How We Teach Reading At Redgate

At Redgate we are all readers! Our staff are passionate about providing children will the knowledge, skills, vocabulary and understanding to access books and excel in life. Our children are taught a love of reading and it is at the heart of our curriculum. 

Early Years Foundation Stage

From the moment our children start in the Early Years, we foster a love of reading. Our youngest children have access to high quality picture books in all areas of the classroom and outdoors. Books are carefully selected to motivate and inspire children to develop a love of reading.  Children are read to every day, throughout the day, by our highly trained staff. 

Children are taught discrete phonics lessons using ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised’ synthetic reading programme. This develops their ability to segment and blend a phonemes to read. As a child’s phonological skills develop, children also begin accessing reading through Big Cat Collins phonetically decodable reading books. 

Children's reading development is supported through teacher-led and child initiated activities within continuous provision. Development is tracked using The Birth to Five Matters Framework. This enables us to monitor progress, in order for children to meet their fullest potentials.

Key Stage One 

In Key Stage One, daily discrete systematic synthetic phonics lessons continue using ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds’. 

When children have completed the Little Wandle reading programme and have passed the Year One phonic screening check, they then complete Little Wandle spelling lessons.  Children also take part in reading and comprehension sessions to develop their reading fluency and comprehension skills. They engage in regular reading sessions, where an adult reads to them. They also take part in weekly ‘reading buddy’ sessions with Year Six children, who support and record their reading development. 

Children’s phonic and reading development is tracked using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds assessments. This information is inputted into our online assessment system, Phonics Tracker Online, which helps us to identify which children are on track and which children are falling behind. For those pupils who are at risk of falling behind, we use our assessment information to put in place swift 1:1 or group interventions as well as in-class support, in order for them to keep up. 

Pupils reading is also assessed using Little Wandle, Salford Reading (Y2 onwards) and Star Reading Assessments, which tracks their progress against age related expectations.

Children in Year One and Year Two continue to use continuous provision; therefore there are planned reading based activities in all areas of the classroom and outside to enhance learning.

Reading is planned and delivered across across the curriculum. It is expected that reading skills are embedded through all foundation subjects.

Key Stage Two

Daily ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds’  phonics and reading lessons continue in Key Stage Two for those pupils who need it. This is tracked using Phonics Tracker Online. 

For pupils who have completed the phonics programme, reading comprehension is taught through the Grammarsaurus Comprehension Crusher scheme. This structured approach develops fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension through the use of high-quality texts that link to other areas of the curriculum including science, geography and history.

Each Comprehension Crusher unit follows a consistent weekly sequence:

Lesson 1

Activating prior knowledge and explicitly teaching tiered vocabulary with visual support. Pupils identify and highlight these words in their text. The teacher models fluent reading, and pupils use a fluency grid to practise expression and pace. A five-finger summary is used to recap key information.

Lessons 2–5

Building fluency and comprehension through repeated reading of the text. Activities include “I read, you read” vocabulary and fluency practice, echo reading, and timed reading. Comprehension questions are modelled using the school’s I do, we do, you do approach, gradually increasing independence.

Lesson 6

Application and assessment. Pupils independently answer comprehension questions based on an unseen text, applying the skills they have developed throughout the week.

Accelerated Reader supports pupils' independent reading and reading for pleasure across KS2.

Star Reading assessments are used to identify pupils' current reading levels and help inform appropriate book choices. Pupils select books within their assessed reading range and complete an Accelerated Reader quiz after reading. Quiz outcomes provide information about pupils' understanding of the books they have read and help encourage pupils to reflect on their reading.

Accelerated Reader information is considered alongside teacher assessment and other reading measures rather than being used as the sole measure of reading attainment.

Pupils are encouraged to read a range of fiction and non-fiction and to develop increasing independence in selecting appropriate and engaging texts.

Children’s reading abilities continue to be tracked using Salford Assessments and Star Reading Assessments. 

To see our reading in action, search #redgateprimaryreading on our Redgate Instagram page.

Information for Parents - Little Wandle Letters and Sounds

Here are some videos introducing the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds systematic synthetic phonics programme and information about how we teach your child to read at Redgate.

Examples of Reading at Redgate

Our school environment is really focused on reading and encouraging our children to develop a love of books and authors.