Reading
At Christ Church we want all our pupils to discover a life-long love of reading.
Our aims in teaching reading are:
- to ensure that all children learn to read confidently and fluently to a standard which allows them to access their future curriculum successfully (at least expected standard by the end of KS2)
- to introduce children to a broad range of reading genres across fiction and non-fiction texts and to characters and authors from a diversity of backgrounds which reflect modern Britain
- to foster in all children a life-long love of reading for pleasure.
Children can choose from a wide variety of reading materials in class book corners or from our school library to complement learning across the curriculum and link to our topic themes. Children have planned opportunities to read daily in dedicated reading time and also opportunities to read widely across curriculum subjects.
We encourage children to read at home regularly. This is vitally important in the early stages to support phonic development, but also later to check for meaning (comprehension). Children who are developing their phonic skills will be sent home with books which are phonetically decode-able. Parents are always invited to a yearly workshop on phonics to find out more. Children earn Reading Reward stamps for reading at home. Once they have completed their reward card they can choose a free book from our Christ Church Bookshop, which is kindly funded by the PTA. Over the Summer Holidays children are encouraged to take part in the Libraries Reading Challenge and earn a free book from our Bookshop by keeping up their reading practice. Children can also complete Book Reviews for extra points.
Children have the opportunity to bring home a class reading book of their choice to share with their parents as well as their reading practice book. Many of the reading scheme books we send home have suggested oral comprehension questions for parents to ask their child about the book. For ideas about questions to ask your child about the book they are reading click ideas-for-supporting-reading-at-home-
All children read in school at least every week. Many children read more than this, as detailed below. These reads will be with their class teacher or a teaching assistant or an experienced reading helper. Reads are recorded in the Reading Diary by comments or stamps so that families can see the amount of reading taking place in school.
- In Acorns and Maple Classes all children will read at least two times a week in school.
- In Holly Class all children will read in class at least once a week in school.
- In Willow and Oak Class all children will read in class at least once a week in school.
Children who have been identified as needing extra reading support will read more often than this, with many of them reading with an adult daily. This will be discussed with families at Parents’ Evening and recorded in the Reading Diary.
Teachers read to their class book every day for 30 minutes modelling a combinati0on of fluency strategies for the children including: choral reading, echo reading, repeated reading and close reading, where the class discuss elements of their text in depth. This supports the development of reading for pleasure as well as exposing children to well-structured texts and more extensive vocabulary than they would be able to read alone. Teachers ensure they are good role models for pupils and talk enthusiastically about their own reading as well as about current children’s literature.
Children in Year 6 take part in statutory assessments (SATs) for reading in May each year. Pupils are supported in school by practising the format of these tests at several points during the year. These results are reported parents and to the government. Parents are able to discuss these at Parents’ Evenings.