Reading
At Henham we use Accelerated Reader and FREDs teaching to support our reading lessons.
Why is Reading important?
Reading is a vital skill which underpins a student's success and allows them to access a deeper understanding of the world around them. Studies show that reading for pleasure is strongly linked to children’s educational performance. It is suggested that children who read for enjoyment every day, not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background. Therefore, reading matters emotionally, culturally and educationally and it matters to everyone.
What does it look like at Henham?
At Henham, our vision is to develop confident and motivated readers. We want all pupils to become deeply engaged with reading and emerge as fluent readers who are well-equipped for future learning. Reading takes precedence and is the main current that runs through our curriculum.
Every class from Year 2-6 teaches key reading skills through Guided Reading sessions using the FREDs scheme. All children are given time to read independently every day and everyone enjoys class reading time, where all students benefit from the pleasures of timetabled reading from their teacher.
Our writing curriculum is centred around a wide range of high-quality and important children's literature. In addition to this, every class has a Reading Spine taken from the literacy expert, Pie Corbett, which details a core selection of the best books to share. These Reading Spines include both new books and literary classics, as well as covering different genres such as, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and PSHE books.
We have a beautiful, newly-renovated library that provides an inspiring and calm reading environment for all students. Alongside this, we have implemented the Accelerated Reader book system for monitoring students' reading progress and engagement. We have welcomed accomplished authors & illustrators to our school, enjoyed a whole school poetry project, hosted book fairs, delighted in Shakespeare Day and have transformed our school into different literary worlds for World Book Day.
How do we assess Reading?
Students are assessed every half-term using the NTS assessment scheme, in order to monitor progress with fluency and comprehension. In addition to this, we use the STAR reader assessment four times throughout the academic year, in conjunction with the Accelerated Reader programme. This assesses the appropriate reading range for each child to ensure the child will be reading books at their level. Phonics is assessed every half-term and phonics screenings are conducted every month, which informs teaching of daily phonics and intervention groups.