‘Reading is the gateway which makes all other learning possible.’ – Barack Obama
At Lakes we aim to provide a supportive, stimulating and secure environment where pupils are encouraged to express themselves and where their contributions are valued. We prioritise the development of language and communication skills. At Lakes we recognise that without effective communication, little achievement can be made. We know that we have a duty to ensure that English teaching is a priority and we recognise that this is necessary across all subjects and a constant through-out school life and beyond. It is part of the ‘essential knowledge’ (p6 National Curriculum) that is needed in society.
‘Teachers should develop pupil’s spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.’ (p10 National Curriculum)
Our aim at Lakes is to teach children not only to become proficient readers, but to develop a love of reading. Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.
We facilitate this in different ways from the engaging class texts, well stocked library, Accelerated Reader quizzes, shared and class guided reading sessions and regular ‘book talk’ in class.
We use Read Write Inc to teach phonics synthetically and systematically. Synthetic phonics refers to an approach to the teaching of reading in which the phonemes [sounds] associated with particular graphemes [letters] are pronounced in isolation and blended together (synthesised). For example, children are taught to take a single-syllable word such as cat apart into its three letters, pronounce a phoneme for each letter in turn, and blend the phonemes together to form a word. Synthetic phonics for writing reverses the sequence: children are taught to say the word they wish to write, segment it into its phonemes and say them in turn, for example d-o-g, and write a grapheme for each phoneme in turn to produce the written word, dog.’
For further information access ruthmiskin.com. We hold regular meetings for parents to showcase the scheme and support understanding of this approach.
We celebrate reading success and there is a ‘Star Reader Award’ given weekly for each class in our Celebration assembly.
In KS1 and KS2 we follow our school scheme for Reading:
We are an inclusive school, we set high expectations and recognise the importance of accurate and regular assessment in order to support individuals at every part of their learning journey and in whatever circumstances. We use one to one support, small groups and cross- phase work to help with this. We plan teaching opportunities to help those for whom English is an additional language and those with SEND needs. We adapt our practice to meet the needs of all learners.