Reading & Phonics
Intent
At Bellfield Primary School, we aim to create a love of reading across our whole school community. Our children are taught the benefits of reading and how it is necessary for accessing and achieving academic success in all areas of the curriculum. We firmly believe that developing a love of reading is not only beneficial for our children throughout their school years but also throughout their life.
Implement
We understand how important early reading is here at Bellfield and, as such, we use, ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised’. This is a complete systematic, synthetic phonics programme which ensures high quality teaching, resources and assessments which promotes early reading and aids us in continuing to grow a love of reading amongst our children.
Across our school week, our younger children are taught phonics five mornings per week. An additional phonics session is taught 4 afternoons per week for intervention purposes.
In addition, our children from Year 1 onwards take part in whole class reading five days per week. This consists of a class text, which all of our children are exposed to, and the development of a range of comprehension skills which aids the understanding of the texts our children are reading.
We know how important it is for our families to help support our children in their reading journeys and we encourage all of our children to read at home a minimum of four times per week. Our children have reading books which are sent home and are matched to their reading abilities and reading records which are monitored by staff within the classroom.
Reading for Pleasure
We understand how important reading is here at Bellfield and that it does not only have a place during our whole class reading and phonics sessions. Over the 2020/2021 academic year, we have created a purposeful and meaningful reading curriculum which encourages our children to not only read to learn but to read for pleasure.
At the end of our school day on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, our whole school takes part in our class reading for pleasure books. As well as this, we have created bespoke reading areas and sheds across our school and on our playground for our children; a place where they can choose a book and relax and enjoy their reading.
Reading Community
The school has many reading areas throughout the building. We have a KS1, Year 3/4 and a Year 5/6 reading area as well as a library. Children are encouraged to access these areas throughout breaks and lunchtimes to read to themselves, each other and adults. Each classroom also has their own bank of high quality, challenging books which children can access throughout the day in addition to their Terrific Texts. Community book swap boxes have also been placed throughout the grounds of the school where our parents and careers can take a book. We ask that parents and carers bring any old books they no longer want to ‘swap’.
Impact
Our overall aim is for our pupils to read fluently and with understanding. We strive for pupils to be independent readers with a life-long passion to explore books for pleasure. We believe that reading is the key that unlocks all learning and so the results of our reading curriculum goes into all
curriculum areas. We promote reading for pleasure throughout the day and our children are encouraged to develop their own love of genres and authors.
