Reading

Early Reading is an integral part of our curriculum and is taught through a rigorous and systematic approach. To find out more about Phonics at Telferscot, please see the English – Phonics Section.

It is important to us that reading skills are also taught and practised across the curriculum. Our reading offer includes the following:

Book Club - In all year groups, children have book club sessions that develop in complexity as they move up through the school. In Early Years, this takes the form of daily story times where they are asked questions and take part in discussions about the books that have been read.

In Key Stage One, on top of regular story times, the children will take part in 3 book club sessions a week where carefully planned questions are asked that the children will discuss and record where appropriate. They may also take part in role play and drama activities to enhance their understanding.

In Key Stage Two, as well as class story times, there are 3 book club sessions a week where a range of texts and extracts are analysed and the children discuss and record their answers.

All of these sessions build their reading skills based on their year group’s curriculum objectives. This includes the ability to understand new vocabulary, infer, predict, question, retrieve and summarise.

Reading in all lessons – there are opportunities to practise reading skills across all areas of the curriculum from reading instructions in a computing lesson, an information text in history or labels on a diagram in science. Teachers will assess their understanding of these texts daily, supporting and challenging the children through their questioning.

Reading Interventions – for children who find reading trickier, we run a bespoke programme of interventions to support and develop their skills. These children read daily with an adult on a one-to-one basis to develop their confidence and understanding. This can be in the form of reading a book, practising flash cards and practising segmenting and blending sounds.

Library Sessions – we are fortunate to have our own library in school stocked with classic, modern and diverse picture books, novels, chapter books, magazines, graphic novels, information texts, poetry books and playscripts based on the children’s interests and recommendations. When children attend weekly library sessions, they borrow books to take home and enjoy.

Reading at Home – To continue to practise their reading beyond the school day, we encourage children to read with an adult daily. The children are provided with the following:

Nursery – A picture book from our school library of their choosing to enjoy listening to at home

Reception – A picture book from our school library of their choosing to enjoy listening to at home and a Bug Club eBook linked specifically to the Phonics sounds taught that week.

Key Stage One - A Bug Club eBook linked specifically to the Phonics sounds taught that week and a printed reading skills book based on their comprehension ability.

Key Stage Two – A book of their choosing from our school library and a book banded book if appropriate depending on their reading level.

All children have reading records:

- In EYFS and KS1 the expectation is for parents and carers to write in their child’s reading record once a week recording how their reading at home was.

- In KS2, the expectation is that the children write a reflective comment about what they are reading and parents and carers are expected to write one comment a week.

What our children learn about in Reading

Each year group follows either the Early Years Framework or National Curriculum objectives for their year group and use a range of high-quality texts to teach and practise these skills. At Telferscot, we have created a whole-school book directory to ensure that the children read different text types from a range of cultures, countries, religions, and story lines to develop their understanding of the world and others.

How we enhance our children's experience of Reading

Reading for pleasure is a priority at Telferscot as we believe that to be a successful and a confident reader, you need to be able to enjoy the wonderful world of books. We have ensured that there is a buzz around reading and children are keen to read to develop their vocabulary, understanding of the world and imagination. A few examples of how we achieve this are:

• Festival of Arts and Literature, a 2-week curriculum block across the whole school to celebrate story-telling with author, illustrator and poet visits for every child alongside book signings events.
• Our school library
• Remarkable Reading - Early Years and KS1 families are invited in every Friday morning to read with their children in class
• World Book Day events each year
• Summer reading challenge, a competition to encourage our children to read
• Links with Balham library
• Parent Reading Volunteers