At Lyon Park we aim to create a life-long love of reading and books. It is our belief that every child should be given the tools to develop into confident, fluent and independent readers with an emphasis on the importance of reading for pleasure. This ensures that all children can reach their full potential across the curriculum.

AIMS

Our pupils will learn to:

• Decode texts fluently at relevant speed, appropriate to their age-related expectation and with good understanding.
• Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information, developing their cultural capital through a range of texts.
• Acquire a language-rich vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading and spoken language.
• Use discussion in order to learn and make connections to life experiences.

INTENT

English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. 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. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. (National Curriculum, 2014)

At Lyon Park, developing and maintaining a life-long relationship with reading plays a key role in such development. Reading enables creative thinking, supports language development and enables pupils to acquire knowledge. Reading enables pupils to build on what they already know through life experiences, enriching their learning and growing their cultural capital.

At our school, we support all children, including those with SEND, to make effective progress in reading. Through purposefully designed teaching models specific to our intent, all children will develop a richer vocabulary, enabling them to articulate themselves clearly and are equipped with the necessary social skills to succeed in life. Fostering inquisitive thinking means that all children can enhance their understanding through questioning. A focus on comprehension will strengthen their understanding further and create more independent members of society. In order to support these processes, the use of ICT through Accelerated Reader and personalised approaches to teaching comprehension, deepen understanding and provide tailored learning to our pupils, ensuring the best possible progress.

IMPLEMENTATION

EYFS

In the EYFS Literacy includes Reading and Writing. Literacy is taught through quality texts as well as daily phonics sessions. Developing speaking and listening skills is at the heart of developing literacy. Teaching must include planning opportunities to develop vocabulary and talk. Each book is studied for three weeks to ensure pupils can understand and recall it. Purposeful and meaningful links to writing are made. It is important that children see practitioners modelling reading and writing, and also see themselves as readers and writers. Children are introduced to the reading stems and are given the opportunity to talk about the book they are reading.

The learning environment must have opportunities to practise, rehearse and apply skills taught during the phonics lesson. The children take home a phonetically decodable book in line with the sounds they have been learning in school that week. They are also able to take home a book for pleasure. All children also have access to an online Oxford Owl e-library of phonetically decodable books that they can access at home. A personalised guided reading approach is introduced during the Spring term. The learning environment must be literacy rich, this includes an attractive book corner, a print rich environment, literacy-based activities in the provision and a stimulating writing area.

KS1

In KS1 we teach 6 reading stems (vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, sequencing) through a range of extracts. The children are also given the opportunity to explore appropriately levelled comprehension texts through discussion led by the class teacher, where key vocabulary is a focus and talk is key in allowing children to understand what they are reading. All children read 1:1 with an adult once a week. The children take home a phonetically decodable book in line with the sounds they have been learning in school that week with an emphasis on decoding and fluency. They are also able to take home a book for pleasure. All children also have access to an online Oxford Owl e-library of decodable books that they can access at home. Year 2 then move towards the KS2 approach when appropriate. Success is celebrated through the 100% Club and Reader of the week during our weekly Celebration Assembly. 

KS2

In KS2 our approach to reading is a combination of Accelerated Reader and the teaching of 6 reading stems (vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, summarising).The children are also given the opportunity to explore appropriately levelled comprehension texts through discussion led by the class teacher, where key vocabulary is a focus and talk is key in allowing children to understand what they are reading. Children have the freedom to choose their own appropriately levelled book from the library and can complete a vocabulary/comprehension quiz when they have finished reading. Success is celebrated through the 100% club where children can win a book if their name is chosen during our weekly Celebration Assembly. The children have access to MyON which is an online e-library. This platform allows them to read appropriately levelled books at home and complete quizzes. Children have access to over 5000 books and there is an option for these books to be read to the children.

Click on image to enlarge

IMPACT

Assessment:

•   Children are assessed formatively by teachers through one-to-one reading and through answering comprehension questions daily. Gaps are targeted through marking and feedback.

•   Accelerated Reader provides assessment opportunities through half termly STAR tests and regular comprehension quizzes.

