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Reading

A guide to reading in our school.

Foundation Stage

Initially children bring home books with no words to share with their family. This

encourages story-telling, imagination and how to navigate a book.

As the children develop their phonic knowledge in school, books with words will start

being sent home. Progress in reading is individual to every child so the book your

child brings home may be different to their peers.

Our school reading books range in difficulty and are banded by colour from lilac to

gold. This is different to how it was organised previously into numbered stages.

Foundation and Key Stage One Reading Scheme: A Guide for Parents

We have updated the school’s book bands to be in line with national expectations.

Children will progress through the bands at different rates and it is important that

children are given sufficient time to work through the bands to develop and master

reading and comprehension skills.

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What is Book Banding?

Book banding is a national scheme that grades children’s reading books according to

the difficulty of the text. Each level of book is given a colour.

What can I expect?

Your child will initially be assessed for the correct Book Band colour and will bring

home books from various schemes within that colour. It may be, because of the

broader nature of Book Band levelling, there are books from different levels of the

same reading scheme in one colour band. As long as the book is in your child’s book

band colour, the level is right for them.

When will my child move to the next colour band?

For a child to be an effective reader, they need not only to read the words on the

page but also to understand what they have read. The school will carefully monitor

your child’s reading and move them to the next colour band when they are ready.

Reading is such an essential part of their development as a reader and you play a

crucial role in nurturing their love of reading.

Why Book Band?

When a child is learning to read, it is important that they have access to lots

of different kinds of books and a wide vocabulary. Most reading schemes

have their own core vocabulary and teachers have found that children

struggle when they are asked to read something different.

Book banding is designed to help schools grade children’s reading books

across schemes. Children have access to the variety of books they need

whilst still being supported to develop their phonics and word reading skills

at the correct reading level.

How are the books levelled?

All publishers grade their scheme to their specifications but the Book Band

system is far broader in its levelling. It is based on careful research into the

kind of words used in each book, the length of the sentences, punctuation,

story style or non- fiction format and text size. It also supports a progression

of reading strategies.

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Possible issues

We will do our best to ensure there is no repetition/cross-over of books from the old

system to the new system but please be patient during the adjustment period if a

child does bring home a book that they have already read previously. Send it back

into school and it will be changed. Sometimes, children will be asked to re-visit books

to deepen their comprehension/develop their reading fluency.

Description of the reading bands

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Once children have confidently reached the gold standard, they will then

possess the necessary skills to access the library where they will be able to

read widely and develop a love of reading. This will positively impact on a

child’s reading fluency, comprehension and reading stamina.

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Phonics

Phonics is a way of teaching reading where your child is taught to read letters or

groups of letters by saying the sound they represent.

We use a systematic phonics programme called ‘Letters and Sounds’ which is

supported by ‘The Jolly Phonics’ actions and songs. Phonics is taught regularly in

Foundation Stage and Year 1. Year 2-6 children follow the no-nonsense spelling

programme.

Phonics Terminology

Phoneme – is a sound you can hear. There are approximately 44 phonemes in the

English language. Phonemes are put together to make words.

Grapheme – a phoneme when it is written down. Graphemes can be made up of 1

letter /a/, 2 letters /sh/ (digraph) or /i-e/ (split digraph) 3 letters /igh/ (trigraph) or 4

letters /ough/.

Blending – reading a word by putting the graphemes together.

c-a-t = cat

Segmenting – the skill needed to write a word, hearing all the phonemes in a word.

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Sound buttons – we add these to words to help the children with segmenting to

read.

cat

shop

light

cake

Phoneme frames – are boxes split in to columns to match the number of sounds

that can be heard in a word.

Phonics Teaching Sequence

Phases 2,3 and 4 are covered during Foundation.

Phase 4 is recapped at the beginning of Year 1 before Phase 5 is taught. Phase 6 is

covered in year 2 through the spelling programme.

Phase 1

Phase One of Letters and Sounds concentrates on developing children's speaking and

listening skills and lays the foundations for the phonic work which starts in Phase 2. The

emphasis during Phase 1 is to get children attuned to the sounds around them and ready to

r ai air

n h

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begin developing oral blending and segmenting skills. The focus of this phase is on rhyme

and rhythm, alliteration, oral re-telling, body percussion and oral sounds. Typical activities for

teaching Phase 1 phonics include 'listening' walks, playing and identifying instruments,

action songs, learning rhymes and playing games like I Spy. The significance of phase

1 cannot be underestimated. Until children have fully mastered phase 1, they

will not successfully achieve at phase 2. Phase 1 is arguably one of the most

important out of all of the phonics phases. In light of this, we only focus on

phase 1 in nursery. Children will not be taught phase 2 until the enter into

reception.

