Reading Policy 2020 COVID-19 adaptions

Reading Policy Adaptations in light of Covid-19 and the ‘catch-up’ curriculum All changes have been added throughout the policy in red. We need to ‘prioritise identifying gaps and re-establish good progress in phonics and reading, identifying opportunities across the curriculum so they read widely, and developing their knowledge and vocabulary’. Aims Our overarching aim is to promote high standards of literacy by equipping pupils with the skills to decode words, understand what they are reading and to develop a love of literature. This will then lead to strong command of the spoken and written word alongside a passion to read. Pupils will read fluently and with good understanding and develop the habit of reading widely and often for both pleasure and information. Through our reading approach, pupils will develop a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and the spoken language. Early reading Read Write Inc. At Somerville Primary School, it is our aim that every child is a reader by the age of six. For some children who are underachieving in Yr2-Yr6, it is essential that they follow a rigorous phonics programme to build fluency enabling them to rapidly catch up with their peers. The programme we follow to teach early reading is Read Write Inc. In FS2, Y1 and underachievers in Y2, Read Write Inc. sessions will take place for an hour daily. Children will be assessed and grouped half termly with children of the same word reading ability. Subject leaders will carry out the assessments. Teachers and teaching assistants will teach each group and it will be overseen by E. Stevenson. In KS2, children who have not attained their expected standard because of phonic ability or fluency will follow the Read Write Inc. programme to build fluency and speed of word reading to enable them to fully access their year group curriculum. Y5 and Y6 will follow the Read Write Inc. Fresh Start programme, which is more age-appropriate. Once children are at the correct level in word reading, they will come off the programme. In KS2, the sessions will be for half an hour daily. Children will be assessed and grouped termly with children of the same word reading ability. Subject leaders will carry out the assessments. Teaching assistants will teach each group and it will be overseen by N. Fossett. Read Write Inc. will need to take place with children from the same class only. This may have an impact on grouping by ability. It is the responsibility of subject leaders to ensure that we have enough Read Write Inc. resources in school and to monitor Read Write Inc sessions through observations.

In the Early years and Year 1 reading is important both inside and outside of the classroom. Book corners will be loved and owned by children both indoors and outdoors. Children will have the opportunity to read from their individual reading book to an adult regularly. Reading books communicate reading progress between home and school. There will be reading opportunities in all areas of continuous provision. Children will learn from adults using clearly modelled reading behaviours. Parents will be involved in understanding the importance of early literacy and reading through workshops, modelling, letters and home shared reading books. In the classrooms there will be story props, story sacks, role play areas and displays to enhance core books. At the pre reading stage children will be taught to observe and scrutinise pictures to learn the skills of inference, skimming and scanning before they can decode. They should have the opportunity to ask questions about the pictures and be asked questions of the pictures. Children will have access to ‘Find the Odd One Out’ and ‘Search and Find’ books and do these adult led and independently. Guided Reading For children who are able to read fluently but are underachieving due to lack of comprehension skills, will take part in an additional guided reading session once a week with their class teacher. This enables teachers to fully understand the needs of the child to support them to progress with a text at their individual reading ability. In the autumn term, the guided group will need to be part of the whole class session instead of during assembly. Shared Reading The aim of our shared reading sessions is for children to develop their reading skills and comprehension in a structured situation. All children will work on the same high quality text, which will be shared as a class. The teacher scaffolds the first part of the session so the children can take the initiative to use what they have learnt during independent work. Teachers will follow their year group long term plan of rich and challenging texts. Structure of lessons Shared reading novel 1. New vocabulary is to be introduced and explored before reading. 2. The text will be read in a variety of ways: teacher modelling reading aloud with fluency and expression, individual children reading aloud to the class, silent reading and guided group reading. During all shared reading, all children must follow reading the text with the class. During modelled reading, the teacher is to pause at certain points to question children and to model reading as a reader. 3. Teacher to model how to answer a domain-based question. Model finding the correct part of the text and model writing a written answer for the question. 4. Children to answer questions based on the domains. 5. Teacher to work with a guided group during independent work. Teacher to vary the group each day and focus on the needs of the group. The groupings may change weekly based on formative assessment. 6. Mark as a class and discuss answers. Non-fiction and poetry comprehension 1. New vocabulary is to be taught explicitly and to focus on tier 3 vocabulary for non-fiction texts. 2. Enlarged extract and questions to be shared as a class. 3. Teacher to model skimming and scanning techniques, particularly for non-fiction. 4. Children to answer questions on all reading domains. 5. Mark as a class and discuss answers.

