‘We Are Readers’ at Witham Oaks Academy 

Intent

At Witham Oaks Academy, we have a developed a culture that puts reading and text discussion at the heart of our curriculum. It forms a key part of all learning experiences with a focus on developing pupils’ fluency, language capabilities and comprehension. We believe that learning to read is an essential life skill that all children should access. Children are provided with a wide range of reading opportunities, encouraging a love of reading that will stay with them throughout their lives. We want all children to form positive reading habits and become experienced readers before they move on to the next stage of their education. Our aim is for all children to see themselves as readers; who are adventurous in their choice of reading material and who are motivated to read widely and constantly. They know more about a text after a lesson and have knowledge which is transferrable to the next text. 

"The purpose of a reading comprehension lesson should be to make it more likely that a child will understand the next book they read independently."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                (Solomon Kingsnorth)

Through developing fluent reading capabilities, alongside the basic skills of decoding, we aim to effectively develop children’s language acquisition alongside their reading attainment. Exposing pupils to a wide range of rich texts, with an appropriate level of challenge, our children have multiple exposures to vocabulary and Tier 2 words. Fluency, comprehension and reading for pleasure are the core values in our approach to developing successful readers. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary and material. They can recommend books to their peers and enjoy reading a wide range of genres, including non-fiction.

Implementation

We teach reading through a whole class shared reading approach allowing all pupils to engage in repeated reading to rehearse and refine their reading of complex texts with improved fluency and comprehension to gain deeper understanding. Through the process of repeatedly reading a text, children come to understand the texts more deeply. 

Early reading strategies to build fluency: 

Within our reading lessons, a range of reading techniques such as modelled reading, choral reading, echo reading and paired reading are used to build children’s confidence, develop fluency and to ensure that they remain active and engaged in their reading.We provide them with lots of opportunities to read the same section of text out loud several times.

Teachers/LSAs use professional judgment to support children’s next step. For example, if a child is struggling to read a complex sentence, teachers use repeated reading to focus on that specific sentence to improve fluency and automaticity. Adults may guide to choose a specific ZPD book within their level that provides opportunities to improve on their next steps.

• Repeated reading- take a text and reread sentences with me until I am fluent. Discuss any tricky parts and ways to overcome them.
• Paired reading – read with me at the same time modelling good expression.
• Echo reading – read a sentence or short part to me and ask me to echo it back.
• Track the words as I read aloud -make sure your finger moves smoothly and continuously above the words.
• Every classroom has a fluency success criteria displayed

Opportunities are provided for pupils to learn retrieval, inference, prediction and vocabulary skills. These include ‘clarifying’ and ‘visualising’, where children may be prompted to draw a picture, undertake a short role play or show a facial expression that connects with the text. The beginning of each reading cycle begins with a lesson to help children build on their existing knowledge and understanding by activating what they already know. Further focused vocabulary teaching is also timetabled. In these explicit vocabulary sessions, children extend their vocabulary by explicitly exploring new words, providing repeated exposure to new words, and providing opportunities for pupils to use new words.

Our reading sequence of lessons follows the structure below. 

The teaching of Reading at our school includes:

• Daily 30 minutes sessions delivered through a structured approach that focuses on fluency, vocabulary and the skills needed to read for meaning. 
• Phonics teaching in Year 3 and phonics support and intervention for other year groups to ensure all children make accelerated progress throughout their time with us.
• Accelerated Reader - interactive activities to assess children's understanding of what is read
• Daily whole class reading where teachers' and pupils share their love of reading through a class novel. 
• Regular theme days and reading events such as World Book Day and many more.
• Daily 15 minute paired reading fluency sessions. 

Impact

Reading in our school is progressive and planned to meet the needs of all children. Assessments are carried out regularly to ensure children are accessing books of the right level and are being challenged in their reading. At the same time, we provide books to ensure that children read for pleasure and learn to love reading.

All pupils will be able to read with accuracy, speed, confidence, fluency and understanding, ready to access the secondary school curriculum.  All pupils will make at least good progress from their starting points. Pupils will develop a life-long enjoyment of reading and books. 

