At Maundene, we believe that reading is a life-long skill. Children leave our school able to discuss with confidence a range of books and enjoy regularly reading for pleasure.

Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary and materials. They are able to recommend books to their peers and enjoy reading a wide range of genres, including non-fiction books. Children enjoy participating in book talk, including evaluating an author’s use of language and how this can affect the reader. We ensure the books we read as part of our reading curriculum and in our books corners build on children’s cultural capital and reflect the diversity of our children's lived experiences. 

 

Prioritising reading for pleasure is crucial because it fosters a lifelong love for reading, which is essential for overall literacy development and academic success. When children enjoy reading, they are more likely to engage with texts regularly, which naturally improves their reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. This enjoyment also encourages curiosity and imagination, helping children to explore new ideas and perspectives beyond the classroom. 
Reading for pleasure can also positively impact pupils' emotional and social development, as it allows them to empathise with characters and understand diverse experiences. When reading is associated with pleasure rather than just academic achievement, children are more likely to develop intrinsic motivation to read, leading to a sustained habit that benefits all areas of their education and personal growth. 

Why reading is important

At Maundene, we believe reading underpins success across all aspects of the curriculum. We don’t just teach children to read, we create lifelong learners.

Through developing oracy and book talk alongside the basic skills of decoding, children’s language acquisition effectively develops alongside their reading attainment. Through accessing carefully selected, rich texts that are both read and read aloud; our children have multiple exposures to vocabulary and second tier words.

Fluency and comprehension are the core values in our approach to developing successful readers.

 How we teach early reading

• Reading is taught in tandem with phonics. After a phonics lesson, children from Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 apply their phonics knowledge by reading a fully decodable book.
• These  sessions are 25 minutes long.
• There are approximately 6 children in a group and the teacher reads with one group daily. This is called conferencing.
• Children have extra support where appropriate, by a trained adult.
• The focus is on ‘keep up not catch up’.
• The focus in Reception is on reading strategies of decoding and blending.
• Books selected by the teacher show cumulative progress according to the sounds the child has been taught that half-term.
• Books are closely matched to a child's ability. Children read books which contain sounds they have learnt so they can practise the skills of segmenting and blending.
• In reception, reading sessions start almost immediately. For children who are not decoding, blending remains a focus.
• Children take home books matched to the phase they are working in. Children are able to self - select books and can speak well about which books they choose and why

How we assess phonic knowledge.

• In Reception and Year 1, at the end of each week, there is a review session which recaps the learning. There are also whole review weeks (pre-planned and bespoke review weeks to address gaps identified by the class teacher’s ongoing assessment).
• Children identified in Reception and Year 1 as at risk of falling behind are immediately identified and daily ‘keep up’ sessions are put in place – sessions follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme.
• In Reception and Year 1, the children are assessed at the end of every half-term using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised assessment tracker.
• The children in Year 1 sit the Phonics Screening Check in the summer term (June).
• Children who do not pass the Phonics Screening Check in Year 1, will re-sit this in Year 2.
• Children who are currently in Key Stage 2 who didn’t leave Key Stage 1 at the expected level are monitored every half-term.

Reading for pleasure 

Every child at Maundene will have...

Curriculum

• Access to a global curriculum based on a core text approach, where topics are taught through high-quality books with relatable themes and protagonists that excite and motivate them.
• Dedicated time each day when an adult will read aloud to them from a carefully selected Reading Canon, aimed to build on their cultural capital.
•  Daily opportunities to read to an adult and other children in the classroom.
• Daily opportunities to engage in quality book talk.
• An engaging, tidy book corner in their classroom with a range of high-quality fiction and non-fiction texts.
• Children in year 6 have the opportunity to participate in a 'Book Club' with a range of different authors.

Enrichment

• Participation in World Book Week dress up and enrichment events such as author visits and storytelling.
• Regular author/ storyteller visits

Recommended Books 

Teachers from across the partnership have compiled a recommended reading list for all year groups from Reception to Year 6 so that you are aware of the fantastic books that are available both in school and in local libraries that will enhance your child’s vocabulary and widen their reading experiences.

Support Reading at Home

• Try to listen to and read with your child regularly; 10 minutes a day is better than a longer session once a week. It can help if a regular time is set aside so that it becomes part of a routine. 

• Find a quiet place to share books where you can feel comfortable and relaxed. Learning to read needs to be a positive experience - build confidence by praising effort.

• Encourage your child to have a go at unfamiliar words by using phonic skills and by working on building up their sight vocabulary.

• Talk about the meanings of words to help to develop your child’s understanding and use of language. 

• Encourage your child to read a range of texts such as stories, newspapers, comics, labels, poetry, non-fiction, tickets, signs and leaflets etc.

• Read books to your child as well; if they see you enjoying a book it will encourage and motivate them to want to learn to read.

• Ask them questions about the text to develop their understanding. 

 

Questions to Develop Understanding

Fiction:

• Where/when does the story take place?

• Who are the characters in the story?

• What happens in this part of the story?

• Tell me one/two things that the main character does in this part of the story.

• Can you retell the story using your own words?

• Tell me what this character was like.

• Tell me the most interesting/ exciting/ funniest/ your favourite part of the story. Why?

• What do you think the character feels about...? How can you tell?

• What do you think would have happened if…?

• What do you think is going to happen next?

• Which part of this book did you like best/least?  Why?

• How has the author used words/phrases to make this character funny/ sad/ clever/ frightening/ excited etc?

• Why is … a good title for this story/book/chapter/play?

• Do you know any more stories like this? Tell me how they are alike.

• Do you know another story with similar characters in? Tell me how they are similar.

• What do you think this story is trying to tell us?

• Has anything like this ever happened to you?

Non Fiction:

• Tell me two things you found out that you didn’t know before.

• What does this part of the text tell us about ….?

• Which part of the text tells us about …? 

• Why are some words in bold?

• How does this text/layout help the reader?

• How does (a diagram/picture/caption) help you to understand the information on this page?

 

Read with your Child Sessions

Parents are invited into school once a term to enjoy reading together with their child in class. These sessions run on a Friday at 3pm. Further details are sent out by teachers advising parents of the dates for the different year groups.

 

Reading Buddies

During reading buddies sessions, two or more children at Maundene read together. Older children are paired with a younger year group and read with them every three weeks. Reading buddies help model good reading and offer a chance for children to read with each other. As with any skill, reading needs to be practised on a regular basis and with this practise, as well as modeling, children can improve their skills.

Our Reading buddies sessions allow younger children to have the opportunity to develop fluency, as well as a sense of pride in their accomplishments. In addition, they come to see the value of reading and love the time spent with their paired class. The children can not only promote good practices but build self-esteem. For our older children, reading to younger year groups can help them develop a love of reading and is a greater motivation to read aloud.

 

School Library

At Maundene we inspire our children to become confident and independent learners. Our school library supports this core value, providing facilities and books which enrich the curriculum and encourage children to read for enjoyment. Children can choose from a wide range of books and take them home to enjoy alongside their school reading books.  Our library provides children with a valuable addition to their class book areas, whilst also reinforcing the values of respect and responsibility.