Phase 2

s a t p

i n m d

g o c k

ck e u r

h b f ff l ll ss

Phase 3

j v w x

y z zz qu

ch sh th ng ai ee igh oa oo ar or ur ow oi ear air ure er

Phase 4

No new phonemes. The main aim of this phase is to consolidate the children’s

knowledge and to help them learn to read and spell words which have adjacent

consonants such as trap, string and milk.

Phase 5

The same phoneme can be represented in more than one way. At the end of

Foundation and in to Year 1, the children learn alternative graphemes.

rain say cake

light tie time sky

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cat kennel choir

Some graphemes also have alternative pronunciations.

c – cat and cycle g – get and giant

Tricky Words

These are the words that cannot be sounded out. They are referred to as ‘common

exception words’ in the National Curriculum (the list below serves as an example and

is not the complete list).

The children will need to recognise and read these words by sight. We teach these

as we work through the phonic phases.

Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5

the, no, to, go, into, I

he, she, we, me, be, was, my, you, they, her, all, are

said, so, have, like, some, come, were, there, little, one, do, when, out, what

oh, their, people, Mr, Mrs, looked, called, asked, could

To start with, children need to be able to read these words before they learn to spell

them.

Phonics Screening Check

The phonics screening check is a quick and easy check of your child’s phonics

knowledge. It helps confirm whether your child has made the expected progress.

The check takes place in June of Year 1 and will be completed on a one to one basis

with the class teacher. Children in Year 2 will also take the check if they did not

achieve the required result in Year 1.

The check consists of 40 words that your child will read aloud to the class teacher.

The list of words the children read is a combination of 20 real words and 20

nonsense words indicated by an alien picture.

In the summer term, your child’s phonic check result will be included in their end of

year report to confirm if they have met the phonics expected standard.

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Phonics at home

Letters and sound packs will be sent home. Working with your child

using these packs involves you in your child’s learning but it also helps

them to develop early reading skills more quickly.

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/

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Reading and the reading schemes

All children progress differently which may mean that your child and their peers are

at different reading stages.

Reading is more than just decoding words. It involves word identification, fluency,

comprehension and developing a love of reading. Children may revisit familiar

books to help develop their fluency and comprehension skills.

Key Stage 1

Children will continue to progress through the colour banded scheme before they

reach library books.

For children on the reading scheme, the class teacher will decide which books are

most suitable for each child depending on their ability and progress. It may not

always be necessary for some children to read all colour bands before accessing the

library books.

Key Stage 2

Children will have access to the library. They may read a book, newspaper or

magazine from the library or a book of their choice from home. We want children to

love reading and be excited about what they read. Personal choice and the children

being given the freedom to have this choice will play a huge role in developing a love

of reading.

Sometimes, your child may bring home a book that you do not feel is suitable (too

challenging or not challenging enough/inappropriate content). If this happens, make

a note in the reading record and return it to school to be swapped. It is important to

remember that some children that are able readers or who are older, may take

enjoyment from reading a book below their reading level and that this is acceptable.

As adults, we do not assess whether a book is the correct reading age for us, we

make a selection based on the blurb, cover and our interest in the content.

We will track what all children are reading. If a child is not making sufficient progress

in reading or is struggling with a particular skill such as inference, for example,

guidance will then be given to the child to guide them with their choice making. If

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children are making good progress and are enjoying reading, we will trust them to

make their own choices.

The profile of reading within school will be raised throughout the year through

activities and special events such as assemblies, book fairs etc.

Class Texts/DEAR time (Drop Everything And Read Time)

Class texts are selected across the school to encourage reading across a range of

genres, contexts, plots and authors. Teachers read to the class daily. This

encourages children to develop a love of reading, critically analyse texts as they

read and it also helps them to develop reading stamina (the ability to see a book

through from the beginning until the end) as well as comprehension.

Guided Reading

In EYFS/KS1, we listen to the children read weekly during guided reading.

Guided reading takes place in all year groups, however, in KS2 this is done as a

whole class lesson (weekly).

Guided reading involves a small group/whole class of children working with the

teacher using the same text. We use a range of strategies to improve children’s

reading fluency, stamina and comprehension within these sessions. Children take

turns to read aloud and respond to given questions based on the objective for that

session.

