Learning to read is one of the most important things your child will learn at school, therefore at Westleigh, reading is at the forefront of our school and forms a key part of our curriculum. We understand the importance of reading within the curriculum and how this can help children progress through their life. Reading has a profound impact on a child's educational outcomes, mental wellbeing and it is also a joyful, magical experience for the children. 

We start this exciting reading journey by exposing the children to books in our Nursery and this then develops into the beginning of our phonics teaching in Reception up until Year 2 (see phonics tab for more information on this). Once children begin to blend sounds together, they practise with reading books that are matched to their phonics level and the 'tricky words' that they know. This helps their confidence and self-esteem giving them the belief and willingness to read more. 

When children have completed our Phonics programme (Read, Write Inc), they will then choose books based on their reading ability. They will do this through our reading programme: Accelerated Reader.

Accelerated Reader will be accessible to children in Years 2-6. The children will complete a quiz each half term, which gives them their ZPD (challenge level). The children will visit our library to choose any book they want within their challenge level. Each time they complete a book, they will complete a quiz to build on their understanding of stories. As the year goes on, we hope that children will move up in their challenge levels. Reading is very important and through in school incentives and a wonderful choice of books within our library, we hope that children will foster a love of reading.

Children can access their Accelerated Reader account here https://ukhosted131.renlearn.co.uk/6708226/ using their login details.

Story Time Books

We have introduced story time as a key part of our reading curriculum and this runs from our Nursery class all the way up to Year 6. It is such an important part of a child's journey through reading to be read to. This is why we have integrated this into our weekly timetable for all classes. The children will be exposed to a wide range of magical texts that will ignite their imagination and excite them.  We call these texts 'Story Time Books'.

Children are encouraged to read for 20-30 minutes daily with parents and guardians at home. We please ask that you sign their communication planners and reading records when this is completed.

Developing a Love of Reading in a Range of Ways

• Library filled with high-quality texts
• Yearly competition for reading in unusual places
• Bookmark badges awarded

Reading Comprehension Lessons

These lessons have been carefully mapped out to incorporate fiction, non-fiction and poetry and is linked to wider curriculum subjects. This fosters a love of broad reading from a range of sources and supports knowledge retention across the curriculum. 

It is taught for 20 minutes per day with 10 minutes of 1:1 reading.

Please see the link below to see how our Reading comprehension lessons have been developed across the week.

This includes:

• The teacher reading aloud interspersed with discussion
• The teacher reading the text aloud, without the pupils following on the text
• Teacher modelling and explanations
• Teacher occasionally stops to think aloud, commenting as they read
• Questioning should be text specific

1:1 Reading

During these 10 minutes, pupils complete independent reading of a familiar text. The purpose of this session is to develop their fluency skills and enjoyment of a book – building on applying the strategies and models used by the teacher within the reading comprehension session. During this time, the teacher (and teaching assistant) will listen to individual readers to assess their fluency and comprehension.

This will include:

• Checking for fluency and understanding
• Supporting in decoding unfamiliar words and share meaning
• Encouraging children to re-read sections using intonation and expression
• Asking a couple of questions about what has been read
• Ensuring appropriate level of challenge of the book and recommending new books

Assessment of Reading

Every week, the Thursday lesson is a ‘taught comprehension’ where children are taught the skills of unpicking a set text to answer written questions across the 7 domains.  This session should focus on the teacher modelling the process using a visualiser / whiteboard – verbalising how to answer the questions and modelling how to present this in coherent written format. The pupils can be involved within this process, recording ideas on whiteboards or peer discussion.

Every week, within the Friday lesson, pupils are assessed on their reading comprehension through independently completing a written reading comprehension. 

Fluency Assessment

Termly fluency assessments are completed at the end of each term for all pupils using the same test across the year to provide a clear measure of progress. 

High Quality Cross Curricular Texts

Teachers use a wide range of high-quality texts, which are displayed on shelves, when teaching curriculum subjects. This fosters a love of reading through curiosity and exploration of these texts.

World Book Day - March 2025

Our Get Caught Reading competition was a fantastic way to celebrate and promote the love of reading.Children came to school in their pyjamas, brought their favourite book, a teddy and a blanket. Children took part in activities throughout the day to celebrate our love of reading and we spent time with friends, relaxing in pyjamas, with a blanket and reading our favourite book with our teddies!

Our competition winners...

Coming Soon in April 2025 - Scholastic Book Fair