Meppershall Reading Three I Statement
“When they had read, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.”
Acts 15:31
IMPACT
At Meppershall Church of England Academy we believe the importance of reading is critically important in a child’s life. Being a confident, thoughtful and independent reader enhances the life prospects of children in many ways, including:
• Improved well-being, mental health and self esteem
• Greater access to the wider curriculum
• Better social skills Reading also has its own intrinsic worth as well as being a facilitator for work in other areas of the curriculum, and it is our aim to instil the joy of reading at an early age. Children in our school will become enthusiastic, skilled and confident readers who all understand the value of reading. They will be articulate in expressing their opinions and tastes and respectful when listening to those of others. They will read across the curriculum and for a variety of purposes – research, interest, instruction and above all, enjoyment.
IMPLEMENTATION
At Meppershall our teaching of Reading has 3 strands; Phonics, Comprehension and Reading for Pleasure.
- We start a thorough and systematic Phonics Programme in Reception which is sustained through Year 1 and then developed further in Year 2. We follow Essential Letters and Sounds, a programme designed by the well-respected Knowledge Hub. The daily sessions are delivered in a pacey, rigorous and engaging way and children make good progress. The skills taught are then practised in decodable books (centred around ‘Big Cat Collins’ scheme) which are carefully matched to the child’s current knowledge. In KS2, children are taught to use their phonics skills to improve their fluency and confidence in a range of more demanding books and to read for different purposes across the curriculum.
- Higher order reading skills such as comprehension and prediction are taught from the start of school. This is done through the sharing and discussion of whole class texts throughout the school. Children engage in regular Guided Reading sessions to develop greater understanding of a range of texts through a focus on vocabulary, inference, prediction, retrieval and summarising.
- All our reading is underpinned by the focus on reading for pleasure. All children have access to a range of quality texts which they can enjoy independently or with a friend or an adult. Our Book Corners are at the heart of every classroom and specific ‘Reading For Pleasure’ sessions are timetabled regularly. Weekly Library Sessions are also enjoyed by each class, where children select and take home books of their own choice. Children regularly share books with older/younger children, and boxes of books are available to them at Lunchtimes. Teachers also read daily to their children purely for enjoyment. The texts selected for each class are high quality and are planned to allow a breadth of genre, author and style as well as progress through the school.
- We encourage parents to read with and to their children as often as possible, sharing the benefits of both. The reading home/school partnership is fostered from Early Years and maintained throughout the school.
IMPACT
The impact of our curriculum is assessed every term by informal Teacher Assessment, set against expectations for each year group as outlined in the National Curriculum. This is supported by Statutory Tests in Phonics and at the end of Key Stage 1. In Early Years and Key Stage One, Phonics is formally assessed every half term to ensure rapid and sustained progress. Children’s reading is also monitored by the Subject Leader and Head Teacher to ensure each child is reaching their full potential.