Intent

At St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School, our intent for reading is to foster a lifelong love for literature and empower our pupils with the skills necessary to engage with a wide range of texts. We aim to ensure that all children develop a strong foundational understanding of reading, enhancing their vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills. Our intent is guided by the following principles:

• Inclusivity: All pupils, regardless of their starting points, backgrounds, or abilities, will have access to a rich and varied reading curriculum that supports their individual needs and aspirations. To ensure all children have access to a wide range of texts at home, we provide KS1 children with Oxford Owl logins and KS2 children with logins to ‘myON’, both online library systems.
• Cultural Literacy: We are committed to broadening our pupils' horizons by introducing them to diverse texts, authors, and cultures, allowing them to connect with their own experiences while exploring the wider world. Our reading spine details the reasoning behind the texts selected ensuring each year group has the opportunity to explore a diverse range of literature.
• Community Engagement: We recognise the importance of the partnership between school and home in developing reading habits. We strive to involve parents and carers in their children's reading journeys and encourage parents to record reading time in their child’s homework diary.

Implementation

To achieve our reading intent, we implement a comprehensive and carefully structured approach that encompasses the following key elements:

1. Structured Phonics Programme:
   We deliver a systematic phonics programme, Read Write Inc. that is consistent and progressive, following the principles outlined in the National Curriculum. Daily phonics sessions are tailored to match the specific needs of each child, ensuring early recognition of sounds and blending skills.
2. Rich Reading Curriculum:
   Our reading curriculum covers a wide range of genres and text types, ensuring exposure to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and plays. We integrate classic literature alongside contemporary works to reflect diverse voices and perspectives.
3. Daily Reading Opportunities:
   We provide dedicated regular reading sessions across all year groups, where pupils read individually, in pairs, or as part of guided reading sessions. This varied approach fosters collaborative learning and critical discussion about texts.
4. Reading for Pleasure Initiatives:
   We actively promote reading for pleasure through initiatives such as themed book days, author visits, book club, and vibrant reading areas in classrooms and libraries. This encourages pupils to develop a genuine enthusiasm and curiosity for reading.
5. Assessment and Feedback:
   Regular formative assessments are embedded within the reading curriculum to monitor pupils’ progress. Informal and formal assessments guide our targeted interventions and enable personalised feedback, helping pupils set and achieve their reading goals.  Children complete Star Reader tests, on Accelerated Reader, half termly to provide them with a personalised ZPD Level, which indicates the book level range they should select a book from. This test also informs teachers of a child’s reading age, areas of strength and areas that require further support all linked to national curriculum reading expectations.  
6. Professional Development:
   Our staff engage in continuous professional development to enhance their pedagogical skills, staying abreast of the latest research and best practices in reading instruction. We encourage collaboration and sharing of effective strategies among teachers.

Impact

The impact of our reading initiatives can be assessed through a variety of metrics and observable outcomes:

• Pupil Progress: We anticipate that all pupils will make progress in reading, with the majority achieving or exceeding age-related expectations by the end of each key stage. Data from termly assessments and tracking systems will illustrate our effectiveness in meeting diverse learning needs.
• Engagement and Enjoyment: Increased pupil engagement in reading activities is evident through participation rates in reading challenges and frequent use of the library. This will also be evident through the number of children becoming word millionaires. Pupil voice surveys will reflect a positive attitude towards reading, with many identifying it as a favourite activity. Book club sessions will be an exciting and highly anticipated weekly event, where children will participate with enthusiasm. Children will actively respond to others’ recommendation and read other children’s suggestions.
• Cultural Awareness: Pupils will demonstrate an understanding of diverse cultures and perspectives by engaging with literature from various backgrounds, promoting broader cultural literacy and empathy among peers.
• Long-term Outcomes: Ultimately, our goal is to equip pupils with the skills and enthusiasm needed for lifelong reading and learning, impacting their future academic success and personal growth.

Through these intentional and impactful practices, we remain dedicated to creating a strong reading culture at St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School and strive to ensure that every child flourishes as a confident, competent, and enthusiastic reader.

Phonics

For those parents who were unable to attend the Parents' Information Meeting on an introduction to Read Write Inc. please find the attached PowerPoint with audio.  You will also find a Reading at Home booklet and a Set 1 Sounds handout.

https://stbernadettesschool.sharepoint.com/:v:/s/StaffShared218/EdM2SpXqC2BCq33410ieY38BOD5XHy-Ypu8l_rGBPApG0A?e=u0MXV1

Wordless Books

Until your child is able to identify and blend sounds to read words, your child will take home a Wordless Book to read with you at.  Wordless books are told entirely through their illustrations.  They are books without words, or sometimes just a few words.  Sharing wordless books with your child provides opportunities for literacy-rich conversations.  Each "reader" listens and speaks, and creates their own story or stories in their own words.  Sharing wordless books also reinforces the idea that in many books, the story and pictures are connected.  The following PPT with audio will provide you with some information and tips for sharing wordless books with your child.

Phonics at St. Bernadette’s Primary School

Reading is the most important skill that children must master during their time at primary school. Reading opens up the doors to the whole world of learning. At St. Bernadette’s, our primary goal is to make sure that every child learns to read. We rely on the parents of our children to help us in this task by: listening to their child read every night; talking to them about books and reading stories to their children.

We use a scheme known as Read Write Inc. It is a systematic phonics and reading programme that is great fun and very pacey.

All of the children in years Foundation Stage and Key Stage One are organised in to ability groups for a Read Write Inc lessons each morning. The groups vary in size from 5 to 20 children.

Children are regularly assessed and move from one group to another as they progress.

How can you help your child with their phonics at home?

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

What is the Phonics Screening Check?

The Phonics Screening Check was introduced in  2012 in primary schools in England.  All children in Year 1 take it in the Summer Term.

Thank you to the parents who attended the information workshop.  The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.  Please click on the link for the slides and leaflets that were shared.

Accelerated Reader.

At St Bernadette’s, Accelerated Reader is used throughout Key Stage 2. Accelerated Reader is a program that helps teachers monitor children’s independent reading practice.  Your child picks a book at his/her own reading level from our well-resourced library and reads it at his/her own pace.  When finished, your child takes an online quiz to check their comprehension of what they have read. Guided group reading, intervention groups and 1:1 reading support is available for any children who require additional support.

Accelerated Reader was introduced at our school in Autumn 2019 and has had a huge impact on the children’s motivation to read. We use a range of reward systems to motivate our children and to celebrate their success and hard work. For example, we have a reading trophy, which is handed out during Celebration Assembly, reward days for classes with the highest word count, and a Millionaire’s Club for those children who read one million words and beyond.

If your child is reading a book from home or from MK Library, you can check whether it is on Accelerated Reader by searching on the following website: https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/  This means that your child can take a quiz on their book whilst at school.

Reading at Home