‘English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society.  Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know.’

(National Curriculum)

At St. Peters, we strive for every child to develop the fundamental skills to read widely for information and for pleasure. We believe that fostering a love and appreciation of reading will open the door to a world of wonder - with storytelling memories and book adventures that will stay with our children for the rest of their lives.  We are fully committed to supporting every child to become an age-related reader by the time they leave our school.

Reading is at the heart of our school development priorities and aspirations.  As we seek to promote ‘life in all its fullness’ and enable our children to learn for life, our reading curriculum and wider offer equips our children to:

• experience reading 'in all its fullness'
• select texts and enjoy reading for pleasure
• develop vital skills, enabling fluency, accuracy and confidence
• broaden their knowledge of both themselves and the wider world
• acquire knowledge across the curriculum, allowing them to build on what they already know.

“Reading is an adventure.  It lets you explore the thoughts, feelings and worlds of others,

and helps you learn that they are just like you.”

(Peter Bunzl - children's author)

Through our reading curriculum and wider offer, pupils are encouraged, challenged and inspired to read broadly across a range of genres, authors, fiction and non-fiction texts, helping them to develop a sense of self.

This is achieved through a variety of approaches, including:

• rich texts that drive and stimulate our writing curriculum
• parallel texts, accessed and enjoyed in our whole class reading lessons
• promotion of age-appropriate books, displayed and celebrated throughout the school
• school librarian, offering knowledge, support and challenge with book choices 
• passionate staff, who model and inspire a love of reading.

The document below is an example of how we structure our 'whole school text drivers,' which we regularly review to ensure we are offering the most appropriate texts for our subjects, enquiry questions and the context of our community.

We strive to ensure that every child can read fluently and confidently by the time they leave our school. Our reading activities build upon children's KS1 experience and phonics are taught where necessary. The reading schemes we use support children as they develop their abilities. These ensure a structured progression in reading. Fundamental teaching of reading, based on rich and varied texts is a priority to ensure children read for deeper meaning.

Through our reading curriculum, children are exposed to a wide range of texts that link to their curriculum projects, where possible. Please click on the document above for further information.  Our text drivers include novels, non-fiction books and a variety of extracts that enable our children to learn, practise and develop their skills across the reading domains.

The reading domains are:

• Comprehension
• Inference
• Language for Effect
• Themes and Conventions

Each reading lesson follows a similar journey:

• Discussion around new vocabulary that children will encounter in the lesson
• Reading a robust amount of text, which could involving a number of different strategies:
  • Reading To Think Aloud (Teacher reads aloud, modelling and demonstrating/annotating the thought processes of comprehension)
  • Choral Reading (Reading in unison with a small group or whole class)
  • Round Robin Reading (Reading around the class where pupils read aloud one after the other)
  • Teacher Reading (Teachers model reading aloud with expression and appropriate prosody)
  • Paired Reading (One pupil reads text aloud while the other follows silently. Pupils switch roles regularly)
• Class discussion around the domain being explored within the lesson, and how it applies to the text that has just been read
• If necessary, there is an opportunity for the teacher to model the required response
• Pupils to complete an activity based on the reading completed in the lesson

Please click on the document below for further information about our curriculum coverage and progression across the reading domains (Hampshire phase expectations).

We strive to embed our values in all areas of school life, promoting them as a guide for flourishing in life and learning.

As readers, we show :

• KINDNESS - Show empathy and consideration for characters, authors, and peers by discussing diverse texts thoughtfully and listening to others' perspectives
• HONESTY - Be true to ourselves by reflecting honestly on our reading habits
• CELEBRATION - Celebrate the wide range of texts available to us and enjoy discovering new books and authors together
• PERSEVERANCE - Take responsibility for our reading journey by pushing through challenging texts and completing our reading journals regularly
• CURIOSITY - Ask questions and explore the wider world by reading broadly and diving deep into diverse topics.

Recommended Reads

For copies of our year group recommended reading lists and for a guide to support your child with reading at home, please click on the link below:

Subject Lead: Mr Hudson

Subject Governor: Katy Harris