'READING FOR LEARNING AND PLEASURE'
At Lionel Walden Primary School, we believe that reading should be a fundamental part of childhood and a skill which should be developed to support lifelong learning.
Our aim is to develop and embed a strong, sustainable reading culture within the school community. Confident and competent readers will foster a love of reading through a rich and varied experience of texts, in which they are empowered to exercise freedoms of choice and independence.
Inspiring children to read is a moral imperative and their fundamental right. It underpins all learning and secures a good trajectory for personal development, understanding the world in which they live.
We believe that a reading child is a successful child and that:
- children deserve a rich curriculum which encourages extensive reading of books and other kinds of texts;
- planning enables links across learning, which create a wide range of opportunities in which children can read for pleasure;
- children will have the opportunity to experience whole books to support them in their understanding of literary structures and allow them to become absorbed in the story itself;
- the active encouragement of reading for pleasure should be a core part of every child’s educational entitlement, whatever their background or attainment. Extensive reading and exposure to a wide range of texts make a huge contribution to students’ educational achievement;
- children will be encouraged to read texts which reflect their own heritage and that of other cultural groups. Children should be allowed to explore and engage with texts in their native language;
- all children should have access to a wide range of texts in different formats and genres and support in enjoying them where necessary;
- the school will engage and support parents in enabling access to a full range of reading experiences. Where this is not possible, action will be taken to provide compensatory measures which allow equality of access to all children;
- home-school relationships will promote the importance of all adults in fostering a love of reading
- school reading should not only be seen as synonymous with attainment and judgement as this could influence children’s perceptions of books and reading;
- professional development and support for teachers will be provided to allow them to explore the huge range of printed and electronic reading materials available and to enable them to support children in their reading choices.
The school has a commitment to evaluate the outcomes of this ‘Reading for Pleasure’ statement and continually review practice to ensure all children become lifelong readers.
Shared Reading Lessons in Reception and Year 1
We want our children to be fluent readers, so shared reading sessions are to teach children how to read (using their phonic knowledge to date) and to model fluency in reading.
It is important that children can apply their phonic skills to reading. Children have a daily reading session in school, based on the phonic skills they have been taught. We use fully decodable texts to give children opportunity to use their new skills. We also give children the opportunity to discuss higher tier vocab, to ensure children understand what they are reading.
We have included two versions of each book. One allows you and your child to read the text independently whilst the second version links to vimeo and reads the book aloud. The green and red words link to our work in Phonics.
The green words are decodable and can be sounded out. When reading the red words, read them as a whole word saying the letter names to spell the word. In school, children are also encoraged to clap as they say each letter and then say the word as a whole.
There are some questions and discussion points at the back of the book to help guide your conversations.
Reading through Years 2 - 6
At our school, we believe that reading is more than just decoding words; it is about thinking and understanding. To help our pupils become confident, lifelong readers, we use a structured approach to teaching reading fluency based on the work of expert Christopher Such.
What is Reading Fluency?
Fluency is often described as the "bridge" between sounding out words and fully understanding what a text means. It isn’t just about reading quickly; it is about reading with meaning and expression. We focus on three main pillars:
• Accuracy: Correctly identifying and sounding out words.
• Automaticity: Recognizing words effortlessly and smoothly.
• Prosody: Reading with expression, using the right rhythm, and paying attention to punctuation.
How We Teach Reading in the Classroom
To support your child’s journey, we use three different types of reading lessons tailored to their needs:
• Fluency Reads (15–20 minutes): These are short, high-energy sessions where children practice a brief passage, like a poem or a story excerpt, multiple times. By "rehearsing" the text through Echo Reading (repeating after the teacher) or Choral Reading (reading together as a class), children build the confidence to perform the text with expression.
• Extended Reads (30–45 minutes): Here, we explore longer texts, such as class novels or non-fiction. These sessions focus on building reading stamina, learning sophisticated new vocabulary and having deep discussions about the story or information.
• Close Reads: For more challenging texts, we use a "magnifying glass" approach. We slow down to examine short, complex passages carefully, helping children learn how to analyse language and uncover deeper layers of meaning.
Why This Matters
When a child can read fluently, they no longer have to struggle with every individual word. This frees up their "brain power" to focus on comprehension—truly understanding and enjoying what they are reading. Our goal is to move every child from simply "reading" to becoming a thoughtful, resilient reader who can tackle any text with confidence.