Reading

To support all our pupils develop their reading and communication skills, teachers plan structured and guided activities in their lessons where appropriate. Pupils do need to practise reading aloud if they are to develop and improve their reading fluency. During these guided activities and using the cognitive reading strand of oracy, pupils learn the skills to predict, clarify, summarise, and question, all of which are crucial to reading comprehension.

Research by the Education Endowment Foundation outlines how reading aloud plays a vital part in developing pupils’ language capabilities and supporting them to develop fluent reading capabilities. Therefore, in a supportively planned way to meet the needs of pupils, we work to help all pupils develop their reading skills. We believe that reading aloud helps empower all pupils, impart a love of reading, and provides the opportunity to experience life in all its fullness.

Access to a full-time education is every pupil’s right. However, to truly benefit from the opportunity, so much more is required. Amongst other things, one key element is a pupil’s ability to read. As the curriculum has substantially changed over recent years in content and challenge, poor reading ability is a factor that can significantly impact on pupils’ access to a wide range of subjects. Pupils must be able to read for them to achieve academically. As pupils progress through an increasingly specialised curriculum, there is a growing need to ensure that pupils are trained to access the academic language and conventions of different subjects. Therefore, putting reading at the heart of the curriculum will support all pupils to be able to read well. Research into reading states:
  • Reading for pleasure is important for educational purposes as well as benefitting personal development.
  • There is a positive link between attitudes towards reading and scoring well on assessments that have a strong basis in reading.
  • Reading for pleasure is an activity that has emotional and social consequences.
For this reason, reading is woven throughout our DEEP curriculum to provide pupils with the skills they need to effectively comprehend information, access learning and enjoy reading for pleasure. WE WANT ALL OF OUR PUPILS TO BE CONFIDENT READERS.