•   Summative assessment indicates progress made at key assessment points. These include the use of PIRA and SATs style papers.

Monitoring and evaluation: 

•   Monitoring includes the scrutiny of: planning, AR and MyON data, reading journals and reading logs.
•   Pupil interviews are also conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the models.
•   Listening to children read can be used to accurately to assess the progress of fluency and comprehension.
•   Teacher assessment can also be used.

How to support your child with reading:

•   Make books a part of family life – always have books around at home. It will help if they see you reading as  well.
•   Join your local library – get your child a library card. It is free and you will be able to access hundreds of fantastic books. Let them choose what they want to read to help them develop their own interests. The library as an interesting calendar of events and workshops.
•   Help your child find the right book for them – find something that will interest them. It doesn't matter if it's fiction, poetry, comic books or non-fiction. All reading is good, even magazines and leaflets.
•   Snuggle up together somewhere warm and cosy. Find a quiet zone, whether it is in bed, on a beanbag or on the sofa. Also, make sure your child has somewhere comfy to read on their own too.
•   Ask questions to keep them interested in the story. Start with ‘Where did we get to last time?’, ‘Can you remember what’s happened so far?’ and 'What do you think will happen next?'. Then ask them, ‘What was your favourite part?’ and ‘Which character did you like best?’ After read a book ask them, ‘What did you think of the ending?’, ‘How could the ending be improved?’ See the printable bookmark below for more questions and tips.
•   Read whenever you get the chance – have a book or magazine with you for any time your child has to wait, like at the doctor's or the dentist or to keep them entertained on a journey.
•   Encourage your child to re-read the books and poems they enjoy. Re-reading helps to build fluency and confidence.
•   Enjoy reading with your children at bedtime. It is a great way to end the day and to spend valuable time with them.
•   Read books and poems with rhymes and repeated words or phrases. They are great for getting your children to join in and remember the words.

Please see links below for further information.

Reading Policy 2022-2023

Class readers 2022-2023

Lyon Park Reading Progression Map

Phonics

Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) is our chosen phonics programme. It teaches children to read by identify the phonemes (smallest unit of sound) and graphemes (written version of the sound) within words and using these to read words. Children experience the joy of books and language whilst rapidly acquiring the skills they need to become fluent independent readers and writers.

How do we teach phonics?

We use a simple, consistent approach to teaching phonics. Children will experience the same classroom routines within each lesson which reduces cognitive load and maximises the chances of success. All children are supported within the lesson to use their new phonic knowledge independently. In every single ELS lesson, children make a direct application to reading.

Children take part in Phase 1 phonics session in Nursery. Phase 1 concentrates on developing children’s speaking and listening skills and lays the foundations for the phonics work that starts in Phase 2. It is divided into seven aspects: General sound discrimination (environmental), general sound discrimination (instrumental), general sound discrimination (body percussion), rhythm and rhyme, alliteration, voice sounds and oral blending and segmenting.

Daily Phonics sessions start from the beginning of Reception. There are lots of opportunities for oral blending such as c/oa/t. The main focus is on word recognition. However, new vocabulary is also given and explained in every lesson. There are also opportunities for writing- new graphemes, words and sentences.

ELS progression

Pronouncing pure sounds

We must use pure sounds when we are pronouncing the sounds and supporting children in reading words. If we mispronounce these sounds we will make reading harder for our children. Please watch the videos below where you can hear the correct pronunciation of the sounds.

Phase 2 Phase 2 sounds.mp4 on Vimeo

Phase 3 Phase 3 sounds on Vimeo

Aims and Supporting your child with reading at home

•   Children’s phonics books are entirely decodable. They should practise reading their book 4 times at home working on these skills: decoding, fluency and expression.
•   Reading a bedtime story every night to your child improves their outcomes. Children also have access to online reading platforms where books can be read aloud.

Phonics in KS2

For children who need further support with phonics in Key Stage 2 an initial assessment is undertaken. The children then attend a daily phonics and reading session where they follow the Essential Letters and Sounds. When children have worked their way through the phonics programme and can access Accelerated Reader, they join their class for the reading session.