Reading at FPJS

At FPJS, we recognise reading as an invaluable life skill, essential if our children are to reach their potential. The skills needed to read and understand texts are taught systematically, rigorously and passionately so children develop into fluent and confident life-long readers who not only enjoy reading but can use it effectively to learn. 

As stated in our curriculum Intent, we also ensure that we are focused on our federation's vision is for all of our children to have the skills and knowledge that they need to be successful in their next stage of their learning and beyond - to be the best that they can be.

Our reading curriculum provides purposeful and relevant texts that nurture independent learners with a lifelong passion for reading.

How we teach Reading at FPJS

For children to fulfil their potential, they need to be confident, skilled readers. If you can read fluently and with understanding, you can read for pleasure and access learning across the curriculum.  Research shows that this can be achieved by improving in two broad areas: word recognition (which includes decoding, reading speed and expression) and language comprehension. If children fall behind in either area, their overall comprehension development and their ability to access and enjoy age-appropriate texts will stagnate. 

In order to achieve age-related expectations at the end of Year 6 (and across their secondary careers), children also need to develop their analytical skills so that they can confidently demonstrate their comprehension both orally and in writing. 

To ensure that all children make excellent progress in all these areas we provide:

• A whole school reading spine with age-appropriate but challenging texts that expose children to new vocabulary and extend their background knowledge. Each year group has 6 core texts covering fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
• Reading fluency work throughout KS2 to ensure children continue to progress in their ability to read age-appropriate texts accurately, at speed and with expression.
• Book talk sessions that particularly focus on discussion, vocabulary development and background knowledge.
• Comprehension sessions that focus on analytical and comprehension skills in the following areas: Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval, Summarising and Sequencing (VIPERS). 
• Access at school and home to Bedrock Learning which assesses and develops children’s vocabulary starting at the level they need.
• Targeted support for children who are not making expected progress in areas of language comprehension or word recognition ( decoding, reading speed or expression). This may be through additional support in lessons or out of class intervention.
• Intensive support using Read Write Inc phonics programme for all children still in the early stages of learning to read. As this is an urgent priority, this will take place in small groups or 1:1 out of class in addition to support within core lessons.
• A school wide positive reading culture including: author visits, reading competitions and a very well-stocked and up-to-date library.
• Assessment in the four key areas: language comprehension; decoding and reading speed; reading with expression and analytical skills. This ensures we know exactly where children are and crucially, why some children may be currently not fulfilling their potential.

Reading Schemes:

• In Year 3 children work through Oxford Reading Tree stage books to ensure they continue to develop fluency and language comprehension.  Our expectation is that the majority of children will be “free readers” by the end of Y3 which means they are fluent enough to choose their own books from home, class or our library.

Individual reading:

• Children are encouraged to read for pleasure as much as possible at FPJS.  Once children have mastered reading fluently, they are able to choose their own books.  Teachers and teaching assistants monitor children’s choices to ensure they are reading regularly and widely.
• Even when children are fluent readers, we strongly encourage them to read with an adult at home in order to continue to develop their fluency and be able to discuss interesting vocabulary or challenging concepts. This could be a short section of a book they are reading independently, or a book that is above their independent reading level that can be read to them.
• At FPJS, children have a weekly library slot, where they are encouraged to browse books and share great reads with their peers.  Our library is kept up to date with great fiction reads for each year group, and recommended reads are changed regularly to keep reading fresh and exciting for our pupils. It is open every lunchtime and after school to encourage children to read for pleasure. Our classes also have relevant non-fictions reads to complement other areas of the curriculum.

For further information on our reading provision and details of the core texts used across the school, please see the Reading Overview document.