When does Shared Reading take place? Shared reading will happen four times a week for thirty minutes. One session will be a different non-fiction or poetry extract each week. This will be five times a week in the autumn term. How will the reading session be recorded and assessed?  Children will write their answers in their reading exercise books and will mark their own answers as a class.  Teachers will mark the books weekly, correcting any basic errors.  Teachers will assess weekly by dating the assessment grid for the domain met (4 or 5 out of 5 correct). The weekly assessment will focus on vocabulary, retrieval and inference as whole school weaknesses. Resources  High quality books given in packs to each year group.  Literacy Shed Plus subscription to support with planning.  Literacy Shed Plus Comprehensions.  Rising Stars Cracking Comprehension. It is the responsibility of the subject leader to monitor shared reading through observations and book scrutiny. Shared reading will be changing in autumn 2 to follow Literacy Counts ‘Steps to Read’. This is to ensure the texts used are broad and balanced to give further curriculum links. Teaching reading through English Read to Write It is our aim that reading is embedded throughout the curriculum to highlight the importance of reading as a life skill. In English, reading skills are taught through a ‘vehicle text’ to support our writing. We follow Read to Write created by Literacy Counts where children are immersed using high-quality, vocabulary-rich literature. These texts highlight wider curriculum reading supporting our broad and balanced curriculum. Teachers will follow the long term plan and supporting planning from Read to Write. It is the responsibility of subject leaders to monitor the reading aspect of the units during the immersion stage. Individual Reading It is our aim at Somerville Primary School for all children to read at home daily to improve reading standards as well as improving the enjoyment of reading for all. Which books should the children read?

All children FS2–Y6 are to have an individual reading book which they will take home once they are able to blend. If the child is following the Read Write Inc. Programme (F2- Y4), their individual book will match the phonics taught that week. They will also be given a Read Write Inc. ‘Book Bag Book’ which is an engaging text to support children with additional reading practice. These books are uniquely matched to the phonics for that week. Once the children have completed the programme, they are to progress to the colour banded system (white-pearl) moving through the bands to become a free reader. If a Y5/6 child is following Read Write Inc. Fresh Start, they are also to read books from the colour banded system. It is the teacher’s responsibility to move their children through the bands and all books in a band do not have to be read to move up. Once the child is a free reader, they are to choose a book from their class book area or Story Spine box to read at home. It is the teacher’s responsibility to check the free reader books that they are reading. If a child is not free reader, they are to also take home a reading for pleasure book from the class book area or school library to share at home. When does individual reading take place? It is the teacher’s responsibility to listen to every child read regularly. This is to ensure children are reading at the correct level as well as assessing fluency and comprehension. Where is individual reading recorded? Each child will have a reading record book which will be promoted to be filled in each night at home. Teachers and teaching assistants are to also write in this book when they hear a child read. Each teacher will record how often each child reads at home and reading certificates are to be given out at the reward assembly based on reading at home. N.Fossett will collect in a class percentage of children who have read at least three times each week to monitor home reading across the school. It is the responsibility of the subject leader to ensure we have enough reading books in school and to monitor individual reading levels through reading checks throughout the year. Adults in school will now just check if children are reading at home with reading record books open on desks at the start of the day. Overview of teaching reading Through all aspects of reading at Somerville, children will have the opportunity to explore and learn from a wide range of literature. They will be able to read from books at their own reading ability progressing to reading and sharing a range of high-quality texts. All children will be exposed to challenging texts from F2 and beyond to promote the love of reading while learning. The children will be taught to:-  Adapt their style of reading to the text and purpose.  Read fluently with expression.  To scan and skim purposefully for information.  Read critically and empathetically.  Understand and comment on the structure of a text.  To be able to look for balance in texts.  To make comparisons within and across different texts.

 Understand how vocabulary contributes to meaning. These are transferable skills which they will use across the wider curriculum. Reading for Pleasure At Somerville Primary School, the active encouragement of reading for pleasure is a core part of every child’s educational entitlement. Somerville takes the view that extensive reading and exposure to a wide range of texts makes a vital contribution to every child’s educational achievement. We believe that reading should be a pleasurable and inspirational experience. Reading for pleasure is promoted in many ways through reading for pleasure weeks, book fairs, The Book Bus, story snugs, World Book Day, reading blogs, Christmas story time and sponsored reads. As children progress through the school, a greater variety of books is made available. These will include newspapers, magazines, multicultural texts, texts that explore issues, dictionaries, thesauruses and poetry etc. This will allow choice and discussion of recommended reads. Reading areas School will provide inviting reading areas in each classroom. The reading areas will have relaxed seating, accessible shelving that will allow books to be presented nicely and serve as a place where each child can interact with books Library – teachers will need to take a selection of books for their class bubble in the autumn term. The school library is located in a central place in school to promote the love of reading every time a child passes it. It is run by Y6 librarians and N.Fossett. It is open on two lunchtimes for KS2 children and FS2 and KS1 classes are to use the library trolley. However, classes and groups are able to use the library at any time. FS2 and KS1 teachers are to keep a record of books taken out and the librarians will do this for KS2. Somerville Story Spine Each year band has a list of twenty high-quality, engaging texts to read before they leave Somerville. These books can be used as individual reading for pleasure books, class reads or shared reading. Teachers are to promote the use of the story spine by recording names on their class story spine display to keep a record of the books which have been read by each child. Drop it and read There are timetabled slots for class novel time. This is the time for all children to be taken into the world of reading where they can sit back and be immersed in an exciting book. Teachers are to choose their own high quality book based on the interests of the class. Reading buddies – this cannot happen across year groups in the autumn term. Each class to meet with their buddy class every half term to share the love of reading with all ages. It is the responsibility of the subject leader to ensure we have enough resources in school and to organise reading events.