Reading

At Corby Old Village Primary School, the children’s literacy skills are developed through an integrated programme of speaking and listening, reading and writing, and then extended throughout all other curriculum areas.

We aim for all pupils to:

• develop effective speaking, listening, group interaction and drama skills
• read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding, using a range of independent strategies to self-monitor and correct
• understand phonics and regular spelling patterns, using them to read and spell accurately
• be word aware and become confident in both written and spoken vocabulary
• have an interest in words and their meanings; developing a growing vocabulary
• become lifelong readers with an interest in books, who read for enjoyment, evaluating and justifying their preferences
• understand a range of text types and genres and be able to write in a variety of styles and forms appropriate to the situation
• develop the powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness
• have fluent and legible handwriting
• understand the structure and styles of a range of fiction and non-fiction texts
• become independent in the process of planning, drafting, editing and improving their own writing

Organisation of Learning and Teaching

The English Curriculum is delivered mainly using The Literacy Tree planning sequences.  These schemes ensure children’s engagement with a culturally rich and diverse range of books and reading material whilst building pleasure and interest.

Literacy skills are practised and applied in context through work across the whole curriculum.  Basic skills sessions (handwriting, grammar and punctuation, phonics/spelling and reading comprehension) take place daily.

Inclusion 

All children are provided with equal access to our English curriculum. We provide suitable learning opportunities regardless of gender, ethnicity or home background. We expect the vast majority of our pupils to achieve age related expectations in English. For those pupils who may find handwriting challenging for a variety of reasons our approaches to the teaching and learning of English will be adapted and differentiated to ensure that all pupils make progress. Provision is made for children who require extra support through targeted teaching; intervention programmes (e.g. Hornet, Nessy), and differentiated class teaching.

Reading

We recognise the value of adults (both in school and at home) reading aloud to children, in order to improve their grasp of story language, enthuse them with a love of books and inspire them as writers.

Children learn to read through a phonetically decodable books matched to their phonics knowledge.  Once they are secure with their phonics knowledge they move onto our reading scheme at the stage appropriate to their level. This follows the published reading scheme of Oxford Reading Tree. This provides the children with a range of engaging texts which are both fiction and non-fiction. In EYFS and KS1, most children take home a reading book which is changed once it has been read. In Key Stage 2, children are encouraged to choose their own book, meaning they are able to read any book that takes their interest. Each child has a reading record that teachers and parents can use to share information about a child’s reading progress. We ask that parents read with their child at least five times a week and record this in their child’s reading record.

From EYFS to Year 6, children have the opportunity to read 1:1 with an adult regularly, with there being a particular focus on comprehension to promote an in-depth understanding of the text. Questions progress from literal to inferential as the children move up through the school.

The children also have opportunities to visit the school library to take books out and to engage in class guided library sessions where books are shared for pleasure.