Reading
A home reading scheme is operated throughout the school whereby children bring home books to share with their families each week. Instilling a love of reading is a key aim of our reading curriculum, so children do get opportunities throughout the week to read for pleasure. These opportunities include daily story times, whole class reading sessions and buddy reading with their partner classes in the library.
In Year 1, the children take part in a reading scheme called Little Wandle Letters and Sounds. In these sessions the children enjoy independent reading three times a week in small groups, using books matched to their independent reading level. These groups are led by a trained adult. The three sessions focus on Decoding, Prosody and Comprehension. If there are children in other year groups who have gaps in their fluency (overall pace of reading) they are also enrolled into the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds scheme.
In Year 2, the children also take part in the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds scheme as part of a carousel of activities. During their daily reading sessions the children will read in small groups matched to their independent reading level, visit the school library, read topic based books provided by the Islington Library Service, spend time in the class book corner or read a book of their own choosing.
In KS2 the children take part in a scheme called Destination Reader. Destination Reader is a new approach to teaching reading in KS2. It involves daily sessions incorporating whole class modelling prior to the children applying these skills through partner work and independent reading. Children deepen their understanding of the texts, developing oracy around reading and increasing breadth of reading. Destination Reader also helps to build a culture of reading for pleasure and purpose.
Destination Reader
Phonics
At Haseltine Primary, we Learn to Read, then we Read to Learn.
Learn to Read
Learning to read is a priority at Haseltine Primary School. We believe that for all our children to become fluent readers and writers, phonics must be taught through a systematic and structured phonics programme.
To help us to learn to read, we practice phonics every day in EYFS and Key Stage 1 using the Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) programme – Little Wandle Letters and Sounds.
In phonics, we teach children that the letters of the alphabet represent a different sound, that these can be used in a variety of combinations and are put together to make words. The children learn to recognise all of the different sounds and combinations that they might see when they are reading or writing. Our phonics teaching starts in Nursery and follows a very specific sequence that allows our children to build on their previous phonic knowledge and master specific phonic strategies as they move through school. As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words that they might discover.
At Haseltine, we also model these strategies in shared reading and writing both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on the development of language skills for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.
How we teach phonics and Early Reading (Early Years and KS1)
- In the nursery, children follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised ‘Foundations for Phonics’ guidance. The focus is on daily oral blending and language development through high quality stories and rhymes.
- In reception and Y1, children follow the progression within Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme. Phonics is taught daily and there is a review session on a Friday.
- Phonics starts in reception in week 2 to ensure the children make a strong start*.
- By the end of reception, children will have been taught up to the end of phase 4.
- By the end of year 1, children will have been taught up to the end of phase 5.
- Children in year 2 recap any gaps in their phonics knowledge in the autumn term.
- Reception lessons start at 15 minutes, with daily additional oral blending – increasing quickly to 30 minutes.
- Y1 lessons are 30 minutes long.
Reading practice sessions
- Children across reception, year 1, year 2 (and beyond if appropriate) apply their phonics knowledge by using a full matched decodable reader in a small group reading practice session.
- These sessions are 15 minutes long and happen three times a week. There are approximately 6 children in a group.
- The sessions follow the model set out in Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.
How do we assess phonic knowledge?
- In reception, year 1 and year 2 at the end of each week there is a review session which recaps the learning. There are also whole review weeks (pre-planned and bespoke review weeks to address gaps identified by the class teacher’s ongoing formative assessment).
- Children identified in Reception and year 1 as in danger of falling behind are immediately identified and daily ‘keep up’ sessions are put in place – these sessions follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.
- In reception and year 1, the children are assessed at the end of every half term using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessment tracker.
- Children in year 1 complete the statutory Phonics Screening Check in the summer term.
- Children who do not meet standard in the Phonics Screening Check in Y1, will complete this in Y2. Support continues to be put in place for these children.
Reading for pleasure – Early Years and KS1
Alongside daily teaching of phonics, reading for pleasure is an important part of our Early Reading offer. We ensure children develop a love of reading and are exposed to a range of interesting and relevant authors. We promote a love of reading in the following ways:
- Daily storytime.
- Whole class reading sessions
- Book areas within the classroom which have a careful selection of books, including books by the focus author.
- Use of Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised ‘Foundations for a Love of reading’ stories in nursery.
- Alongside children’s decodable reading book, children also take home a reading for pleasure book each week. In each year group, children will take home a range of book by authors, including some which they have read in class.
If you are a parent and would like more information about how to support your child with phonics at home, please follow this link to find the Reception and Year 1 overview
