We are committed to nurturing a love of reading and developing young writers. We place a strong emphasis on writing and reading for pleasure.
Our Reading Approach
We base our approach on the understanding that reading is the gateway to learning and the acquisition of knowledge.
We follow the ‘Essential Letters and Sounds’ Systematic synthetic phonics programme.
Well-attended phonics workshops are held for parents each year and children begin to learn to read using levelled books matched to each child given their current knowledge of phonics.
In order to encourage a strong reading culture, we also offer children access to ‘real’ books that they can borrow and read, or be read-to, at home. Phonics sessions are regular, fast-paced and multi-sensory. Attainment in the Phonics Screening Check is above the National and Local Authority average. In 2019, the most recent year when we had statutory assessments, 98% of children had passed the Phonics Screening Check by the end of Year 2.
Those children in Year 3 and above who have not mastered phonics continue to receive interventions and support from their class teachers, who have had phonics training. Our Dyslexia Specialist Teacher also supports children in small groups or one-to-one where barriers to reading are complex.
Teaching reading in KS1 and KS2
At Yerbury, time is made available every day for reading of some type, whether this be whole class, guided or independent. We believe that building a programme of sustained reading into the weekly timetable encourages the children’s love of reading, shows its value within the curriculum, and helps to improve reading stamina. Yerbury chooses to teach reading through a whole class approach in KS1 and KS2, (the advocated pedagogy in most current educational research.) We recognise the numerous positive experiences that whole class reading allows the individual child as a learner including (but not limited to): spending more time over the week reading with the teacher; benefiting from the teacher’s expert modelling, questioning and feedback; listening to texts and answering open questions to prompt discussions, ensuring that the focus on language development is taught in a way that is not restricted by poor decoding. Additionally, whole class reading allows struggling readers to access age appropriate texts, ensuring they are not restricted to texts with lower levels of language comprehension. Each class (from Year 2) teaches 2 whole class reading lessons a week- in these lessons there will typically be opportunities for the following: teaching vocabulary; reading modelled by the teacher; paired reading (allowing time for the children to read aloud); independent reading; group discussion and comprehension activities (group or independent). Each whole class reading lesson is planned with a focus on one or more of the reading domains to ensure rigorous coverage over the year. To support teachers new to the whole class reading approach, we use the CLPD Power of Reading programme. However, teachers are asked to use this as a tool with which to plan lessons, take book suggestions and improve their own understanding of whole class reading; we do not follow The Power of Reading as a scheme of work as we feel teachers need the autonomy to plan reading lessons which are responsive to their children’s needs, interests and preferences.
However, we also recognise that, for early and struggling readers, regular opportunities should be given to practise and develop their decoding skills, closely linked to their phonics progression, in order to develop reading independence. Therefore, all children in EYFS, Year 1, all children starting Year 2 and struggling readers in KS2 are given opportunities in the week for additional reading aloud time with the teacher, in a small group or one-to-one, focusing on targeted texts designed to improve their decoding and early comprehension skills. During these 20-30 minute sessions, the fluent decoders in the class are encouraged to enjoy their own books, taken from the library or book corners (see reading for pleasure below). These sessions are recorded in the teacher’s guided reading folder. Books that the children read for pleasure are recorded in each child’s reading journal and regularly checked by their teacher.
Guided Reading takes place regularly until children have become automatic readers and successful at comprehension. Once this is the case, focussed reading interventions take place with lower attaining readers. Children continue to have access to a number of high-quality texts across a range of genres that are updated regularly through the Islington Reading Road Map.
Extra support for reading
In addition to quality first teaching within the classroom, Yerbury supports its struggling readers with a range of targeted interventions:
Reading for pleasure
We work hard to create a culture of reading for pleasure amongst our children, developing not only their decoding and comprehension skills, but also their knowledge of different authors, reading preferences and independent book choices. By successfully carefully embedding opportunities for this across our curriculum, we hope to create enthusiastic, confident and motivated readers who enjoy reading. Some of our approaches include:
Yerbury Phonics Progression Map
Yerbury Reading Progression Overview KS1 & 2
At Yerbury, we follow a six-part approach to structure of writing units of work, which ensures engagement, generation of ideas, teaching of new concepts, application of writing and purposeful outcomes. Step 5 ‘editing’ only applies to years 2-6, as editing does not feature on the National Curriculum for previous year groups. EYFS use some elements of the Yerbury approach e.g. Step 1 ‘The hook’ but exclude the steps that can only be achieved when writing for length.
Publishing – The final, edited draft is published. This helps to give purpose to earlier stages of our writing approach. These published works may be put on display, published in a book, or performed depending on the text-type.
Writing curriculum progression map 2022
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