Intent

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum at Bosmere. There is a clear reading structure that builds children’s reading skills and confidence. Our priority is both the teaching of reading skills and the enjoyment of literature, enabling children to become lifelong, confident readers.

As children begin to read, we focus on decoding, primarily through phonics in addition to other strategies, e.g. whole word recognition, rhyme and context. As children build fluency, comprehension skills become our main area of focus and are taught discreetly and as part of the whole-class guided reading lessons within the CUSP curriculum.

implementation

What does phonics look like at Bosmere?

At Bosmere Primary School, we believe that the teaching of phonics is vital for children to become competent readers and writers. We endeavour to teach phonics in a way that is lively, interactive and investigative. We aim for children to develop excellent phonic knowledge and skills along with an extensive and rich vocabulary.

Phonics is taught in a highly structured programme including daily, discreet phonics lesson across the Foundation Stage, Year 1 and Year 2..  We follow the Little Wandle Phonics Scheme which provides a systematic synthetic approach to the teaching of phonics.

What does reading look like at Bosmere?

Early Years Foundation Stage

• The children in the Reception year are taught to read using a variety of strategies.
• Through our daily literacy activities and the learning environment the children will acquire the fundamental phonic knowledge and skills they need to be confident in blending and decoding sounds and words.
• Daily phonics lesson will provide the children with opportunities in decoding.
• Teachers and Support Staff share picture and story books with the children throughout every day.
• Resources used to support reading include the singing phonics songs, big books, story books, online resources, a variety of phonics games, flash cards and shared sentence construction.
• Parents are engaged through regular comments in Class Dojo, along with updates via Tapestry and information sessions organised by the Phonics Leader and Early Years Phase Leader.
• We use reading books linked closely to the phonics phases and units to ensure that pupils are given books matched to their developing phonics knowledge.
• Children read in small groups in reading practice sessions.

KS1

• When children move into KS1, they continue to participate in a daily phonics lesson in class groups.
• Phonics lessons provide the children with the opportunity to practise the skills of decoding and blending as well as to recall sight vocabulary such as the tricky words.
• These lessons are active, engaging and involve learning key sounds (phonemes) and their written representation (graphemes) using singing, interactive games and direct teacher input.
• Additional booster groups are provided for those who need it to aim to ensure that no child is left behind in the development of their phonics knowledge.
• Children learn to use phonic skills when reading and to apply their phonic skills to their written work. Specific skills for reading comprehension are explicitly taught and practised.
• In Year 1, pupils will experience reading in small groups and as a whole class.
• During Year 2, pupils take part in whole class reading sessions to further develop the skills required for reading via a wide range of texts.
• Additional opportunities to develop reading are included during storytime (whole class) and the English lesson.
• When children have secure phonics knowledge and they are able to segment and blend words using the phase 2-5 GPCs, they are able to move onto reading books in Accelerated Reader.

KS2

• Children’s independent reading is developed, reviewed and assessed using the Accelerated Reader programme along with regular quizzes.  There is time allowed for Accelerated Reader quizzes and independent reading in the school timetable but children are expected to read at home.
• Children also encounter a range of texts through CUSP whole class guided reading sessions, in which specific reading skills (e.g. understanding the meaning of words, summarising, inference and retrieval) are taught explicitly and practised.  The literature spine (below) is diverse, relevant and empowering, presenting children with ethical and moral dilemmas which develop their cultural capital (see Thematic Map below)
• During daily reading and English sessions, the children use a range of reading strategies for prosodic reading including: reading allowed, echo reading and paired reading.
• During reading sessions, there is an opportunity for each child to revisit and practise reading strategies and become involved in discussions about texts with the teacher and their peers.
• Reading lessons in KS2 will follow the CUSP whole class guided reading approach.  The curriculum is built on three key foundations: explicit vocabulary instruction; explicit fluency instruction (prosodic reading) and opportunities to think hard. Every unit follows a clear and progressive sequence that immerses pupils meaningfully in rich and demanding texts that have been carefully curated. Pupils have the opportunity throughout the Primary journey to experience a wide range of literature, as well as studying extended texts in full. This ensures both breadth and depth in their reading diet. Strong lesson routines ensure consistent practice across the school and incremental progression in the demands of both the texts that pupils study and how they are asked to respond to these. CUSP Reading utilises all that we know about effective reading instruction and provides teachers with the framework to ensure a diet of excellence for all pupils.
• We ensure there is sufficient scaffold to support learners of all abilities and enable them to participate fully in the exploration of the text.  In most whole class reading sessions, children have their own copy of the book to read and refer to during these sessions. 
• We encourage children of all ages to read with increasing fluency and accuracy, and across a wide range of contexts, throughout the curriculum. Although comprehension is an important part of reading in school, we also emphasise the importance of reading for pleasure.
• Pupils reading at home is celebrated and encouraged. Accelerated Reader is used as the primary way of tracking the amount of reading being completed at home independently.  If children are unable to read frequently at home, there are offered time in a lunchtime reading club to support their progress.