At Holbrook we are aiming high with reading. We want children to become fluent, insightful readers who are excited by books and knowledgeable about authors, genres and great literature. Most of all, we want children to love reading.

A whole school approach

Every class at Holbrook has a book which they read together. This changes at least termly. These are the books we want children to know inside out and they represent a range of authors and genres with due thought given to diversity and inclusivity. This approach means that by the end of Key Stage Two, all children will have read and enjoyed a variety of high quality and challenging books. We read to and with our children every day and seek ways to encourage children in their journey to independent and enthusiastic readers. We teach the skills to help children become good readers in a mix of whole class and group reading sessions, with lots of one to one reading too when they are younger. We have a clear progression which sets out what provision is made for reading in each class.

Phonics

Early reading is taught using synthetic phonics. Holbrook follows the 'Little Wandle' scheme which ensures a rigorous, consistent approach to our phonic teaching. Pupils are taught the phonemes (sounds), how to blend the sounds all through the word for reading, and how to segment the sounds in order to write words. They are taught to use their phonic skills and knowledge as their first approach to reading. Children in EYFS and KS1 have a well-structured and effective twenty minute phonics lesson daily. Regular assessments take place to help identify gaps in understanding, which are quickly addressed so that all children can keep up with the phonics program.

Reading fluency and comprehension

Reading is a multi-faceted skill. Our phonics approach enables children to make the best start with decoding and phonological awareness, leading to word recognition. The teaching of reading throughout school is designed to build on this, providing opportunities for children to learn and practise comprehension and fluency skills, using the National Curriculum as our framework. We use our ‘Super Seven Strategies’ for the explicit teaching of comprehension skills, with the aim of helping children become active, reflective readers. Reading is explicitly taught through a mixture of whole class reading lessons and group reading sessions.