Reading at Springwell Park

Our reading journey starts at Springwell Park starts with our systematic approach to our teaching of early reading. For more information on how we create fluent and able early readers, please refer to our 'Phonics' page which can be found on our 'Curriculum' page.

Reading is of paramount importance to us at Springwell Park and a love of reading interlinks into our whole school image, identity, and curriculum. We have a superb reading curriculum that includes full coverage of the reading content domains, whilst also incorporating a reading for pleasure ethos.

The curriculum

Our reading lessons are focused around high quality texts that have been mapped out on a long term plan in order of progression. Our curriculum has two clear aspects, 'word reading' and 'language comprehension'. We secure these two aspects with the following:

• Reading with pupils (shared reading)
• Reading to pupils (modelled reading)
• Reading by pupils (independent reading)

EYFS

A balance between decoding and comprehension is very important at Springwell Park, from EYFS straight through to Y6. Our reading sessions, with a focus on comprehension, start in our EYFS setting, where they are able to listen to a high-quality text, read by the teacher, before completing comprehension activities in small, adult led groups. The children are able to explore the text in depth and complete teacher led activities to assist with their comprehension. Our EYFS children encounter the content domains in an age appropriate way, therefore enabling progression of skills as they transition into the National Curriculum. 

Above are examples of other techniques we use to increase our children's comprehension and vocabulary. Our children are able to use 'You Choose' activities to increase their skimming and scanning techniques and verbal recall. 

The illustration on the right is an example of how we use scaffolded conversation to increase comprehension, for example: 

"Who do you think got stuck in the tree trunk?" 

"Why do you think that?"

"How do you know it isn't character X?"

The skills that the children learn here set them in good stead for when they start their whole class reading sessions in Y1. In Y1, the children will enjoy whole class reading sessions, again, focusing on comprehension with a teacher-read high quality text. By summer term (or soon, if developmentally appropriate) the Y1 children start written comprehension activities, ready for the transition to Y2. 

Whole Class Reading - Y2 - Y6

Our Y2 - Y6 children take part in a daily whole class reading session. The focus text is mapped out on the Long Term Plan in order of progression. We don't have specific days were certain content domains are taught, instead our teachers are able to use their professional judgement to ascertain what content domain should be taught, and when (based on what content domain the chapter or extract lends itself well to). We ensure full coverage of the reading content domains. 

Within every whole class reading session, reading and an element of vocabulary exploration are non-negotiable, as an addition to the content domain that they are focusing on. We have had extensive CPD on the different styles of reading that our teachers utilise during the whole class read session: 

Every Friday during our whole class reading lessons, we have a 'standalone' session. This is where the children are able to showcase their understanding of taught reading content domains on an unseen text (not the focus text from the Long Term Plan). This is often a non-fiction text, a poem, or song lyrics.