At Horsforth Newlaithes, we believe that all pupils should have the opportunity to be fluent, confident readers who are able to successfully comprehend and understand a wide range of texts. We want pupils to develop a love of reading, a good knowledge of a range of authors and, through a diverse range of texts, be able to understand more about themselves and the world in which they live. By the time children leave Newlaithes, we want all children to be able to read fluently and with confidence, any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.
We understand the importance of parents and carers in supporting their children to develop reading and comprehension skills and are strongly committed to a home-school partnership which enables parents and carers to understand how to enhance the skills being taught in school through good quality texts.

In EYFS and KS1 children working towards age related expectations will read with an adult at least weekly. In KS2, children who need more individual support or are reading from a coloured book band will read with an adult on a weekly basis, one to one or in a small group. Those children requiring intensive reading support will access Rapid Reading at least twice a week.
The Pearson Phonics Bug Club scheme is supplemented by Rising Stars Reading Planet books. The progression of both schemes matches the order of Letters and Sounds enabling children to work through books matched to the sounds they are currently working on.
Reading Scheme
Our reading scheme is the Pearson Phonics Bug Club scheme. This is supplemented by Rising Stars Reading Planet books. The progression of both schemes matches the order of Letters and Sounds enabling children to work through books matched to the sounds they are currently working on.
EYFS
Children are taught to decode through daily, whole class phonics sessions. Children are assessed on entry and then half termly to monitor progress and attainment. Reception use the Letters and Sounds teaching order with the Jolly Phonics actions.
Children are taught to read tricky words and build up their sight vocabulary through daily, whole class tricky word teaching. Regular exposure to these words enables the children to read them without decoding and apply this knowledge in their reading. It is expected that most children will be able to read the Phase2 and 3 tricky words by the end of reception and many will also be able to read the phase 4 words and be starting to learn the phase 5 words.
In addition to the sessions above children also read at least once a week from the time they have been given a reading book. Children receive a reading book once they can decode 3 letter words consistently. The children read to an adult within a reading workshop session where a group of children are taken to a quiet place (often outside or in the Piazza).
Year One
Daily phonics and daily tricky word teaching/learning continues in Year One. Children focus on application of Phase 3 and 4 in their writing and on Phase 5 and alternate sounds for reading.
Children also continue to read 1:1 at least weekly. Once children are at Purple Level or above, they are heard every 2/3 weeks.
Whole Class Reading
In Year 1 and Year 2, there are timetabled Whole Class Reading Sessions twice weekly. These sessions focus on different aspects of reading.
Whole Class Reading is built around quality texts. These sessions will involve poetry, non-fiction and fiction, some linked to class readers.
Children are introduced to RIC activities similar to those used in KS2. Some of these use visual stimuli such as videos and images however the focus is mostly on text-based stimuli. In reading workshop sessions, children complete RIC activities in their literacy book which are then marked and discussed in the session. Some of these RICs have more than one question per objective so children practise answering such questions more frequently and, as the tests approach, general reading comprehension questions are mixed up so children get used to recognising question types without the logos. RIC sessions also mean teachers can address the interim framework statement about linking the book they are reading to others they've read.

Reading Workshops

These sessions provide an opportunity to celebrate reading for pleasure. Children enjoy sharing and discussing books they are reading as well as completing activities linked to their Whole Class Reading sessions.
Key Stage 2

From Year 3 onwards, children will have daily reading sessions based around the Ashley Booth plans.

Children who did not pass the Phonics Test in Year 2 will be assessed and start on Rapid Phonics Scheme. This will be reviewed each Half term to check that this is working.
Children who are reading below Grey Level will continue to be heard 1-1 once a week.

Parental Involvement

Children who are making slower progress are often those who are not reading regularly at home. We make clear the expectation that children read daily at home and through our weekly newsletters, and parent’s information evenings, we support parents to understand and build on work done in school.
Parents will be informed at the start of the school year about the classroom routines for each class with regards to reading books/ reading homework activities. We emphasise the need for parents to take an active role in their child’s education, supporting the developing reader and encouraging open lines of communication through the reading record and homework book.

Vocabulary word teaching.
The aim of this method is to expand pupils' vocabulary and deepen their understanding of the texts they are reading. We do this through explicit teaching of vocabulary before reading the text.
There are three main elements to this.
Explore - pupils spend time decoding the words, finding definitions in dictionaries, writing sentences using the new words.
Teach - teachers clarify the meaning of words which will be encountered in the text using images, drama, actions and sentences of varying contexts. We explore links between words children already know and try to include the new vocabulary with prefixes, suffixes, synonyms and antonyms.
Practice - teachers use various methods to revise the words previously learned: matching words definitions, providing definitions, images, missing letters, sentences from books with the word missing.
Often, different words are used for explore and teach. Some words are displayed in class to be referred to across the curriculum. A huge array of activities are used to teach, explore and practise vocabulary; it really is so important to pupils' understanding of the texts they encounter in their own reading.

Reading for Enjoyment

Class Readers

Children are read to daily for at least 10 minutes. Class reader time is a relaxed and enjoyable part of the day. Books are a mixture of quality texts chosen to fit in with current learning or may be chosen by staff or children.

Library

Each class has a 30 minute Library session timetabled weekly. In KS2, these take place on a Tuesday supported by our volunteer librarians. In KS1 they will be run by teachers and TAs.
Library sessions are dedicated to reading for pleasure and to library skills. They may involve discussions about books children have enjoyed, library based games or story sharing.
Potential activities are kept in the file in the Library.
A group of pupil librarians are chosen each year based on their applications. These librarians form Library Club and are involved in promotion of reading for pleasure across school.

Each classroom has a dedicated reading area to promote a love of reading and we encourage children to be actively involved in writing book reviews and selecting books for their peers to enjoy. Throughout the week children will have the opportunity to access this area in addition to the class Library slot.

Celebrating Reading

At Newlaithes, we make regular opportiunities to share the joy of reading through events such as , National Library Week, Harry Potter Night and weaving reading opportunities into whole school initiatives such as Green Week or Healthy Living Week.

Reading Stars

Each week in Well Done Assembly, teachers will choose a child to receive a Reading Star postcard which is used to emphasise great effort or enthusiasm for reading.

By the time children leave our school, they are fluent and confident readers who can access a range of texts for pleasure and enjoyment, using their reading skills to unlock learning and all areas of the curriculum. We strongly believe that reading is the key to all learning and so the impact of our reading curriculum goes beyond the results of the statutory curriculum.