In addition to this:

• Parents and carers will have a good understanding of how they can support reading at home, and contribute regularly to home-school records.
• The % of pupils working at age related expectations and above age related expectations within each year group will be at least in line with national averages and will match the ambitious targets of individual children.
• There will be no significant gaps in the progress of different groups of pupils (e.g. disadvantaged vs non-disadvantaged)
• Pupils will use a range of strategies for decoding words, not solely relying on phonics
• Pupils will have a good knowledge of a range of authors

Our aim at Witham Oaks Academy is to ensure that all children value reading for pleasure and get the time and opportunity to read a wide range of texts that support them in acquiring the reading skills they need in order to "read to learn". All children are actively involved in our Accelerated Reader programme, which hooks them in to reading and leads them on a quest for their next best read.

Accelerated Reader challenges our children and encourages them to extend their reading experience. Once they have read a book, the children take a quiz on it. A result of 85% or more in that quiz means the words are added to their word count.

The star reading assessment informs our children (and their teacher) of the number and colour of their reading level. Our librarians are available daily to support the children, as they choose their books from our busy school library. 

What is Accelerated Reader?

AR is a programme used to motivate children to increase their reading & vocabulary comprehension and guide them to independent reading. AR is a popular reading programme used in thousands of schools. There is a proven link between strong reading skills and academic success – great readers make great learners! This compliments our goal of having each child reading independently for at least 20 minutes per day at school and at home.

How does AR work?

Each child is tested using the Star Reading test which gives a reading age and a ZPD  (Zone of Proximal Development) range.  The books in our library have been labelled with the ZPD to support children’s choices (see below).

Children then choose an AR book based on their interest and reading level. When they have finished reading the book, they take the AR test on the AR website to assess comprehension. This will be done at school. Children who average at least an 80% on tests taken are considered to understand what they read at an average level.

How can I help my child?

Promote reading at home: encourage them to read; read to them, let them see you reading & encourage them to carry their book wherever they go – so they are always ready to read! Ask about the current book they are reading and their point goals. Congratulate them when they reach their goal.

Reading for pleasure

How do we give children the ‘reading bug’ at Witham Oaks Academy?

At Witham Oaks Academy, reading is celebrated in all parts of the school: through the curriculum as well as through the ethos and messages we convey. Research on reading for pleasure shows that children who choose to read for enjoyment are more likely to achieve higher academic outcomes, to have improved mental health and to gain economic success later in life. What’s more, when children choose to open a book to read, they are able to discover new worlds beyond their own experiences, to learn about different people and to develop critical thinking and crucial empathy skills, as well as advancing their language and vocabulary.

Book Corners

At Witham Oaks Academy, we have dedicated book areas in our classrooms, each one a mini-library of carefully chosen books that reflect the culture and background of our children as well as exposing children to high quality texts containing modern day classics, traditional tales, poetry and books chosen by the children themselves. It is from this selection of books teachers read aloud to the children their daily story, showing the joy of literature. We have planned daily story times where quality texts are read in a calm, quiet environment.

Our Library

We are very proud of our school library; it is a calm attractive space where children can browse and select books by their favourite authors, read newspapers and enjoy books with their friends.  These include the Top 50 Books for each year group (as recommended by Books for Topics). We make sure all children have dedicated time in the library each week.

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is one of the most important things our teachers do and is a frequent and regular part of each school day. Reading aloud enables children to experience and enjoy stories they might not otherwise meet. We make it a priority and ensure everyone understands the importance of it. Reading aloud is a non-negotiable that isn’t gobbled up by finishing off or tidying up. Time is set aside for it. By reading well-chosen books aloud, teachers help classes to become communities of readers – ensuring that they can share in experiences of a wide repertoire of books they enjoy. This links to the commitment we have to deepening and broadening the children’s vocabulary and our English focus for writing using quality texts.

We have many initiatives that will be taking place in school over this academic year to encourage reading for pleasure.

• World Book Day
• Adopt an author
• Author Visits
• Pupil Book donation scheme
• Subscription to FirstNews
• Reading assemblies
• Book awards
• Reader of the Week
• Book Club

Paired Reading Fluency sessions.

These reading sessions happen daily in each class. Children will be listening to a partner read and also read to their partner. If they need support with their fluency their partner or teacher can model how this is done correctly. The teacher will also be focusing on a group each day and listening to them read commenting on their fluency as they listen. This happens in a variety of ways. 

• Outside
• Meeting up with other year groups in the hall to share reading with another class. 
• Sitting on class carpets. 
• Shoes off and relaxed. 
• Picnic benches in calm environments. 
• Visiting our school library. 

This is an example of India class practising their fluency reading whilst relaxing and making themselves comfortable.