KS1 reading is taught with the following focuses:

1a. Draw on knowledge of vocabulary to understand texts.

1b. Identify and explain key aspects of fiction and non-fiction texts, such as

characters, events, titles and information.

1c. Identify and explain the sequence of events in texts.

1d. Make inferences from the text.

1e. Predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far.

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Key Stage 2 reading is taught with the following focuses:

2a. Give and explain the meaning of words in context.

2b. Retrieve and record information and identify key details from fiction and non-

fiction texts.

2c. Summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph.

2d. Make inferences from the text and explain and justify inferences with evidence

from the text.

2e. Predict what might happen from details stated and implied.

2f. Identify and explain how information or narrative content is related and

contributes to meaning as a whole.

2g. Identify and explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and

phrases.

2h. Make comparisons within the text.

Testing in Year 2

In the May of Year 2, children will complete two reading papers designed to assess

their reading and comprehension skills.

Class teachers mark the papers and the children’s raw scores are converted in to

scale scores.

Paper 1 is a combined reading text and answer booklet.

Paper 2 is a more challenging paper. The children have separate reading and

answer booklets.

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Testing in Key Stage 2

Children in Year 3, 4 and 5 will complete formal reading assessments in May.

Year 6 children will complete statutory tests in May.

Three tests in one hour – 20 minutes for each text and set of questions. In

order to prepare children for this, it is important for us to encourage children to read

as much as possible and help them to develop a love of reading.

Reading at home

We ask that any reading at home is recorded in the reading records. Home reading

is rewarded with merits in school when it is accompanied by a parent or carer’s

signature.

It is important that the child’s reading record is returned to school each day to allow

staff to monitor and comment.

Reading is vital to children’s learning as it impacts on how they access the

curriculum. We strive to promote a love of reading and encourage the children to

read as much as possible. This can include a variety of reading material from both

school and home. Children that have progressed onto the library system can choose

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to read either a library book or a book from home (if they choose to do this, they will

need to bring their own book into school each day).

Helping your child to read at home

Support from parents is invaluable.

All children benefit from being listened to read as it gives opportunities for

discussion, fluency and expression. The children have chance to develop the skill of

reading aloud which is a key aspect of reading.

Reading with your child is a crucially important way to support their learning.

Reading books together, reading to your child, hearing them read, discussing

reading technique, stories, poems and non-fiction texts are all key ways to help your

child.

One of the most important parts of reading is comprehension. If a child decodes

fluently, but does not fully understand the story or text, then they will struggle to

enjoy or appreciate the book. It is, therefore, essential that children are given the

opportunity to discuss what they are reading.

One of the more crucial parts of reading is being able to conclude and infer ideas.

Open ended questioning such as ‘Why do you think that happened?’ or ‘What makes

you think that?’ will help with this. Asking children to tell you why or show you clues

in the text or pictures can improve their inference skills significantly.

Below is a list of potential questions that could be used in discussion with your child

about a book. They should hopefully give some starting points for discussion that will

help children unpick and fully understand what they are reading.

1. Why did you choose this book? What attracted you to it?

2. Could you tell me what has happened so far or what this book is about?

3. What can you do to help you read this word?

4. Can you work out what that word means? How can you use the rest of the

sentence, page or pictures to help you?

5. What other word could the author have used that means the same sort of thing?

6. How do you think the character is feeling? Show me which words or phrases tell

us that.

7. What do you think will happen next? What makes you think that?

8. How do you think the author wants us to feel at this moment? How are they trying

to do that?

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9. Have you read any other work by this author? Did you like them as much? Why?

Why not?

10. Why do you think a particular event happened?

11. How could you describe a given character?

12. What part of the book have you enjoyed most?

The School Library

The children have been involved in selecting books and magazines for the library.

The library will be regularly re-stocked and books will be alternated. We really want

to raise the profile of reading across the school and create a culture where books are

part of our everyday lives and are enjoyed and loved.

Staff will read from the book shelves to encourage children to read, there will be

regular reading assemblies, book fairs and reading challenges.

Children will be permitted to read in the library on morning playtimes if they would

rather do that than go outside.

We will continue to invest in our library to ensure it is a place that children are

excited about and want to visit.

We want our children to want to read. We want our children

to love to read.

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100 books to have read by the end of KS1 (EYFS-Year 2)

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100 books to have read by the end of Year 4 (Year 2 –Year 4)

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100 books to have read by the end of Year 6 (Year 5 -Year 6)

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