning or topical issues
• use discussion to develop an understanding of author intent, critical thinking – reading to provoke thought in children
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information

Implementation

Read Write Inc

Early Years and Key Stage One (Years 1 & 2):

• Teachers teach using the systematic synthetic programme, Read Write Inc.: Phonics and use a detailed, step-by-step teaching scheme.   Children are first taught simple GPCs, to accurately blend taught sounds, to decode simple words containing taught graphemes and then to read specifically designed books that match their knowledge of phonics and the common exception words.
• Children are asked key questions using the specifically designed books to support their understanding of the text.
• Pupils are taught in small homogenous, flexible groups, across Years R, 1 and 2, which align to the standards they achieve in phonics.
• Children are regularly assessed by the reading leaders to ascertain progress and ensure the programme is matched to their attainment.   Where needed, 1:1 interventions are put in place.
• Teaching staff will use RWI resources and follow detailed lesson plans to maintain the consistency of the teaching of reading across every lesson.   

Whole Class Book Share Session:

• Key texts shared in classes through the week in addition to the core Read Write Inc. texts shared.  Children are encouraged to make predictions, share character feelings and thoughts.
• Sessions encourage book talk and enjoyment of a range of texts.
• Teachers and children use actions to reinforce meaning and emphasise key language patterns.
• On some occasions, the teacher will ask questions to check understanding and develop children’s knowledge of stories.

Key Stage Two:

Complete Comprehension

Structured Rigour

We use this comprehensive program to provide a consistent diet of high-quality texts and explicit skill instruction across all Key Stage 2 classes. This creates a unified learning journey from Year 3 to Year 6.

For those children that join Key Stage 2 in Year 3, if they are not ready we continue with the use of Read Write Inc to ensure they are before moving onto and adapting the Complete Comprehension Scheme.

Decoding vs. Comprehending

The program is designed to separate the mechanics of reading from the deep thinking required for comprehension. This ensures that every child can access complex ideas without decoding acting as a barrier.

A Full Year of Learning

Each year group in KS2 (Years 3, 4, 5, and 6) covers 21 distinct units. This structure ensures broad exposure to different genres, authors, and writing styles, keeping the content fresh and engaging throughout the academic year.

Complete Comprehension - Implementing a Robust Reading Framework for Years 3-6

Why Complete Comprehension?

Structured Rigour

We use this comprehensive program to provide a consistent diet of high-quality texts and explicit skill instruction across all Key Stage 2 classes. This creates a unified learning journey from Year 3 to Year 6.

Decoding vs. Comprehending

The program is designed to separate the mechanics of reading from the deep thinking required for comprehension. This ensures that every child can access complex ideas without decoding acting as a barrier.

A Full Year of Learning

Each year group in KS2 (Years 3, 4, 5, and 6) covers 21 distinct units. This structure ensures broad exposure to different genres, authors, and writing styles, keeping the content fresh and engaging throughout the academic year.

The Weekly Cycle: Foundations

Monday

Introduction: We introduce the specific reading skill, read the text together (choral/echo reading), and explicitly teach key vocabulary to remove comprehension barriers.

Tuesday

Modelling: We re-read for fluency and use "modelling slides" to show how to answer questions. It is an "I do, We do" approach before independent work.

Wednesday

Skill Focus: Children complete a worksheet dedicated entirely to the week's specific skill (e.g., inference or retrieval). The teacher provides targeted support.

Thursday

Mixed Skills: Students tackle a "Mix it Up" worksheet independently. This tests their ability to apply various skills to the text without immediate prompting.

Friday: Oracy Focus

Speaking & Listening

Fridays are unique: there is no recording in books. The focus shifts entirely to oral comprehension.

Activities include debating, hot-seating characters, or summarising the text. This relieves writing fatigue and allows students to articulate their understanding verbally, fostering deeper engagement and confidence.

Key Benefits for our children:

Vocabulary

Explicitly pre-teaching vocabulary ensures students aren't stumbling over unknown words, allowing them to focus on meaning.

Metacognition

By modelling how to think about a question on Tuesdays, we give children the tools to become independent strategic readers.

Oracy

The dedicated Friday session prioritizes verbal expression, helping students who may have excellent comprehension but struggle with writing.

Reading for pleasure – at school and at home:

EYFS, Years 1 & 2

Individual Reading In Years R - 2 provides opportunity for the children to be provided with two books per week.   One of these books will be closely matched to their phonic/reading ability and will be a book from the Read, Write Inc. Phonics programme.  The other book is chosen by the child and may or may not be phonetically decodable.   The second book is to be shared with the adults at home for enjoyment.

Key Stage Two

Children in Years 3 - 6 will have opportunities to access books from class or year group phase libraries.   Children are heard to read at least once over a 2 week period.   For those children continuing to develop their fluency, they will be heard to read more often by both the class teacher and teaching assistant.

During 1:1 reading sessions, adults will be assessing fluency which will also be demonstrated through correct expression, intonation and pace to reflect the content of the novel.  Children will be signposted to alternative texts where needed.  

Impact

The impact of our reading curriculum is:

• Children will know all 44 sounds and the corresponding letters/letter groups using simple picture prompts.   Children will read words using sound blending.
• Children will become fluent readers.   Fluency will also be demonstrated through correct expression, intonation and pace to reflect the content of the novel.
• More children will opt for high-quality texts when choosing a new novel to read.   Children will have developed life-long reading skills, improving their ability and confidence to read a text.
• Children will have increased their familiarity with different question types and will develop their comprehension skills including author intent and critical thinking.   This will result in improved summative assessment scores.
• Children will be able to reflect on their own experiences in relation to the texts shared and discuss the comparisons.
• Children will develop a wide vocabulary base on which to draw from when developing their own written and verbal compositions.
• Children will have an increased knowledge of text types and story structure.

 We want all our children to be able to articulate how they are taught reading and how this impacts the choices they make as a reader.  Children are being prepared for the next stage of their education through this thorough cohesive approach so that they can read at an age-appropriate level and fluency.   This is to ensure that they can access the wider curriculum.

Recommended Reads

We are very fortunate to have over 400 titles in our phase library areas in Years 3 & 4 and Years 5 & 6.  We want the children to be enthused about books they are reading and have introduced new novels in a range of genres, non-fiction titles based on current affairs and interests of our children, poetry and graphic novels.  In our corridor library in Years 1 & 2, the children have a huge choice of different books that appeal to their interest to share and enjoy at home.  In addition, the children also bring home their Read Write Inc Phonics book to be read which will be matched to their phonic knowledge.

The book titles filling our shelves are based on the recommended reading lists generated by the Reader Teacher.  Please see the recommended reading lists for years 3-6.  How many has your child read?  

Check out new release recommendations and suggestions at following website:  https://www.thereaderteacher.com