The Sacred Heart Reading Curriculum
At Sacred Heart Primary School, we deliver a systematic and rigorous phonics programme through Read, Write Inc. This approach introduces all 44 sounds in a structured, engaging and fast-paced way, ensuring children develop secure early reading skills. Ongoing assessment is used to monitor progress closely and inform teaching, while pupils are also explicitly taught to encode unfamiliar words to support accurate spelling. This approach continues throughout Key Stage 1, with targeted intervention provided for any children who require additional support.
Children remain on the phonics programme until they are ready to access age-appropriate texts with confidence and independence. At this point, they transition into daily reading sessions lasting 60 minutes. These sessions include a range of purposeful activities such as independent reading for pleasure, one-to-one reading with an adult, and guided reading in small groups with a focus on developing comprehension skills.
In Key Stage 2, the strong foundations established in Key Stage 1 are built upon and extended. Pupils continue to take part in daily reading sessions, again lasting 30-40 minutes, following a similar structure of independent reading, one-to-one support and guided group work. At this stage, guided reading places a greater emphasis on developing higher-order reading skills, including inference and deduction, skimming and scanning, and the ability to engage critically with a wide range of texts.
Reading Lesson Types - Implementation (Chris Such, 2021) |
Fluency Read - Teacher shares and reads an extract of a text. Intonation, volume, pronunciation and prosody are explicit modelled and taught
- Some discussion of unfamiliar vocabulary
- Pupils practice reading in groups, pairs and individually (they can also use my turn/your turn and echo-reading)
- Reading is performed individually, as a group or as class (chorally)
- A small check on understanding or a short discussion/response is obtained towards the end of the lesson (hinge questions, whiteboards, in books)
| Breadth Read - Emphasis on pacey reading
- This is achieved through the teacher reading aloud followed by sustained silent reading
- Texts such be of sufficient length to provide pupils with enough practice
- A discussion takes places to build comprehension (structure oral questioning and responses, written responses, a follow-up activity)
- 2/3 dedicated to reading, 1/3 dedicated to discussion
| Close Reading - Text is read (usually a previously read extract) and be read using any method of reading
- Questions are planned to provoke pupils discussion around language, sentence structure, literary features and themes
- Pupils are given opportunities to retrieve factual details, make inferences, explore language and make predictions
- All pupils have the chance to respond (normally through written responses or a follow-up activity)
|
Individual/Group - Pupils read a text which matches their individual reading capability
- Could be a book they have chosen, a book banded book or a carefully chosen extract given by the teacher
- Teacher listens to individual pupils read, noting down their performance and providing feedback
- Teacher could also listen to a group read by providing a carefully chosen extract
- A discussion question or response is shared which pupils can respond to orally or in written form
| Reading for Pleasure - Pupils read a text which they have chosen of their own volition
- Pupils read their text individually or in pairs
- Teacher may use this as an additional opportunity to listen to pupils read
- Pupils may be given opportunities to choose books they may interest them, with some peer and teacher guidance
- Opportunities to share and discuss books may be provided
| Comprehension - A previously read text (or unseen text) is given to the pupils to read for themselves
- Formal, written questions are provided which aim to elicit a written response
- Questions relate to a particular reading skill or a combination of a few
- A range of question types and responses are provided throughout the year
- There may be some modelling of how to answer such questions (especially in UKS2)
|
Sourcing of Books |
Shared Texts for Literary Value | Word Recognition and Fluency | Reading for Pleasure |
- Whole School Reading Spine
- Supplementary Texts from Curriculum Text Stock
- Book Lists from Associations (CLPE, UKLA, NLT)
- Children’s Bookshop Specialists and Local Suppliers (Peters UK)
- Training and Consultation from Experts
| - RWI Decodable Phonics Books
- RWI Decodable Phonics eBooks
- Big Cat Collins Book Banded Books
- Year Group Class Sets of Texts (to support reading breadth and fluency)
| - School Library
- Class Book Corners
- Local Library Visits
- Vending Machine Book Tokens
- Prizes from Theme Days
- Book Club Time to Share Recommendations
- Recommended Reads in Book Corners and Library
- Themed Shelves in Library e.g. Author, Black History Month, Children’s Book Awards, Children’s Laurate
|
Assessing Reading
Assessment of reading is essential to ensuring that the reading curriculum matches the needs of individual pupils to ensure they make good progress. Assessment of reading fluency should be ongoing as pupils become more fluent in their reading whilst assessing comprehension can also be ongoing, there may be times whereby independent application of both may be ascertained through summative assessments.
Important Notes:
- If children are on RWI programme, then they must have the corresponding RWI Decodable Phonics book to read at home and in class
- A child must be able to read 90-95% book accurately if they are on the correct band
