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Respect • Responsibility • Aspiration

Authors as Readers

We are Authors as Readers 

At Sea Mills Primary reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We recognise that reading is the gateway to the rest of the curriculum. We know that reading for pleasure impacts on life outcomes and wellbeing, so we take it seriously. We believe that with the right teaching and encouragement every child can learn to read and can love reading.

Every child reads regularly with an adult in the school. Our expectation is that parents and carers will read regularly with their children and will record their reading in their reading record. Books and reading records have to be in school every day.

We understand that reading attainment and progression is a partnership between home and school. If you have any concerns or questions about your child’s reading please speak to your class teacher or our Reading Specialist Teacher, Mrs Goodgame. Please also pass on your book recommendations and reading achievements- we are always building and celebrating our community of readers.

Our Intent

At Sea Mills Primary we aim to develop confident and independent readers by inspiring a love of literature and an enjoyment of reading for pleasure. We aim to ensure that children can read a wide variety of texts with fluency, accuracy and understanding, which will enrich their lives into adulthood.

Our Implementation

Individual Reading

We begin with the foundations for reading readiness with a focus on speaking and listening skills in Nursery and beyond. We develop phonological awareness through rhyme, story and singing. Exciting and engaging books are chosen to share in school and are also sent home as part of our home-school reading partnership. We encourage everyone to talk, play, read, write and sing with their child. These activities nurture a love of language and reading and motivate children to want to read more.

In Reception we continue to develop children’s’ identities as readers with wordless texts that encourage storytelling and help us to learn about how books work. In addition to sharing high quality picture books, children develop their phonic skills through a systematic and rigorous daily phonics programme called ‘Unlocking Letters and Sounds’.

Alongside joining in with the text that is read to them, children are given a decodable book to read that matches their phonic knowledge. Pupils progress through the phonic phases into Year 1until they are reading fluently at phase 5. At this point pupils will move onto book banded books to support children on their journey to becoming ‘Free Readers’.

Book Band Progression

Our reading expectations for the end of each year group can be seen below, along with the colour band progression and corresponding book numbers. Books are taken from a range of schemes and publishers including Oxford Reading Tree, PM and Engage Literacy.

Reading Chart

End of Year 1 expectation = Turquoise Band Book 17

End of Year 2 expectation = White Band Book 23

End of Year 3 expectation = Lime Band Book 26

End of Year 4 expectation = Sapphire Band

End of Year 5 expectation = The children become free readers which means they can select books to read from the library.

Pupils are regularly benchmarked to assess a child’s reading level. Teaching staff will ensure that children are reading at the correct level and that this is consistently monitored to maintain continuity, progression and challenge.

Children who reach book level 20 before the end of the year become ‘Lightning Readers’ which means they temporarily come off the numbered system and spend some time reading and enjoying a range of books in the Turquoise and Purple bands to deepen their comprehension skills. The lightning books are identified by a silver sticker. Their Year 2 teacher will then return them to the numbered book system when they have been successfully benchmarked on the Gold Band.

In Year 2, children who reach book level 25 before the end of the year, become ‘Ninja Readers’ which means they also come off the numbered system and read books in the White and Lime bands to develop their comprehension skills. The ninja books are identified by a black sticker. Their Year 3 teacher will then return them to the numbered book system when they have been successfully benchmarked on the Ruby Band.

Once children have reached the end of the Lime band (book level 26), they will come off the numbered system and select books from the Ruby Band. Once they have read widely within this band they will move on to the Sapphire Band. They will then become free readers. 

Whole Class Reading lessons

​Reading skills, such as inference, prediction and summarising, are taught in regular whole-class reading lessons. Children develop appropriate skills through high quality texts, but also through the use of visual resources such as picture books, film clips and pictures. From year 2 to year 6, Reading VIPERS are used to teach reading skills.  

Impact

Our pupils are confident, independent readers with a love of reading in a variety of genres. They understand the importance and empowerment of reading for pleasure and academic success. They read with fluency and enjoyment and are ready for their next steps. Parents and carers are actively involved in developing their child’s ability to read, comprehend and evaluate what they have read. The importance of reading is understood by all members of staff. Amongst the whole school community there is an unwavering belief that reading is the key to unlocking a child’s future success.

How you can help at home

  • Ensure that your child brings their book bag into school every day.
  • Read every day with your child; 10 minutes a day makes a huge difference. Even if your child reads independently it is important that you listen to them read and check that their chosen book is suitable and that they understand what they are reading.
  • Ask your child questions about the text they have read to check that they understand what they are reading. Don’t overdo this as most important is enjoying the book.
  • Read to your child at bedtime. This is a good opportunity for children to listen to a range of stories and explore a variety of different genre.

KS1 reading questions and KS2 reading questions

Reading VIPERS Key Stage 1

Reading VIPERS Key Stage 2

KS1 reading questions

KS2 reading questions

Useful Links to support reading at home

Tips for daily reading and Reading VIPERS

Reading with your child and Reading VIPERS

Y3 and Y6 enjoyed reading buddies. During this time, they shared books of their choice and discussed what they had been reading.