Reading

at St Robert Bellarmine

“We are God’s work of art”

“A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them.” Primary National Curriculum 2014

At St Robert Bellarmine Primary School we aim to have all children reading widely, fluently and confidently. We believe that all aspects of English should be taught with high-quality texts at the heart.

Our school is rich in texts that represent the wealth and variety of children’s literature and staff are skilled in selecting the right book for different outcomes. This knowledge is carefully passed onto children so that they in turn have more ownership about developing their own reading habits. Whole-school texts bring the reading community (pupils, staff and parents) together. This is further enhanced through a holistic approach to ‘reading for pleasure’ where strategies are embedded both implicitly and explicitly. We have recently introduced our Reading Graduate programme at St Robert Bellarmine to develop our love of reading and to help children to access a carefully planned range of quality texts. We also acknowledge the importance reading plays in the development and acquisition of vocabulary. We are determined that we will help ensure our children are exposed to the type of texts which will provide them with the knowledge and cultural capital to overcome barriers to succeed. We understand the importance of reading with the children and also reading to them. We ensure that there many are opportunities for children to be read to frequently in English lessons, guided reading sessions, through the use of a class book and through the Reading Graduate scheme. The revised EEF report (Nov 21) about improving Literacy in KS2 states that reading books aloud and discussing them improves language capabilities.

We believe that the children here at St Robert Bellarmine deserve a high-quality literary diet that ensures they are inquisitive; risk-takers and confident to articulate their voice.

• All staff have a deep knowledge of texts used; demonstrate and model positive attitudes to reading and can reshape tasks to guide the children as readers. This expertise provides opportunities for children to read beyond their ability and many children master higher order reading skills.
• Early reading is promoted through a range of methods so that our youngest readers are equipped with skills to decode (through consistent phonics sessions) and comprehend (through guided reading sessions where real books are used to promote questioning skills)
• High-quality texts at the heart of learning so that our children have the best models
• The best children’s literature is used to engage readers and inspire writers so that the process of reading into writing is explicitly modelled and children can see a real relationship between both sets of skills
• Aspirational texts used to stimulate challenging discussions to develop justification skills. We embrace texts that stimulate philosophical questions that reflect contemporary issues. Application of reading skills across all curriculum areas to support knowledge-based learning activities. Texts are chosen that genuinely reflect the area studied and can be used as a vehicle to teach new skills.
• We value the importance our parents make in supporting all children to read regularly, fluently and accurately. High-quality home reading books alongside well-known children’s books are used to facilitate this. Progress made in reading is at the heart of many parents’ evening discussions.
• There is a wealth of resources that teachers use including ‘The Better Reading Partnership’ so that children from all abilities are catered for. Some children benefit from 1:1 reading with a skilled adult to further develop their fluency and comprehension skills.
• We recognise that for all of our children to become confident readers and writers, it is essential that they have a secure understanding of the letter sounds and spelling system of the English language.
• We follow the Read Write Inc phonics programme to ensure phonics is taught systematically and consistently throughout school.
• Staff are trained to deliver these high-quality sessions for all children from nursery. This approach is also used as an intervention for children who need further sessions.
• Although children have a discrete phonics session, staff provide many opportunities across the curriculum for children to apply their knowledge of phonics in a different context. This is further developed in English sessions where children use the taught strategies from phonics in their independent writing.

Children will be taught two key reading skills:

Word reading – the ability to decode words- will be taught through the use of the synthetic phonics scheme ‘ReadWriteInc.’ Children will be bench marked to assess which level of books they should be reading and to ensure that they progress appropriately.

Comprehension – Children’s comprehension skills will be taught through high quality discussions with teachers and teaching assistants, individual and group reading times and whole class reading activities. 

Celebrations such as World Book Day are used to promote the pleasure and knowledge that can be gained from books.

All Children have access to our St Robert Bellarmine Reading Graduate scheme this is where children are given access to a number of fiction and non fiction texts that they can take home to enjoy. These books include high quality fiction at an appropriate interest level, non fiction books that allow children to read around other curriculum areas covered in the year and in other years.