OFSTED July 2023 - We are a GOOD School!
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Reading

The Reading Curriculum at Benwick Primary School

Intent

At Benwick Primary School, we believe that all pupils should have the opportunity to be fluent, confident readers who are able to successfully comprehend and understand a wide range of texts. Through reading, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually.

We believe reading opens up a new world for children and gives them the opportunity to explore new ideas, visit new places, meet new characters and develop a better understanding of other cultures. Building up the childrens’ vocabulary gives them the word power they need to become successful speakers and writers as well as confident readers. Reading is a key life skill and we strive to embed a culture of reading into the core of what we do, providing opportunities for children to read both independently and aloud, as well as allowing them the chance to discuss and recommend books they have read, to their peers.

We want pupils to develop a love of reading, have a good knowledge of a range of authors and be able to understand more about the world in which they live through the knowledge they gain from texts. By the end of their time at primary school, we believe all children should be able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

Implementation

Phonics is taught through our Read Write Inc scheme from Reception, and continued throughout Years 1 and 2. This  provides children with the opportunity to learn sounds and to develop skills of blending and segmenting.

In Key Stage 1 children’s reading books are matched to the sounds they have been learning and additional home reading books are sent home to consolidate prior learning. Children are encouraged to read at home on a daily basis and are given a reading diary, in which parents and teachers can comment on their reading of a particular book.

During Year 2, when children have a reading age of approximately 6 and a half, they start to use Accelerated Reader. The children complete an online multiple choice Star Test, which provides them with a book level and a target for the term. When they have finished reading their book, they undertake a reading quiz based on their comprehension of the text. Accelerated Reader is used throughout Key Stage 2.

In whole class guided reading sessions, children develop their key reading skills of decoding, vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and summarising (VIPERS). Children also continue to develop their reading fluency skills, building upon their phonics knowledge and skills.

At the end of each term, children are tested on their reading skills using the PIRA reading test from Rising Stars. This provides staff with standardised scores, a reading age for each child and provides individual areas for development.

Impact

  • Pupils will enjoy reading across a range of genres
  • Pupils of all abilities will be able to succeed in all reading lessons
  • Pupils will use a range of strategies for decoding words, not solely relying on phonics
  • Pupils will have a good knowledge of a range of authors
  • Pupils will be ready to read in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education
  • Parents and carers will have a good understanding of how they can support reading and home
  • The % of pupils working at ARE within each year group will be at least in line with national averages.
  • The % of pupils working at Greater Depth within each year group will be at least in line with national averages

 

World Book Day 2024 will take place on Thursday 7th March!

With a continued commitment to promote reading for pleasure and offer every child a book of their own, the charity has a particular focus on reaching children from disadvantaged backgrounds and its theme this year is "You Are A Reader".
 

World Book Day celebrates the joy and value of books and reading, especially for students. To encourage and help them on their reading journey, every student will receive a £1 book token which can be exchanged for one free World Book Day 2024 book or £1 off a book costing £2.99 or more. You can find out more information about this on the token given or the World Book Day website.

On this special day, your child can come to school dressed as a favourite character from any book, or in their pyjamas ready for a bedtime story. Also during the day, the children will be participating in lots of exciting activities, including sharing their own favourite book from home and sharing teacher’s favourite books.

Please go to:

https://www.worldbookday.com/dressing-up-ideas for some fantastic ideas for DIY costumes.

 

At Benwick Primary School, we aim to promote the concepts of reading for ‘fun’, ‘enjoyment’ and ‘pleasure’. We ensure that we include a range of books within the curriculum as well as the opportunity for sustained reading from a range of other self-chosen fiction and non-fiction texts from our school library and classroom reading areas. We use our classroom reading areas to promote our favourite texts as well as to encourage children to continue reading texts to support our curriculum.
 
We believe that all adults who work at Benwick Primary School should be ‘reading role models’ and we ensure that adults share their favourite texts with the children.