Being a Reader

Intent, Implementation & Impact

 

‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.’

Dr Seuss

 

Intent- Why are we teaching this?

At Port Isaac, in partnership with our parents/carers, we believe that reading is the key that unlocks many doors to learning in other areas of the curriculum. Our children should: 

•  Experience an environment which is literacy rich.
•  Be encouraged to love books and read for pleasure.
•  Be taught how to decode and decipher words for themselves.
•  Share the love of reading with family, friends and adults at school.

We believe that all pupils should have the opportunity to be fluent, confident readers who are able to successfully comprehend and understand a wide range of texts. We want pupils to develop a love of reading; a good knowledge of a range of authors; be able to see themselves and their families represented in a text and be able to understand more about the world around them by reading.

By the end of their time at our school, all children should be able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education. We do not put ceilings on what pupils can achieve in reading and we do not hold pre-conceptions about any pupils’ ability to make progress. We understand the importance of parents and carers in supporting their children to develop both word reading and comprehension skills, and so we want to encourage a home-school partnership which enables parents and carers to understand how to enhance the skills being taught in school through good quality texts.

 

Implementation- How is this being taught in the classroom?

 

EYFS & KS1 Read Write Inc. 

At Port Isaac Academy, we teach our pupils to read using the Read Write Inc program. Pupils are taught daily and in small groups by their reading stage, not age. The intent of our Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme is to ensure that every child becomes a confident, fluent reader as quickly as possible.

We aim to provide children with a strong foundation in phonics, enabling them to decode words accurately, develop fluency, and build a love of reading. Through a structured and systematic approach, children learn the relationship between sounds and letters, supporting early success in both reading and writing.

Our intent is to:

• Develop confident, independent readers who can apply their phonics knowledge to unfamiliar words
• Foster a love of stories and books, encouraging children to read for pleasure

• Ensure rapid progress for all pupils, with early identification and support for those who need additional help resulting in 'keep up, not catch up' sessions.

At Port Isaac Academy, we place high importance on consistency, repetition, and high expectations, ensuring that all children are supported to succeed regardless of their starting point.

 

KS2 Reading 

At Port Isaac Academy, reading in Key Stage 2 is taught through the Literacy Tree’s Reading Leaves approach, which places high-quality texts at the heart of learning.

Rather than focusing on isolated skills, our reading curriculum is built around carefully sequenced units that guide children through whole books. These include a rich range of novels, poetry collections and high-quality non-fiction texts, chosen to inspire, challenge and engage all learners.

Through Reading Leaves, children take part in a series of structured, progressive activities that develop their understanding of a text over time. Lessons are designed to support pupils in becoming thoughtful, reflective and critical readers, rather than simply retrieving information.

A strong emphasis is placed on explicit vocabulary teaching, ensuring children understand and can confidently use new language within meaningful contexts. This supports both comprehension and wider writing development.

We also prioritise reading fluency. Children regularly listen to expert reading modelled by the teacher, alongside opportunities for:

• partner reading
• choral reading
• echo reading

These approaches help pupils develop accuracy, expression and confidence, enabling them to read with increasing fluency and understanding.

Children are encouraged to:

• explore characters, themes and author intent in depth
• discuss and justify their ideas using evidence from the text
• make connections within and across texts
• engage in high-quality discussion with peers and adults

Our approach promotes a whole-class reading model, where teachers explicitly model reading, thinking and questioning. Pupils are supported to build confidence in sharing ideas, responding to texts and developing their own interpretations.

Reading lessons are carefully structured to ensure clear progression in comprehension, using a consistent sequence across fiction, poetry and non-fiction texts. This allows children to deepen their understanding and apply their skills across the curriculum.

Reading for Pleasure

Reading for pleasure is promoted through our whole school Reading Spine where texts have been specifically chosen to inspire a love of reading in all pupils. These books are widely promoted throughout classrooms and pupils are actively encouraged to read all their year group texts each year. 

 

Each class has a reading corner and a selection of books to interest and enthuse the children. We have recently developed our school library to be an exciting environment filled with a variety of books ready to whisk the reader away to a different world!

Accelerated Reader

From Year 2, pupils have the freedom to choose their books based on their Accelerated Reader Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and dedicated time is allocated in the timetable for children to read independently.  They develop their comprehension skills by regularly quizzing on the books read and take pride in being accurate.

Parents are encouraged to be involved in their child’s reading journey from their child’s early years through parent’s phonics meetings at which the structure and key vocabulary and skills from RWI are explained.  All children have a home-school reading diary and are encouraged to read aloud daily at home.

 

Impact- What is the effect?

 

• Pupils will read for pleasure and develop a lifelong love of books.
• Pupils will enjoy reading across a range of genres.
• Pupils of all abilities will be able to succeed in all reading lessons.
• Pupils will use a range of strategies for decoding words, not solely relying on phonics.
• Pupils will have a good knowledge of a range of authors.
• Pupils will be ready to read in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.
• Parents and carers will have a good understanding of how they can support reading at home, and contribute regularly to home-school records.
• The percentage of pupils working at the expected standard within each year group will be at least in line with national averages.
• The percentage of pupils working at greater depth within the expected standard will be at least in line with the national average.
• The will be no significant gaps in the progress of different groups of pupils (e.g. disadvantaged vs non-disadvantaged).

Weblinks