English: Reading
Intent
Reading is at the core of the curriculum at Hebden Royd. We are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers and we believe reading is key for academic success and progress in a number of curriculum areas, therefore we provide our pupils with the skills and confidence to deal with printed language critically. We aim to provide children with experiences that will lead to rich language development so that at the end of their primary education with us, they are empowered with a breadth of vocabulary that they can build on in their future prospects.
Implementation
We hold reading for pleasure at the heart of everything we do so pupils develop a real love and thirst for reading a range of genres. At Hebden Royd we have a vibrant library for our Key Stage children that not only invites in reluctant readers but provides children with a wide range of texts to choose from. We resource the library based on children’s interests so that there are texts suitable for all readers. In EYFS and Key Stage 1 each classroom has a selection of books which are directly linked to the class topic. This offers opportunities for pupils to apply their reading skills across the curriculum.
We explicitly teach children the skills necessary to become a fluent reader as well as actively encouraging children to understand the deeper meaning of texts. At Hebden Royd, we also take a text-based approach to our English lessons to provide our pupils with more reading practice and reading comprehension opportunities which are directly linked to their topic and written work.
Impact
By the time children leave Hebden Royd, they are competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, have a thirst for reading a range of genres including poetry, and participate in discussions about books, including evaluating an author’s use of language and the impact this can have on the reader. They can also read books to enhance their knowledge and understanding of all subjects in the curriculum, and communicate their research to a wider audience.
Reading Cultural Capital
At Hebden Royd, we take every opportunity possible to enhance the cultural capital of our learners and equip them with the knowledge and experiences needed for society. One way in which we promote cultural capital via reading is by providing and exposing our children to a range of texts, from different genres, that have been written by authors from a wide range of backgrounds. In EYFS and Key Stage 1 we spend time looking and learning about authors of the books we read in English lessons and in Key Stage 2 the children are exposed to a broad-spectrum of authors and writing styles through our ‘Take One Book’ planning at the end of each term - this focuses on the ‘reading for pleasure’ element of the curriculum meeting reading objectives centred around variety of genre - this ensures that when the children leave Hebden Royd, they have a breadth of knowledge and understanding about famous authors and literature. In the future, they can then build on this and engage with high culture literature.
We also take pride in our vocab rich environment that runs through school from Nursery to Year 6. Our pupils are constantly surrounded by and encouraged to use adventurous vocabulary and age appropriate grammatical structures to enhance their understanding of authorial impact and to be able to apply this to their written work and work across the breadth of the primary curriculum.
What have we been up to?
