Implementation

Reading gives learners full access to all curriculum subjects. The most important thing to remember when helping a child learn to read is it must be enjoyable and fun. At St Robert Southwell pupils are continually exposed to different texts, giving them the opportunity to find pleasure in reading. Our overriding aim is to help all pupils develop into strong, independent readers. Reading is taught individually, in guided and shared reading groups and as a whole class.

Reception & KS1 - Children are read with at least once a week.

KS2 - Children are read with at least once a fortnight.

Reading in Reception, KS1 and KS2 consists of:

• word reading (decoding and fluency)
• comprehension (listening and reading)

Word Reading

• Quick recognition of familiar words (inc. tricky words)
• Speedy working out of pronunciation of unfamiliar words through decoding.

Comprehension

• Draws on children’s vocabulary and grammar knowledge.
• Developed through reading and engaging in high-quality discussions about stories, poems and non-fiction text.

Books to bring home

Reception - children will bring home a ‘book-bag’ book and a sharing book.

Y1 - children will bring home 2 books from; a ‘book-bag’ book, an independent book and a challenge book plus a sharing book.

Y2 - children will bring home a ‘book-bag’ book and a sharing book.

Y3 to Y6 - children will bring home a ‘book-bag’ book

Book-bag book - a book for the children to read matched to the sounds and words they know. (Please avoid saying “This book is too easy for you” but instead say “I love how well you can read this book!”). As the children progress through the school, the children move onto chapter books following the phonic scheme of books (this will be when their class teacher feels they have developed all the skills necessary to read chapter books).

Independent book - a book within their reading level which they should be able to read with independently. 

Sharing book - a story book for sharing together; this may be from their class library or the school library. 

Challenge book - a book within their reading level which may include sounds they have not learnt yet.

It is extremely important that your child reads every night to practise the skills which

are being taught at school. For children in Reception, KS1 and Y3, please sign/record a comment in your child’s reading record. For children in KS2, please get them to record an answer to their VIPER bookmark (see below) in their reading record at least three times a week.

VIPERS

VIPERS focus on the comprehension aspect of reading and not the mechanical part of reading (decoding, fluency etc).

V - Vocabulary

I - Inference

P - Prediction

E - Explanation

R - Retrieval

S - Sequence or Summarise

Children in Y1 to Y6 will bring home VIPER bookmarks in their bookbag to support parents in the types of questions to ask before, during and after reading a book.

Children in Reception will have a question page to bring home; this introduces discussion about the story and introduces to them early-comprehension.

We believe that readers become good writers and that the richness, depth and breadth

of a pupil’s reading experience determines the writers they will become.

Impact

• The children are developing a love of reading through a whole school approach of a commitment to reading.
• Children become confident and fluent readers. They enjoy reading for pleasure and understand this is beyond non-fiction and fiction books; it can include magazines, cook books and comic strips.