Reading

Reading sits at the heart of our ambitious curriculum at Thorner C of E Primary School. We believe that reading unlocks learning across the curriculum and provides children with the knowledge, language and cultural understanding they need to flourish both in school and beyond. Through our vision of Flourishing Together, we aim to develop confident, fluent and enthusiastic readers who read widely, think deeply and develop a lifelong love of books.

Our reading curriculum is carefully aligned to the National Curriculum and informed by the principles of the DfE Reading Framework. We recognise that successful reading depends upon both word recognition and language comprehension. From the moment children begin learning to read, we teach these components systematically and progressively, ensuring that secure foundational knowledge enables pupils to build increasingly complex understanding over time.

Early reading is taught through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, providing a rigorous and systematic approach to phonics. As pupils become accurate decoders, we place a strong emphasis on developing reading fluency, enabling children to read with increasing automaticity, accuracy, pace and expression. We recognise that fluent reading is the bridge between decoding and comprehension, allowing pupils to focus on meaning, develop deeper understanding and engage critically with increasingly challenging texts.

Throughout the school, pupils are immersed in high-quality literature, rich discussion and purposeful reading experiences. We want every child to leave Thorner as a fluent reader, a thoughtful learner and a lifelong lover of books.

Intent

At Thorner, we intend for all pupils to:

• Become fluent, confident and enthusiastic readers.
• Secure strong foundational knowledge in phonics and early reading through fidelity to Little Wandle.
• Develop reading fluency through accurate, automatic and expressive reading.
• Build rich vocabulary and language knowledge through high-quality texts and purposeful discussion.
• Develop deep comprehension through questioning, reasoning and critical thinking.
• Read widely and often for both pleasure and information.
• Gain knowledge of the world through a diverse and carefully chosen reading curriculum.
• Develop positive reading habits that support lifelong learning and wellbeing.

Implementation

Our reading curriculum is carefully sequenced from Early Years to Year 6, ensuring pupils secure the essential foundational knowledge required to become fluent, confident and successful readers. Through a coherent and cumulative approach, pupils progressively develop word recognition, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, enabling them to know more, remember more and apply their learning with increasing independence. Teachers continually assess and adapt teaching to ensure all pupils successfully access, participate in and achieve the reading curriculum.

Early Reading (EYFS and Year 1)

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised

Early reading is taught through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised with complete fidelity to the programme.

Through daily phonics lessons, pupils learn:

• Grapheme-phoneme correspondences.
• Blending and segmenting skills.
• Accurate and automatic word reading.
• Early reading fluency.
• Reading comprehension through discussion and language-rich interactions.

Decodable books are precisely matched to each child's phonic knowledge, enabling pupils to practise and apply taught sounds successfully. Re-reading familiar texts supports increasing accuracy, automaticity and confidence. Daily story time exposes children to rich vocabulary, high-quality literature and language structures beyond their independent reading level, helping to develop language comprehension and a love of reading from the earliest stages.

Whole-Class Reading (Years 2-6)

As pupils become increasingly fluent readers, they participate in daily Whole-Class Reading lessons designed to develop fluency, vocabulary and comprehension through the study of high-quality texts.

Our weekly structure exposes pupils to a wide range of literature and non-fiction:

• Monday and Tuesday: Non-fiction texts.
• Wednesday and Thursday: Fiction texts.
• Friday: Reading for Pleasure, focusing on developing a love for reading, discussion and recommendation.  

Through this carefully planned approach, pupils deepen subject knowledge, broaden their reading experiences and develop an appreciation of a diverse range of texts, authors and genres.

Reading Fluency

Reading fluency is explicitly taught because we recognise that fluent, automatic and expressive reading is the bridge between secure decoding and deep comprehension.

Teachers develop fluency through:

• Teacher modelling.
• Choral reading.
• Paired reading.
• Expressive reading.
• Planned re-reading of key texts.
• Oral rehearsal and performance reading.

These approaches help pupils develop accuracy, pace, automaticity and prosody, enabling them to focus increasingly on meaning and understanding.

Vocabulary and Language Development

Vocabulary instruction is an integral part of every reading lesson.

Teachers:

• Pre-teach ambitious vocabulary.
• Explore word meanings in context.
• Use word banks and discussion prompts.
• Revisit previously taught vocabulary.
• Encourage pupils to apply new vocabulary in speaking and writing.

This systematic approach strengthens both word reading and language comprehension whilst supporting success across the wider curriculum. [

Retrieval and Reading Comprehension

Retrieval practice is embedded throughout our reading curriculum to strengthen understanding and support long-term memory.

Pupils engage in:

• Daily retrieval activities.
• Reading domain challenges.
• Structured questioning.
• Partner discussions.
• Oral reasoning and explanation.

These approaches enable pupils to revisit prior learning, make connections between texts and develop increasingly sophisticated comprehension skills.

Lesson Structure

Whole-Class Reading lessons follow a consistent structure designed to maximise engagement, fluency and understanding.

This consistent approach ensures fluency, vocabulary and comprehension are developed systematically and cumulatively across the school.

Reading Beyond Key Stage 1

We recognise that some pupils require additional support beyond Key Stage 1.

Where needed, pupils receive targeted intervention to strengthen decoding, fluency and reading confidence. Intervention is carefully matched to pupils' needs and delivered by trained staff to ensure gaps are identified quickly and addressed effectively.

Inclusion and Adaptive Teaching

All pupils are entitled to experience success as readers.

Teachers assess and adapt teaching for all groups of learners, providing targeted support and challenge for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those who may be vulnerable to underachievement.

Support includes:

• Vocabulary scaffolding.
• Pre-teaching of key concepts and vocabulary.
• Targeted questioning.
• Strategic pairing and collaborative discussion.
• Additional fluency practice.
• Adapted resources where appropriate.

These approaches ensure all pupils can access the same ambitious curriculum whilst receiving the support necessary to succeed. We ensure pupils secure the essential foundational knowledge, beginning in the Early Years, that enables them to build increasingly complex understanding over time so that the curriculum remains coherently sequenced, cumulative and helps all children know more and remember more.  

Reading for Pleasure

Developing lifelong readers is central to our vision at Thorner.

We strive to create a vibrant reading culture where books, stories and reading are highly valued and celebrated.

A Visible Reading Culture

Staff actively promote reading by:

• Sharing their own reading recommendations.
• Modelling enthusiasm for books.
• Providing daily read-aloud opportunities.
• Discussing authors and texts with pupils.

These experiences broaden pupils' knowledge of literature and strengthen motivation to read independently.

Carefully Curated Texts

Across the curriculum, pupils encounter high-quality, inclusive literature that:

• Reflects different cultures, experiences and perspectives.
• Develops empathy and understanding.
• Broadens knowledge of the world.
• Supports wellbeing and personal development.

Choice and Independence

Pupils are encouraged to develop their own reading preferences through:

• Well-stocked classroom libraries.
• Access to the school library.
• Independent reading opportunities.
• Peer and teacher book recommendations.

Providing choice helps foster autonomy, engagement and positive reading habits.

Here's what our children say:

"I love reading because we have a book corner we can choose to read in.”

"I really enjoy reading as we have so many opportunities to read new books.”

“Reading at Thorner is fun because we have author visits.”

“At Thorner we read a range of books.”

“Reading at Thorner has not only helped me improve my fluency but has helped me to enjoy books more and more over the years. I love it now.”

“I enjoy reading at Thorner because I like discovering facts about different places and people related to our topic whilst enjoying a story.”

“I enjoy reading because it gives me a chance to explore new topics. Sometimes I get so attached, I read the whole thing in one day!”