Reading at Newington
Reading at Newington
At Newington Academy we recognise the importance of reading and how reading affects all aspects of the curriculum. Our Reading Curriculum is driven by the vision to cultivate a deep love of language, empowering pupils with the skills, knowledge, and passion for reading that will benefit them throughout their lives. Through an immersive approach, pupils are exposed to high-quality texts and diverse experiences from EYFS to Year 6, ensuring they develop fluency, purpose, and enjoyment in reading.
Through extensive exposure to varied texts, we nurture a joy for reading but also significantly contributes to pupils' educational achievements and future success. The curriculum is underpinned by a strong desire to ensure that every child will learn to read regardless of age, gender, or ability, progress to become confident and secure readers.
By fostering a lifelong love of reading, the school ensures pupils can enjoy reading as a skill and a passion, knowing it opens doors to success across the curriculum and beyond.
Key Stage 1 Reading
Once the children have completed the RWI Phonics, initially we teach fluency and vocabulary strategies so that the children can then focus on understanding what they read. We spend time discussing the text and helping the children to ask and answer questions about the text.
These texts are selected based on criteria such as:
provide powerful knowledge that cannot easily be acquired by all outside of our classrooms
develop pupils’ cultural capital and knowledge of literary heritage
linguistically challenging, for example prose with rich and varied sentence types and grammatical devices
narratively engaging, for example changing narrators or changing the order of events
based on high level vocabulary, for example the text contains identifiable key words that would build on vocabulary work from prior Key Stages
thematically stretching, for example set in a non-modern time period, another country or an imaginary world
highlight a diverse range of experiences and voices
provide suitable foundation for and progression to more challenging texts in the next phase of education
provide opportunities for oral retellings and or/poetic devices
KS2 Reading
In KS2 we teach reading using the ARK English MyMastery scheme. This book-based reading curriculum continues to build on the Key Stage 1 book selection. These books incorporates a range of books that reflect pupils’ reality and are based upon a mix of classics, modern classics and representative whole texts.
All of the texts have been carefully selected to ensure that they are linguistically challenging, be narratively engaging, are engaging for the pupils and include a high level of vocabulary. Immersing our pupils in a rich and diverse literacy curriculum will provide them with the tools to become confident and fluent readers with a real love for reading. Reading lessons also include extracts of other texts to broaden exposure.
Reading whole novels allows the children to fully invest in the text; exploring characters, plots, different settings and different cultures. It also motivates the children to read for pleasure and gives them the confidence to read whole texts by themselves.
In addition to this, all of the texts are also used in our Writing curriculum ensuring those strong links and a ‘whole text approach’. As a result, pupils will master the skills they need to become experts in all aspects of English.
KS2 Reading lessons at Newington:
Reading lessons are built upon the five pillars of reading (The National Reading Panel 2000).
These five pillars are at the centre of each reading instruction. In Key Stage 2 we particularly focus on fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. They are fully embedded in our ready cycle.
Each reading unit lasts for two weeks:
The day 10 Big Idea pulls out all of the threads to answer a Big Idea question about the text read so far.
The day 9 Independent Strategy gives the children the opportunity to apply the skills they have practiced.
In each lesson sequence then children are taught a number of strategy to improve their reading skills and word towards automaticity.
Here is a summary of our English Curriculum, including Reading and Writing for each year group.
Assessment of Reading
We assess the children’s ability to read through listening to children read, discussions with the children, looking at the work they produce in response to the text as well as daily academic monitoring. This determines specific feedback and helps to plan what we teach the children next.
We check the children are on track by using the Reading Progression document.
Within RWI children on the earliest stages - the Ditty books are assessed every two weeks. As children progress through the program they are assessed every six weeks. This includes listening to the children recall phonic sounds, blend words and read a passage.
From Years 2- 6 children will complete the NGRT. A standardised, adaptive, termly assessment which measures the reading skill against national average. It tells use whether children are secure readers for their age and identify where intervention may be needed. This also enables us to monitor impact and progression.
Additional Support in Reading
At Newington Academy reading is frequently monitored to ensure both precision and progress. Where we identify that a child needs additional support, we ensure that each child receives an intervention or the support for their individual needs.
For students requiring extra support we address it promptly using some of the following learning support strategies and programs:
Read Write Inc 1:1 Fast Track Tutoring
Read Write Inc Freshstart
Lexia Core 5
Beat Dyslexia
Speech and Language therapy
Volunteer readers 1:1
Comprehension groups
Progress for these interventions is tracked using our Edukey Provision Map to ensure effective outcomes.

Our Reading Spine
Reading for Pleasure
‘Reading for Pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s future success’. (OECD, 2002)
At Newington Academy , we wish to nurture children‘s engagement and enjoyment as readers. We are passionate about reading and want to encourage children to become happy and regular readers too. We do this in a number of ways.
All children have access to books from our school library as well as mini-libraries in shared areas around school. The library is open to all children every lunchtime to engage children in reading.
All children are encouraged to participate in World Book day and Newington’s Reading challenge to read every day.
We invite authors into school and have volunteers who listen to children read.
Newington also proudly takes part in the Hull School Libraries Book awards where children get to read 5 short listed books and determine the winner in the Big Malarkey tent in East Park.
Every day teachers show that they are readers too by sharing a class story.
Our school vending machine is stocked with books to reward and celebrate the Reader of the week from each class.
Stay and play sessions have also been introduced inviting parents into the classroom to take part in reading activities and much more!
If you want to find out more about reading at Newington - check out the parents booklets on our parents pages.
We want all pupils to develop a love for reading that will set them up to be successful learners and adults. The more your child reads, the better they will become, opening up a whole host of opportunities in their future.
We ask that all pupils read everyday - whether this be their levelled reading book, their Reading for Pleasure book or something of their choice at home such as sports programs, comics, recipes and instructions for a game. It is important that this is recorded in their reading diary as your child will receive rewards for the number of reads that they achieve.
Rewards
Pupils will receive certificates for the number of reads they achieve with special certificates for 50, 100, 150 and 200 reads. In addition to this, pupils will receive a dip in the Reading prize box once they achieve 150 reads and a book from the vending machine on achieving 200 reads.
Reader of the Week

Rewards
Every Friday, a 'Reader of the Week' from every class is chosen for their enthusiasm in reading or for pushing their limits to read at home. The 'Reader of the Week' has the opportunity to choose a book from our remarkable book vending machine.

World Book Day is always a highlight of our academic year.



The Book Corner with Year 5