Reading at Lacewood

At Lacewood we acknowledge that when our children arrive in full-time school, they bring with them a wealth of pre-school experiences. They have been developing their language skills through talking about everyday activities; sharing favourite stories and books; using their imagination in role play; noticing letters on road signs; recognising shops or restaurants by their logos. These are just a few experiences which serve to provide a firm foundation for children learning to read, giving them an understanding that print contains a message; that pictures are story-telling clues; that we move along a line of text from left to right.

Marie Clay describes reading as ‘… a message-getting, problem-solving activity.’ From the moment a child starts at Lacewood School, we start to build on the experiences and skills they already own, equipping them for this ‘message-getting, problem-solving’ process.

Foundation/Key Stage 1

Pupils first learn their letter sounds and names then apply these to decoding and word building. We use Read Write Inc. for our teaching of phonics. This is a recognised  systematic phonic scheme. The pupils also learn a variety of other key words by sight.

Pupils read individually, in small groups and as a whole class. A variety of different genres are chosen at an appropriate level of ability for each group of children. Pupils are taught to first decode words, to build fluency and then language comprehension. As well as being able to read the text, children are encouraged to discuss the content of the book, and their opinions about people, places and events are sought. The more able readers will be asked about the varied themes of different texts.

Pupils, who are still accessing the RWi programme, are provided with take home reading books that match the current level of phonics being taught in their groups. 

A range of reading texts are used beyond the phonics decodable books and are arranged into age-appropriate texts for each year group. Pupils can choose, within their age range, texts at a variety of challenge levels, genres and linked to their interests. 

Key Stage 2

Reading lessons beyond phonics and decoding lessons use a variety of genres and styles, including poetry, and are taught whole class - pitched at challenge level slightly above the age-expected levels for the class. 

Pupils are provided with opportunities for repeated reads of texts studies to support them in building fluency. They continue to consolidate word reading and decoding skills so they always develop their confidence to tackle new words and vocabulary. Pupils are taught the relevant background knowledge and meanings of new vocabulary to support their comprehension when reading as well as developing other language comprehension skills. Reading lessons support pupils in developing their reading voices - or prosody - which enables them to decode speedily, read fluently and comprehend language appropriately to read expressively and with appropriate pace and intonation. 

Beyond Year 5, pupils are taught specific paper-based comprehension skills to support them in preparing for more formal styles of reading assessments. 

As in Key Stage 1, pupils are encouraged to build their reading miles at home and beyond by selecting a text from a selection of age-appropriate texts, including a variety of genres, styles and interest themes. 

Over the last three years over 90% of our children have reached or exceeded the required reading standard by the end of their primary education.