‘Learn to read to read to learn’

The intent of the reading curriculum at Langley Park Primary Academy (LPPA)  is to ensure that every child becomes a fluent, enthusiastic reader who has  a foundation for understanding the world and a positive attitude to learning. They have the  necessary skills, knowledge and attributes to be lifelong learners and conscientious global citizens. We want to foster a love of reading and believe this plays an important part in children becoming independent readers.We do this at LPPA in the following ways:

• Encourage children to select their own books that are suitable for their reading level but match their interests 

• A rich reading curriculum linked to the IB PYP that gives children exposure to a range of texts and genres that reflects the diversity and cultures of the children within the school as well as allow them to develop as individuals under the learner profile attributes.

The primary aim of our reading curriculum is to ensure that children learn to read at least age appropriate books. We ensure this by having clear phonics progression from EYFS across Key Stage 1. In Key Stage 2 phonics sessions are given to meet children's individual needs. By the end of KS2 we aim for a community of reading children who are confident readers; have developed their knowledge of the world through the books/texts they have read and have the necessary skills to help them succeed in KS3 and for the rest of their lives.

Key principles for effective reading development:

1. Balanced approach to the teaching of reading developing both decoding, comprehension and 

2. Fluency requires explicit practice

3. Reading milage is needed to develop fluency and build stamina 

4. Children learn to comprehend through rich questioning and discussion 

At Langley Park Primary Academy the National Curriculum aims underpin the planning and teaching of reading and ensure a broad and balanced reading diet that builds on previously taught skills and is progressive. Planning and teaching is linked with the PYP with staff selecting high quality books and texts that match their inquiry themes or central idea.

Phonics

At Langley Park Primary Academy in EYFS and through KS1 and beyond the pupils phonological awareness and phonics knowledge is developed as they follow the Phonics International Programme (a DfE validated programme). Children receive at least 30 minutes of phonics instruction daily following this programme.

Children read out loud frequently from carefully selected decodable books that closely match their phonics knowledge. Children are regularly assessed on their phonic knowledge in order to ensure any gaps are quickly addressed and children make progress. Children are also assessed using running records at least once per term and more frequently if progress is quicker than expected.

Whole class reading (EYFS +KS1)

 In EYFS and KS1 children take part in a variety of reading activities to promote discussion around what children have read. Children have access to a strategy called Reading Rainbows, which can be applied to any high-quality text, and helps support rich discussion while also developing their verbal comprehension of a text. Staff select books/texts carefully which link in with the PYP Six Transdisciplinary Themes allowing for connections to be made and knowledge embedded. It is important to recognise  that The Reading Rainbow teaches the skills of comprehension and not the key skills of reading fluency.  The Reading Rainbow is taught daily, alongside phonics lessons and listening to children read. At least 20 minutes of each day is dedicated to Reading Rainbow comprehension sessions.  A greater emphasis has been placed on fluency and children decoding texts not just in phonics but across the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.

The Reading Rainbow requires the teacher to model and demonstrate the processes of a reader and, through sharing deeper levels of analysis and thinking, sets high expectations of the children to be able to reciprocate with greater depths of comprehension. The Reading Rainbow scheme has high expectations of the children by supporting them with high order sentence structures that demonstrate deep understanding through the use of challenging, probing questions.

Whole class reading (year 3-6)

In KS2 will follow a new reading approach using VIPERS  (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Summarising/Sequencing) to ensure the National Curriculum skills are explicitly taught to develop the children’s comprehension skills.  This is a staggered and progressive approach. Comprehension strategies for working out the meaning of a text will also be explicitly taught such as background knowledge and self monitoring. This approach will also allow staff to continue to support reading fluency which is fundamental in helping to support reading comprehension

The teaching sequence has been well thought-out to include two days of immersion in the class reader (including on-going vocabulary instruction) and three days a week focusing on other texts and genres including: non-fiction, songs, poetry, picture books, fiction from significant authors or traditional children’s literature. These texts will either link to the class reader or the PYP Transdisciplinary themes.  This is to increase their exposure to high quality texts and give the children a broad and balanced reading curriculum to further promote the love of reading as well as increase their knowledge about the world they live in; contributing to them developing as global citizens.

Interventions

At LPPA we regularly assess reading to ensure children receive any additional support they may need. Throughout the school reading interventions are put in place to provide extra opportunities for children to develop their reading skills. Children may take part in 1:1 reading sessions where they can share their book with an adult, 1:1 phonics interventions in order to pick up on any sound codes they may not know or to develop their blending skills. They may also be part of small group interventions which aim to close the gap with children who are all at a similar level. 

Home reading

At Langley Park Primary Academy and through research we know that fostering positive home-school links only improves children's reading experiences. As a result each child is expected to read at home at least 4 times per week with parents and staff able to communicate through a reading contact book. To support parents with reading at home every child has a banded book label that highlights how to support their child and aspects to avoid. This is updated each time a child moves a book band level.

In KS1 children come home with a decodable book (which they can read independently) as well as a shared book to encourage book talk at home. This allows children to develop and consolidate their reading skills and shows reading is enjoyable. In KS2 once children are free readers they are able to select quality texts from both their class library and the school library .

Staff CPD:

The school has developed a good expertise in the teaching of reading and learning through regular CPD. All staff have had training with the new phonics scheme including staff in KS2 and LSAs. Refresher training is given to staff when needs have been identified and phonics training is part of the new staff induction.

Reading is a priority across the whole school from Nursery through to year 6. In KS2 we use a VIPERS based approach. There is a  Langley Park reading spine in place of high quality texts which link to our transdisciplinary themes. Using Doug Lemov and  the ‘Five plagues of reading’ we ensured that children are exposed to  5 types of texts that children should be exposed to in order to successfully navigate reading with confidence throughout KS1, KS2 and beyond. 

To promote a love for reading, we have established school librarians, created a dedicated timetable for every class to visit the school library which is stocked with a rich and diverse variety of books, held two book fairs, established an outdoor library as part of OPAL provision and introduced a reading reward system. Continuing to raise the profile of  reading for pleasure within school and at home will  be a priority during 2024-2025.

By the time that the children finish their journey with us at LPPA, children will have experienced a rich, varied and diverse number of texts. We want the children to be confident and enthusiastic readers who are inline or above national standards. Children will have the necessary skills to be able  to engage in meaningful discussions about literature offering their opinions; understand what they have read; and offer recommendations to their peers and adults. All children will be able to read age appropriate texts  and meet age appropriate expectations at the end of each year and we ensure those children that have gaps receive the required support to close that gap quickly.

By the end of KS2 we aim for a community of reading children who are confident readers; have developed their knowledge of the world through the literature they have read and have the necessary skills to help them succeed in KS3 and have developed a love of reading that will become a lifelong habit.