Reading
Intent
At Holy Family, we ensure that all pupils embark on a rich reading journey that enables them to become fluent, confident and enthusiastic readers by the end of Year 6. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum, and we strive to foster a lifelong love of reading in every child. Our aim is for children to leave Holy Family with secure decoding skills, a deep understanding of texts and a wide-ranging vocabulary, enabling them to access the full curriculum and the world beyond school.
Implementation
Early Reading and Phonics
Our reading journey begins in the Early Years Foundation Stage, where children receive daily, systematic synthetic phonics teaching using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme. This phonics programme is continued throughout Key Stage 1, and into Key Stage 2 for those who require additional support. Children read fully decodable books matched to their phonics phase, helping to embed decoding skills and build reading confidence.
Excellence After Phonics - Master Readers
Once children have secured early reading skills, they move on to our Master Reader programme. This approach is designed to develop reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary knowledge through a whole-class, mastery model. From Year 2 (post-Christmas) to Year 6, all pupils participate in daily 30-minute lessons focusing on:
- Reading aloud and listening to high-quality, diverse core texts.
- Explicit vocabulary instruction to enhance word knowledge and usage.
- Shared discussion of comprehension strategies, such as predicting, inferring, summarising and retrieving.
- Guided and independent practice with comprehension questions.
The Master Reader structure ensures that all children receive equitable exposure to high-quality texts, reading strategies, and rich discussions.
We take a systematic and structured approach, aligned with the National Curriculum for English (2014, updated 2021), which states that pupils should develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.
Reading Strategies
Our core reading strategies are derived directly from the National Curriculum and include:
- Prediction
- Retrieval
- Inference
- Vocabulary
Children become active readers, capable of analysing and discussing texts critically. They also develop speaking and listening skills, which underpin their ability to express ideas and engage in collaborative learning. Teachers receive regular CPD and termly coaching sessions to ensure high-quality reading instruction is consistent and impactful.
Accelerated Reader
In Key Stage 2, children also participate in the Accelerated Reader programme. This encourages reading for pleasure and provides children with the opportunity to independently select books appropriate to their ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development). This ensures that pupils are challenged at the right level, promoting reading stamina and comprehension. Regular STAR and NFER assessments inform teachers and help pupils track their progress and celebrate their achievements.
Reading for Pleasure
Reading for pleasure is promoted throughout the school in a variety of meaningful ways:
- Daily story time in every classroom
- Regular access to our well-stocked school library
- Inviting and comfortable class book corners
- Peer reading across year groups
- Author visits, World Book Day, and Scholastic Book Fairs
- Whole school reading challenges and themed events
We believe that reading should be a joyful and shared experience. Through carefully chosen books and high-quality discussions, children develop empathy, curiosity, and a deeper understanding of the world around them.
The Importance of Literacy
"Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that lets us communicate effectively and make sense of the world. From their earliest years, literacy skills help children to develop and communicate."- The National Literacy Trust
At Holy Family, we recognise that reading is fundamental to academic success and personal development. We strive to ensure that all children become literate, articulate, and independent thinkers who can navigate the challenges of an ever-changing world.
We encourage reading for enjoyment by:
- Reading aloud to children daily
- Providing access to a diverse range of authors, genres and cultures
- Encouraging reading at home through reading records and parent workshops
- Celebrating children's reading achievements
- Offering recommended book lists for each year group
Teachers have a deep knowledge of children’s literature and use this to inspire pupils, model enthusiastic reading behaviours, and integrate texts meaningfully into all areas of the curriculum.
Impact
The impact of our Reading can be seen in the pupils’ ability to speak, discuss and read confidently and effectively. It can be seen in the writing the children produce and, in our reading, and writing results across the school and across each subject level.
Recommended book lists for each age group: