English - Reading

"To nurture reader identity by providing the children with the will and skill to read. We read because we want to, need to and know how to."

Reading At Lea Forest

There is no better indicator of a child's future success than whether or not they love reading (OECD 2002).

Those who love to read are much more likely to succeed in all subjects and achieve academic success at secondary school and beyond than those who don't. Following on from the early phonics work, the children progress to understanding and enjoying a range of high quality texts which have been chosen based on the National Curriculum Programme of Study. Regular reading sessions provide opportunities for encouraging and embedding reading for pleasure. Similarly, whole class texts and reading books for each year group are ambitious and reflect the realities within our school.

In 2023, the proportion of pupils who met the expected standard (32+) in phonics in Year 1 (96%) was significantly above national and in the highest 20% of all schools.

Key Stage 2 progress in reading also places us in the top 5% of schools, as it has consistently exceeded the national average. In 2019, the progress score was +8.4, with 97% of students achieving the expected standard (100+) and 53% achieving the greater depth standard (110+). In 2022, the reading progress score increased to +8.8, with 94% of students meeting the expected standard and 68% achieving greater depth. In 2023, progress further improved to +10, with 98% of students meeting the expected standard and 74% achieving greater depth.

Implementation:

To promote a love of reading at Lea Forest we use a wide range of stories, poems, rhymes, and non-fiction texts that develop pupils’ vocabulary, language comprehension and love of reading.

To promote a love of reading at Lea Forest, we:

Create class libraries (book corners) which are inviting, well-organised and contain a range of quality texts
Have daily story time sessions (class readers)
Encourage author visits
Display a #LoveToRead gallery with messages from published authors in our library and reading nooks within our building.
Celebrate reading weekly with awards in our celebration assemblies
Provide weekly timetabled library sessions with our school librarian
Award readers with additional library time on a weekly basis
Work closely with the local library (Glebe Farm) and Birmingham Library Services
Hold regular parent workshops
Set reading challenges
Provide a ‘book swap shop’
Share ‘bedtime stories’ on the website which can be viewed and enjoyed at home
Hold weekly lunchtime clubs, where children can read for pleasure and book talk about text they enjoy with friends.
Weekly library session to support parents with story telling at home with our school librarian.

The scheme used for early reading is ‘Oxford Reading Tree’ and ‘Bug Club’ to ensure children have books that are matched to their reading ability and phonic phase. Children have access to online books matched to their phonic phase that they can access in school and at home.

‘Accelerated Reader’ (AR) is an online programme successfully used across all Key Stage 2 classes. AR is an online programme that aims to foster the habit of independent reading. With a vast collection of books available in our library, the children have ample opportunity to select books that are of interest to them and within their reading ability. AR initially screens pupils according to their reading level, and suggests books that match their reading age and reading interest. Pupils take computerised quizzes on the books they have read and earn AR points for their hard work, which is celebrated each week in assembly.

Further to AR we use another online programme entitled Lexia, which encourages students to work independently to develop critical reading and language skills through individualised, motivating learning paths. All students, regardless of their skill level, can each work at their own pace and the teacher is notified (on web-based reports and via email) only when they require support. Trained and experienced teaching assistants then conduct a reading intervention with those pupils to address that gap or misconception, enabling the children to progress with their independent reading and learning on Lexia.

All children are expected to bring their reading diaries back to school daily. They take a book home to read for pleasure that the child has individually selected either from the school library or the classroom library. Children who are still learning to decode also take home a book to match their reading level and phonic phase.

Our teachers read to children and model reading aloud during shared reading, changing the tone and intonation in their voice and pausing for punctuation. Our teachers are enthusiastic and engaging readers who encourage a love of reading for pleasure. Through focused book talk, the skills taught in English lessons are applied to all reading across the curriculum.

Storytimes are encouraged to be engaging and interesting for all children. Each child's voice is valued during storytime, as they have the opportunity to make recommendations or choose books they want to hear read. Books are brought to life through the use of different voices, props and expression. The atmosphere for storytime is always considered, so the children can comfortably enjoy their selection.

Storytime books are selected by both the teacher and the pupils. Familiar stories are revisited and a range of genres are covered.

We encourage parents to read at home with their children by providing each child with a book to take home. Communication is key and each parent receives written messages in their child's individual reading diary to update parents with their child's progress and help parents know what they can do to support at home. We hold regular parent workshops, to advance the parents’ understanding on the development of reading and different reading strategies they can utilise at home.

Reading Pillars

Here at Lea Forest reading is underpinned by the 5 pillars, which includes phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Each component plays a crucial role in developing strong reading skills, therefore our reading curriculum effectively incorporates these pillars to ensure students learn how to read proficiently.

Phonics and Early Reading at Lea Forest

Children starting at Lea Forest Primary Academy in Early Years are introduced to the ‘Phonic Bug’ which aligns with letters and sounds and if a DfE approved scheme.

In Nursery, this begins with whole class teaching as children are taught to listen for sounds in words; this later builds to recognising written sounds for reading. Throughout the year, children are also taught phonics in small groups, appropriate for their ability. To foster a love of reading, each week all Nursery children visit our library with Jeffery (our school librarian) where they choose a library book to take home. All children in Nursery have a library book which they can change weekly in addition to a ‘picture book’ that they take home daily to share with their parents.

The teaching of high-quality systematics synthetic phonics continues into Reception and Years 1 and 2. All children have a daily, dedicated phonics lesson, following the phonics programme. These lessons are engaging, interactive and fully differentiated to meet the needs of all pupils, allowing them to make sustained and accelerated progress. Children are taught to blend sounds to decode words, sentences and whole texts. Children are taught to use phonics knowledge and use visual cues to aid word recognition. As children become confident at decoding and word recognition, their fluency develops and allows them to develop their understanding of the texts they are reading (reading comprehension). Whilst both word recognition and comprehension are crucial skills to help children become confident readers who can critically engage with texts.

Phonics Timetable - 2024

Children on the phonics programme will have a book sent home daily from school that matches the their phonetic ability. For some children, this may be a picture book while they are still learning phonemes and listening for sounds in words. For other children, depending on where they are on their reading journey, these books may include more words that they are able to decode with increasing fluency.

Children in Year 1 complete the Phonic Screening Check during the summer term. We strive for all of our children to pass the Phonic Screening Check and additional support is put into place for those children who require it. The children who do not achieve the pass mark in Year 1 take the test in the following academic year, when they are in Year 2. Additional support for these children is planned carefully to ensure they are confident in the resits.

Reading across Year 1 - Year 6

All year groups (1-6) have daily reading lessons, which follow the English ARK Mastery programme of discretely teaching: vocabulary, fluency, domain knowledge, book talk and comprehension. These lessons are taught through high-quality texts carefully selected using Doug Lemoves five plagues. In addition to this, children across the school have access to additional reading time through the form of 1:1 reading session, hit squad, Accelerated Reader, Lexia and Reading Gladiators. 1:1 reading sessions take place weekly for all children across the school and daily for those who need additional support.

During a 1:1 reading session, a red comment will be placed in that child's diary to inform parents and carers of how they are doing. Hit squad is a reading session that occurs four times a week for children in Years 1 and 2. The children are split into groups of 6 according to their reading ability and they practise their fluency.

Further to this provision, all children have the opportunity to engage in story time sessions (class readers). Visit the library, with our school librarian. We work closely with the local library (Glebe Farm). We hold regular parent workshops to support reading at home and we set reading challenges, to encourage sustained engagement with reading at home.