ST PETER'S C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL & PRE-SCHOOL

Reading & Phonics - EYFS

OUR READING CURRICULUM INTENT

We want all children to have the understanding, that reading is something for everyone not just the few: they will be taught to fluently decode as well as comprehend.  All children in our school will develop their self-concept as readers and develop a clear picture of their personal “reading identity”. We want all children to derive pleasure from reading, be it immersion in the escapism of fiction or acquiring new knowledge and critical thinking skills through non-fiction.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. ― Dr. Seuss,  

Reading

The essential aim of our reading curriculum is to instil a love of reading that will stay with the children throughout their lives. We know that children who are fluent, confident readers will be more able to access the whole curriculum and will achieve better outcomes in all areas of the curriculum. 

In school children will have regular opportunities to read for pleasure and to an audience.  They will be encouraged to read to celebrate and extend their learning.

Through a planned programme of teaching reading will progress from decoding, to fluency, to comprehension, through one to one reading, whole class reading and modelled/ shared reading.

Our goal is to teach the children the skills to progress from reading scheme books to being able to select their own books from a varied range of genres that suit their ability. 

A home-school reading partnership is fostered through the school, whereby children are encouraged to bring books home to share with their families.  As well as promoting reading, this gives the school and parents an opportunity to regularly communicate about children’s reading.

Reading in EYFS

In EYFS, we are passionate about reading and igniting a LOVE of books.  Every child will have many reading opportunities throughout the day – daily phonic sessions, reading games and activities, visiting our cosy book corner or ‘Book Nooks’, reading magazines at the snack table, looking at information books in the Nature Shed or reading lists and labels around the classroom – to name but a few!!

Reading consists of two elements: Language comprehension and word reading. During their time in EYFS, the children will develop their understanding and enjoyment of books, as well as speedy pronunciation and recognition of familiar and unfamiliar words.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/development-matters--2

The children will listen and discuss stories and books, read by the teacher, as well as having the opportunity to read their school reading book to an adult at least once a week.  In EYFS, we have daily whole class reading sessions, where we learn different reading strategies, such as prediction and inference, as well as developing a wide range of vocabulary and book skills.  In Mulberry class, we also read class novels, appropriate to the age of the child, to encourage speaking and listening skills, enjoyment, and imagination!

Each child will bring home two books - A book chosen by the child from our book corner (Read with them) and a Learning to Read book from the Little Wandle Reading books.  The expectation is every child should read their school reading book at least 3 times each week. Records will be kept by the class teacher and any home reading, recorded in the child’s reading diary. Tapestry can also be used to log reading, by adding comments, photos or videos. It is always lovely to listen to children read at home!

We hope your child develops a love of books and that you will support us in helping your child learn to read.                     

 

Phonics Programme

We are using the Little Wandle scheme to teach phonics. 

Further information about Little Wandle and resources for parents to use can be found here

  • Our reading scheme books are banded in line with the phonics teaching phases.
  • Every child receives a quality 30 minutes’ phonics/spelling lesson every morning and a catch up session every afternoon.
  • Phonic lessons are interactive and multi-sensory. 

BREADTH OF STUDY AND PROGRESSION IN READING

We carefully plan the different text types we are going to study in our English and Reading lessons, to ensure full coverage of the curriculum, alongside the children's interests and our topics.

Little Wandle Presentation for parents 

Everybody Read information leaflet

Little Wandle Progression Document 

English Progression Map

Reading Progression Map

Genre Map

EYFS/KS1 Phonics Glossary