Reading at Bramley

Miss Denham says… at our school, we strive to inspire a love of reading by fostering joy and curiosity in every child. We aim for students to read accurately and fluently, empowering them to be confidently me so they can explore the world through words. They will equip the children to understand and engage with a wide range of print sources suitable for their age. Across the school, we engage with diverse genres and authors to foster respect and compassion and an understanding of life beyond our own experience. We aim for Bramley pupils to become confident, lifelong and independent readers who find genuine pleasure and purpose in every page.

Reading is so important

At our school, we are passionate about nurturing a love of reading from the very start of each child’s journey with us. Our approach is carefully designed to support children as they develop into confident, fluent, and thoughtful readers.

Fluency

Reading fluently means pausing accurately at punctuation and not having to stop at many words – this boosts comprehension. Fluency is key – children need to develop the phonic and then sight reading skills to be able to read a passage or whole text smoothly, without having to stop over many words. This supports their overall speed and accuracy of reading, as well as confidence that what they read has meaning. Reading regularly and rereading to practice reading smoothly, supports children to recognise words more readily and become more fluent.

 

Reading EYFS to Year 1

In EYFS and Year 1, we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised phonics programme. This ensures that children’s reading books are precisely matched to their current phonics knowledge, enabling them to apply their learning successfully. Each book is read three times: the first read focuses on decoding, the second on prosody (reading with expression), and the third on comprehension. This structured approach builds fluency and understanding, providing children with a solid foundation in reading.

 

Reading from Year 2 upwards

As children progress into Year 2 and beyond, we build upon this strong foundation. Texts are carefully selected to engage and inspire, while remaining appropriate to children’s reading levels. We introduce a rich variety of genres, including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, ensuring children experience a diverse literary diet.

Our curriculum is designed to expose children to a wide range of reading skills. These include retrieval, inference, prediction and summarising, among others. Children are given regular opportunities to practise these skills with the support of their teacher before moving towards independence.

We recognise that to fully understand a text, children often require background knowledge and vocabulary support. Teachers carefully consider this when planning lessons, ensuring all children are equipped with the tools they need to access and enjoy the texts they encounter.

 

Reading text progression

The reading journey is carefully considered to ensure a clear progression, both across each year as well as from Year 2 through to Year 6. Texts are thoughtfully sequenced, generally becoming more complex and challenging as the year progresses, supporting children to develop their reading stamina and comprehension. Alongside this, we ensure children encounter a diverse range of texts, including non-fiction forms such as interviews, reports, and scrapbooks, as well as a wide variety of fiction genres. This approach helps children expand their understanding of different text structures, purposes, and styles, preparing them to tackle more sophisticated material with confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading at Home

 

Supporting your child’s reading at home

We ask that children read for 15 minutes at least 5 times a week in order to practise and develop their skills at home, in addition to the daily reading lessons we have at school. This can be any book – not just their school library book.

In EYFS and Year 1, where children follow the Little Wandle phonics and reading scheme – we ask that they read their school given book 5 times at home each week. They have already read the book at school several times, reading the same book at home is then securing skills they have practised at school and giving children the opportunity to ‘show off’ their developing reading skills.

We ask that reading diaries are signed and in school every Thursday to share their home reading with us.

Fluency

Reading fluently means pausing accurately at punctuation and not having to stop at many words – this boosts comprehension.

We recommend children read aloud to an adult at least twice a week to practise fluency and expression. Even children who are free readers should read with an adult on a regular basis - texts become increasingly more difficult as they progress through the school and children need an opportunity to practise reading fluently at their level.

There is no evidence that silent reading in itself leads to improved reading fluency.

 

                                                             

 

How do we encourage children to read regularly at home?

 

Reading Race

To encourage children to read at least 5 times a week at home, we reward the class where the most children complete the task with a multi-day. Every week in Celebration Assembly, we celebrate the classes where 60% or more of the children have read 5 times in that week.

 

Reading Raffle

Every week, children who read 5 times at home have their name entered into the Reading Raffle. At the end of the half term, we draw one name per year group to win a book.