Our Vision for Reading at Trinity

At Trinity, we endeavour to embed a lifelong love of reading through the use of high quality, engaging texts, to excite and inspire children to enjoy reading. We believe that developing children as expert and lifelong readers is a fundamental entitlement for every individual pupil and provides a firm foundation in all learning. With reading at the heart of our curriculum, we want our pupils to use reading to open doors, access and make sense of the world around them, thus improving their life chances. Through reading, our pupils have the opportunity to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually as local, national and global citizens.

Our curriculum teaches the knowledge and skills which are necessary for pupils to be confident and competent readers through carefully planned and sequenced lessons which build on prior knowledge over time.

Our reading curriculum follows the National Curriculum and is designed to ensure that all children are given the opportunity to develop strong word recognition alongside strong language comprehension allowing them to read with fluency, understanding, confidence and enjoyment.

THE SIMPLE VIEW OF READING (Gough & Turner)

Word Reading (See also Phonics and Early Reading Tab on our website)

We approach word reading through the delivery of our DfE accredited systematic synthetic phonics programme - Unlocking Letters and Sounds. The children begin phonics in nursery and continue their learning throughout reception and key stage 1. In year 2, phonics continues to ensure secure knowledge of the phonetic code and any child who does not meet age related expectations will continue to receive support to close identified gaps. Phonics is taught daily across Reception classes and Key Stage 1, and we continue to develop our pupil’s phonological awareness throughout key stage 2 as appropriate. This is achieved through carefully planned and sequenced teaching which allows children to revisit, review, practice and apply their phonic knowledge.

Comprehension

We engage and stimulate comprehension from Early Years to Year 6 through picture books, novels, poems as well as through non-fiction texts. Children are exposed to high quality literature that deepens and challenges their knowledge and understanding. We encourage children to be ‘active’ readers. This means we want children to ask questions, to be puzzled by the challenging language, to make predictions, analyse texts – including their structure and reflect on what they have read. In addition to being able to decode fluently, comprehension is developed by enhancing children’s vocabulary and strong background knowledge which is built up through wide and regular reading.

Reading encompasses many skills which need discrete opportunities to explore – these are provided through guided reading sessions. In reading lessons, we explicitly model and teach pupils strategies to monitor and overcome barriers to understanding texts (comprehension). This supports the children to construct a mental model of the text. The core guided reading resource is Unlocking Letters and Sounds in Reception and KS1 and Classroom Secrets during Y2 and in KS2.  Alongside this, other resources may be used eg class reader.

Fluency

We support children to read with increasing fluency as fluent decoding helps them connect the words and sentences and make links across the text thus developing their understanding of what they read. Fluency involves reading with accuracy, speed and expression. Once pupils can decode most unfamiliar words speedily and read many familiar words at a glance in texts written to match the phonics they know, they have taken their first steps towards fluency. Re-reading books can increase the number of words children can read at a glance and allow discussion of the plot, the characters and their motives.

Approaches we use are for example, echo reading, where the teacher reads a text aloud sentence by sentence or line by line and children echo the teacher’s reading, copying its pace, intonation and emphasis and also choral reading in ‘Talk for Writing’ or a presentation of learning.

Voice 21 Project

At Trinity, we promote oracy in a systematic way using the Voice 21 Framework with planned opportunities for talking, listening and vocabulary development supports children in becoming successful readers.

Listening to stories

Children enjoy class readers where staff model reading fluency and promote associated discussion of vocabulary and support the children to construct a mental model of the text. Stories are also regularly shared in weekly worship time.

Love of Reading

We have a whole school approach to encouraging a love of reading. This includes, author visits, trips, joining in Special Days such as World Book Day, National Poetry Day and Roald Dahl Day, Book Fayres, Presentations of Learning, Whole School Reading Challenge and evening events such as Bedtime Stories. Classes encourage reading for pleasure through independent reading time, book areas, recommended reads and class readers. Year 6 and Reception children join together weekly to share books. Each year we are visited by staff from Portishead Library, who promote their annual Reading Challenge and encourage all children to visit and join the library.

Reading Book Resources

Alongside the Unlocking Letters and Sounds Phonic Programme, children read phonetically decodable books which align with the Phase they are working on. There are also opportunities for children to take a free choice reading book home to share to further develop a passion for reading.

Once children have secured their phonic knowledge, they read from a selection of banded books. We are mindful of not limiting children’s book choices unnecessarily, so support children in being able to source books they will enjoy reading.  

In class, there is a small reading area which promotes a love of reading and displays recommended reads.

In each Key Stage there is a well-stocked library where children can browse and borrow a wide range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry books. 

Partnership with Parents/Carers

As parents, you can make the biggest difference to your child’s success as a reader. You can encourage them to read as much and as widely as possible at home as well as by reading to them and enjoying a ‘good read’ together.

We are happy to talk to parents and carers at any time to discuss ways of sharing books, alongside this, we hold reading workshops across the year to provide further information on reading at home.

All our children are provided with a reading log to record books read. Although we aspire for all children to read for enjoyment, they can also celebrate becoming a Reading Star by participating in our Whole School Reading Challenge.