Reading and Phonics Intent and Implementation 

At Carlton Junior and Infants school we believe reading is the key to unlock the world around us. We promote a love of reading for both adults and children because we know that for brief moments of time, books release us from the constraints of our own reality. They take us beyond our world and into someone else’s real or imaginary. They satisfy the curiosity of the elusive “What if?”.

We believe at Carlton Junior and Infants School that children need to hear stories read out loud by people who do so with relish and enthusiasm; by teachers who adore books. They need to be welcomed into a community of literature lovers and story enthusiasts.

We endeavour to provide pupils with a high-quality education in English that will teach pupils to speak, read and write fluently so that they can communicate effectively with others.

With regards to reading we place a high emphasis on starting with an oral approach and developing listening skills in Lower Foundation Stage. The emphasis is to get children attuned to the sounds around them and this lays the foundations for future phonic work. A systematic and synthetic approach to the early teaching of reading supports the children in school.

At Carlton we endeavour to promote a love of reading through activities that include sharing stories daily in school , trips to the library and the use of the home school library.  Pupils will be immersed in a wide range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry throughout their primary journey. Reading is a priority at Carlton to ensure children develop a knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, to gain knowledge across the curriculum and develop their comprehension skills. It is our intention to ensure that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education. 

READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!! 

Our children build up their own home libraries. Each half term all children will select a book of their choice and these will be sent home to help foster a love of reading.  We hope you enjoy reading the new books with the children. 

Phonics

As a school we follow the Read Write Inc. phonics scheme. 

Read Write Inc. is a comprehensive phonics programme designed to get all of our children off to a strong start in reading and writing. 

Initial and on-going assessments track every child’s progress. Children are grouped by ability so they learn rapidly at the right level. 

All our staff are well trained in the delivery of Read Write Inc. We teach the children pure sounds which supports them as they move onto blending. Please use the link below to access a short video demonstrating "how to say the sounds" followed by a copy of the reading routine we follow in school. 

Reading

All children read on a weekly basis, this may be individual or guided reading.  Children read to a range of adults including their class teacher or our support staff who have a wealth of experience in supporting children's reading. Through the use of  Accelerated Reader the children are able to read a wide selection of books. Regular quiz time ensures the children are able to move through the reading levels at their own pace. The impact of Accelerated Reader can be clearly seen in the motivation the children have for reading. 

Accelerated reader success is celebrated at the end of each term with the children who have read the most words joining the headteacher for afternoon tea. This takes place at one of the local coffee shops. This is always a lovely way to reward the hard work the children put in. When children have read one million words they are awarded a Kindle, should they read a second million they are given the equivalent cost in Amazon book vouchers for their kindle. 

Guided reading is taught at a whole class level and this follows a four day plan:

Day 1 Children are exposed to the text, with emphasis on reading and fluency 

Day 2 Children are exposed to the text with the emphasis placed on vocabulary 

Day 3 Children are exposed to the text with the emphasis placed on retrieval 

Day 4 Children are exposed to the text with the emphasis on inference

This not only increases their ability to read fluently and with understanding but also ensures they are well prepared for formal testing which takes place at the end of each school year.