Love of Reading
Reading to learn and learning to read.
At Porthleven School we aim to teach pupils to love reading through shared experiences, extending vocabulary, telling stories as well as reading and providing the very best books. These books are organised in a way so that pupils read books that they will be able to read and have themes that they will be interested in and able to understand.
Prioritise Reading
We prioritise reading and the teaching of reading by making sure it is an important part of our school development plan.
We use Read Write Inc. to teach early reading and follow this on with Accelerated Reader to promote challenge and enjoyment in reading at home and in school.
All classes spend time reading stories together.
Love of reading
Teachers read books to pupils every day. In KS2, two lessons a week are spent studying the class novel in order to ensure that children are understanding what they hear and engaging fully in the story.
We utilise the library service to ensure that the books we offer pupils are beautifully presented and from recent authors.
Our library is a place where children want to be; it has a range of genres, traditional and classic stories, fiction and non-fiction.
Pupils help to choose these new books every term. Displays around school celebrate our love of reading and reviews of books to inspire others to read. Every classroom door shows the current book that the teacher is sharing with their class.
As well as books for pupils to read at home, we send home books to have read to them by parents.
Reading awards are handed out in assemblies on Friday to encourage all pupils to read more.
We celebrate World Book Day every year. Last year, children took part – both remotely and in school – in our ‘Masked Reader’ week, where teachers disguised themselves and shared their favourite stories with the whole school.
Our pupils say:
“When you read a book you are somewhere different and you view the world through someone else.” (Aisling)
“I love picturing other characters and losing yourself in a book. You get to use your imagination.” (Jasmine)
“Once I get really into a book, I just can’t put it down.” (Isabell) “I love reading Alex Rider because the story grabs you. They’re full of action-packed missions and you feel you’re part of MI6.” (Charlie) “It’s just so intriguing to know what happens next.” (Oliver)
Programmes and progress
From September 2019 we have introduced Read Write Inc. We benefit from training with both the Kernow English hub and Ruth Miskins Phonics.
The first hour of each day is focussed on the systematic teaching of Phonics. Pupils move round the school to ensure that they are in the most appropriate group possible. These groups are assessed each 6 weeks and groups amended accordingly. In addition, we have a 4-stage intervention programme to help children to catch up.
When children are off the programme, all pupils take part in daily whole class reading lessons, where they are exposed to a wide variety of text types, including narrative, poetry, non-fiction, song lyrics, classics and picture books. Children are taught to interpret text through a whole school approach following the ‘Seven Core Comprehension Strategies”: Creating a visual, Making a Connection, Questioning, Determining Importance, Inferring, Summarising and Noticing the Author’s Craft. New vocabulary for reading and other subjects is displayed and discussed in class.
Books match sounds
This is a vital part of the approach to early reading at Porthleven School The read Write Inc. materials are structured in a way as to ensure success for pupils. Only books that are fully decodable are used in the teaching of reading. No child at this stage has a reading book that has unfamiliar words in it sent home.
As pupils reach a stage where they are confident and fluent, they begin to use the Accelerated Reader programme. All of our books are banded and display the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) levels. This alongside regular assessments ensure that the books match the children’s reading abilities. Parents are also able to follow their child’s progress by accessing the programme at home.
Phonics from the start
Children learn phonics from their very first day in school. As all staff have been trained, they are able to use phonics throughout their time in school in both decoding and encoding.
Catch up quickly
We use and analyse data on a regular basis. All Read Write Inc. groupings are fluid and change on a regular basis. The routine 6 weekly assessments determine groupings, however if any child makes accelerated progress a new assessment can take place before the scheduled 6 week assessment and appropriate move to another group can take place.
The lowest 20% of pupils are a focus for catch up programs and are referred to in school as spotlight children. They will be supported with extra work and if necessary one to one.
Early reading experts
All staff have been trained in the Read Write Inc. programme. In the first year, we took part in two full days training with Ruth Miskin Phonics trainers. We also befitted from 6 development days visits. Alongside this work, we work with the Kernow English hub who visit the school on 6 further occasions to ensure the scheme is working effectively. We work alongside the Ruth Miskin trainers.
“I love reading because it lets me go into another world and unfold into another life with characters.”(Robbie)