Reading
At St Vincent’s, we believe that learning to read is one of the most important gifts we can give a child.
Reading opens doors. It develops imagination, builds knowledge, strengthens vocabulary and enables children to understand and enjoy the world around them. Our aim is for every child to become a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader who reads both for learning and for pleasure.
We want our children to develop a lifelong love of books and reading. From the moment they join St Vincent’s, reading is at the heart of their learning.
Learning to Read
Our approach to teaching reading is carefully structured and informed by the best available educational evidence.
In the early years and Key Stage 1, children develop the knowledge and skills they need to become successful readers through a systematic approach to phonics. Children learn the relationships between letters and sounds and develop the ability to blend these sounds to read words independently.
As children progress, we place increasing emphasis on fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and reading widely. We explicitly teach children how to understand, discuss and respond to what they read, helping them to become thoughtful and critical readers.
Our teachers continually assess children's reading and use this information to identify what each child needs next. Where children require additional support, we respond quickly so that difficulties do not become barriers to their progress.
Reading Fluency
We recognise that becoming a fluent reader is essential to children's success across the curriculum.
Children have regular opportunities to practise reading aloud and develop accuracy, expression, pace and understanding. Our approach ensures that children are given repeated opportunities to practise reading at an appropriate level of challenge, building both fluency and confidence.
Our staff have undertaken professional research into improving reading fluency in primary school, ensuring that our classroom practice continues to develop in response to evidence and the needs of our pupils.
Reading for Pleasure
We want children to read because they love reading.
Alongside the teaching of reading, we place a strong emphasis on reading for pleasure. Children encounter a rich and diverse range of books, authors and genres throughout their time at St Vincent’s.
Teachers share books with children, recommend authors and create opportunities for children to talk about their reading. Our library and classroom book collections provide children with opportunities to discover new stories, explore different subjects and find books that capture their interests.
We believe that children should see adults as readers too. Sharing stories, discussing books and recommending favourite authors all help to create a culture where reading is valued and enjoyed.
Reading Across the Curriculum
Reading is not just something that happens during English lessons.
Strong reading skills allow children to access the whole curriculum. We therefore deliberately develop children's vocabulary, background knowledge and comprehension across subjects such as science, history, geography, RE and PSHE.
Children encounter increasingly challenging texts as they progress through the school, enabling them to broaden their knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of the world.
Reading at Home
The partnership between school and home is incredibly important.
Children take books home regularly and we encourage families to make reading part of everyday life. Reading together, listening to your child read, talking about stories and sharing books can make a significant difference to a child's progress and enjoyment.
We encourage parents to:
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read regularly with their child;
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listen to their child read and celebrate their progress;
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talk about characters, events, vocabulary and ideas;
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read stories and books aloud to their child, even when they are able to read independently;
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visit the library and help children discover books that interest them; and
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model a love of reading at home.
There is no age at which children are too old to be read to. Sharing a book together remains a wonderful way to develop vocabulary, imagination and a love of stories.
Every Child a Reader
At St Vincent’s, we are ambitious for every child.
We recognise that children learn to read at different rates and may need different types of support. Our teachers use assessment carefully to identify children's strengths and next steps, working closely with families and support staff where additional provision is needed.
Our aim is not simply for children to be able to read the words on a page. We want them to become fluent, knowledgeable and confident readers who understand what they read, enjoy books and choose to read independently.
Through high-quality teaching, carefully selected books, targeted support and a strong partnership with parents, we work together to ensure that every child leaves St Vincent’s with the confidence and skills to become a lifelong reader.
At St Vincent’s we aspire to make the learning ambitious for all learners. Our school curriculum includes the knowledge, skills and life experiences children need to thrive. Our learning is carefully planned and sequenced using the National Curriculum that can be found below:
Knowledge and skills are built on from previous years and there is clear progression in each subject. You can see an overview of progression below:
Each curriculum area is taught across the year and evidenced on a long term plan, divided into half termly blocks. You can see the long term plan below:
Reading Developments Spring 2024
Our Reading Spine
At St Vincent’s, we have developed our own bespoke Reading Spine.
A reading spine is a core of books: a mix of classics and essential reads that help children to engage at a deeper level and enter the world of the story. The intention is to foster a love of reading in all children, from Reception right up to Year 6, for them to take into their future.
The purpose of the reading spine is to give our children the experience of reading a diverse range of texts throughout their years at St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School. Our reading spine has been carefully chosen to inspire the children, not only as readers, but also as authors, encouraging them to develop their own flair for writing. We believe an inspiring and effective English curriculum exposes children to a wide range of quality texts.
“Imagine a primary school where, over seven years, children are read to, enjoy, discuss and work with a core of around 70 books. These ‘essential reads’ would be a store of classics, creating a living library inside a child’s mind. This is the ‘reading spine’. Schools that have a reading spine build a common bank of stories that bind the community together.”
Pie Corbett (author, poet and educational writer)
Every book within our Reading Spine has been selected, reviewed and chosen carefully by all staff in school.
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