At Easington Primary Academy, our ambition is to nurture and develop confident and thoughtful learners who approach reading and writing with enthusiasm. We weave reading through all areas of the curriculum, ensuring that children are aware of the relevance of these skills in life. This means that reading is at the heart of learning at Easington Primary Academy; teaching and the environment is carefully planned to promote a love of reading and an understanding of its relevance in the wider world. Each classes’ curriculums are based around a specific book that leads the children’s learning through their period of History or learning focus. This approach has disseminated through the school and has developed the children’s love of reading, their curriculum and exposed them to books and learning that they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to access.
In addition to this we have a book that is linked to the topic that we read for pleasure. In Key Stage 2 we have a time set aside each day to read for pleasure.
As a school we use RWI and Fresh Start to tailor groups based on clear assessment and enable children to benefit from the correct teaching within phonics and early reading. These learning opportunities ensure that children develop both their word recognition and decoding skills in order to leave our school as fluent readers. Use of RWI as well as the class book we develop the children to be able to understand and answer an appropriate level of reading comprehension. A strong emphasis is placed on Phonics in Nursery, Reception and Key Stage One, which develops firm foundations in order to become more fluent readers. Vocabulary is explored as a key element of high level texts and children broaden their application of new vocabulary within their writing. Through dialogic talk, children are able to discuss, question and analyse ideas and texts which allows them to grow into critical readers.
The clear focus in Key Stage 2 now means that reading steadily becomes ‘reading to learn’ rather than ‘learning to read’.
Throughout the curriculum the children explore a wide variety of genres, both fiction and non-fiction, which provide them with opportunities to analyse a range of the features of the text, as well as their understanding of what they have read. The different texts types link across the curriculum, for example persuasion into PSHCE or poetry into History. Audience and purpose is an increasingly important aspect for children to explore, as well as tone, themes and structure, among others.
These opportunities enable the development of oral and communication skills as well as the much needed confidence in each child’s reading. We aim to prepare our children for their future by giving them the fluency of speaking, reading and writing skills necessary to succeed.
Reading Environments:
Reading is at the heart of everything we do. We have an incredibly well stocked school library as well as books with the Key Stage 2 classroom that has books selected by the children to encourage them to broaden their reading. Each classroom has a calming and comfortable, quiet reading area. Each class has a dedicated time every day for the teacher to share a story or higher level text.
Online Resources:
To support the teaching of reading in Early Years and Key Stage 1 we have a subscription to Read Write Inc Phonics eBook library where families can access the books that match their child’s phonetic knowledge. In Key Stage 2 we use Fresh Start daily to support and develop reading.
In EYFS/Key Stage 1 children are allocated books that link closely to their learning needs and the RWI lessons that have happened that day. In Key Stage 2 children choose books at their reading level from the school scheme or the class library – this encourages them to read to their level and for their enjoyment.
Meeting Authors:
Foxes enjoyed a virtual visit from Author Ally Sherrick! The children had been reading Ally’s book ‘Black Powder’ and embraced the high level language and links the curriculum – Tudors and Stuarts. They enjoyed speaking to Ally, asking well thought out questions and learning how to be a strong reader and successful writer.
