Reading
It is our intention when teaching the English curriculum that our pupils acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to become lifelong learners. We strive to ensure that all our pupils receive a well-rounded learning experience when reading, writing, speaking and listening, which will equip them with the fundamental tools to achieve in school and beyond. It is our intention to immerse pupils in high quality texts to develop a love for reading, a passion for discovery and a confidence to explore their imagination through our text and film-led English curriculum.
The acquisition of early language skills and early reading skills are of the utmost importance to us at Witney Community Primary School and therefore the teaching of all aspects of English is given a high priority within school. Developing confidence in basic language skills enables children to communicate creatively and imaginatively, preparing them for their future journey through all subjects in school and beyond.
Reading Curriculum
Teaching children to become confident and fluent readers is a high priority at Witney Community Primary school. We have many opportunities for reading exciting books and materials – supported by a rich, well-resourced library. Children are taught the fundamentals of reading through whole class guided reading sessions and rigorous book talk during these sessions. They have the opportunity to read for pleasure at various points during the school week.
We use Read Write Inc phonics daily across EYFS and KS1 and all pupils will normally have an hour and a half of English related teaching in the morning. This is a mixture of learning about reading, speaking and listening, which includes a variety of text types and genres.
A wide range of stories and genres are read frequently in class to inspire a life‐long enthusiasm for books and all that they offer children and adults alike. By carefully selecting the termly Super Six texts across EYFS, Year 1 and year 2, we enable children to have exposure to and become familiar with a variety of quality texts. From Year 1 onwards, children enjoy regular whole class guided reading sessions using high quality texts that engage the listener, develop a breadth of vocabulary and support comprehension skills. We ensure that children are continually being encouraged to read for pleasure through events such as visiting the local library, author visits, celebrating World Book Day and enjoying bedtime stories. Through our Reading Challenge trees we support parents and children in choosing quality literature to read at home.
To develop children’s reading skills in the Early Years and Key Stage 1 we use the Read Write Inc scheme book bag books, which provide the children with reading material that is pitched at exactly the right level. In order to provide an extensive library of books at every stage we also offer the RWI non-fiction book bag books and a book from the class library for parents to share. We believe all children should have a broad and rich reading experience.
