Niddrie Mill

Primary School

Reading Policy

January 2020

January 2020

Rationale

The purpose of this policy, which is constructed around A Curriculum for Excellence and local authority guidelines, is to establish a clear and consistent approach throughout Niddrie Mill Primary and to ensure that the continuity and progression are embedded in our practice.

Basic reading skills are essential for children to develop a complex understanding of all areas of literacy. At Niddrie Mill we are using teacher programmes designed to develop not only children’s blending, fluency, expression and accuracy when reading but to also develop skills in answering and creating complex higher order questions by using programmes and lessons focused around blooms taxonomy. Additionally, we are looking to increase reading engagement for reluctant readers across the school. For these approaches to be effective it is essential that teachers feel confident in these aspects and understand the ‘Niddrie Mill Way’ to approach reading.

Aims

At Niddrie Mill Primary we aim:

· To create a whole school ethos in which reading is loved and enjoyed by children in all stages

· To raise attainment and achievement in reading throughout the school

· To teach pupils through whole class, structured reading programmes to ensure progression, continuity and consistency

· To support learning through lessons which are underpinned by effective planning, teaching and assessment

· To encourage personalisation and choice through the Accelerated Reader Programme and use of the school library

· To encourage parents and carers to visit the local community library by providing all children and parents (who indicate they would like one) with a library card by the end of the 2019/2020 session

Learning Teaching and Planning

All learning and teaching should be planned using the Niddrie Mill Reading Planners which can be found in forward plans and on the school shared drive. Additionally, as a school, we have set programmes that should be followed for each stage.

Resources & Programmes:

Stage

Focused Teaching Programmes

Engagement Personalisation and Choice

P1

Literacy Rich

Class library books

ORT Books

Weekly school library visits

P2

Read Write Inc

Class library books

ORT Books

Weekly school Library visits

P3

Read Write Inc

Reflective Reading (to develop skills and aid transition into P4)

Class library books

ORT Books

Weekly school library visits

P4 – P7

Reflective Reading

· Task Maps on class set of novels relating to topic where possible (3 days)

· Short Read (1 day)

Daily Accelerated Reader

Weekly school library visits

Focused Teaching Programmes

Children across the school should have focused reading input over a minimum of 3 days during the week.

Literacy Rich (P1)

· Primary 1s will start of by using the City of Edinburgh Literacy Rich programme to develop their awareness of the various sounds, patterns and blends they need to learn to be able to read

· Once the children are confident with this they will begin reading focused phonics texts in class such as Dandelion Launchers, Songbirds and Read Write Inc Ditty Books

Read Write Inc (P2-P3):

· Each class teacher will use the Read Write Inc handbooks and photocopy masters to plan reading lessons each week

· All children are placed on a Ditty Book at their level

· Read Write Inc input should happen a minimum of 3 times a week

· At the start of each reading session children and teacher should discuss introduction questions and vocabulary check (these can be found at the front of the Ditty Books)

Reflective Reading (P3-P4):

· Each class teacher will use the Reflective Reading handbook to plan reading lessons each week

· One Task Map should be completed a week as a general rule

· Once Short Read Session should be completed a week

· Teachers should conduct direct teaching before task maps and short read lessons to ensure children develop understanding of key skills covered.

· An example of how reading should be structured throughout the week in stages using this programme is below:

Session

Activities

Page reference in Handbook

1

Short read

· Children in mixed ability trios

· Decide or given 3 roles: Reader, Note taker, Time Manager

· Read text all following on together

· Complete a short read task related to this reading

p65-95

2, 3 & 4

Task Map

· Input into answering reading questions and skills

· Complete various sections of the task map

· Children can select the order this is done in

p99-118

*NB in P3 this programme is used alongside Read Write Inc to aid transition to P4 meaning this programme is not used as regularly throughout the week and the guidelines differ for this stage.

Note on Classroom Management:

The complexity of the task maps created and amount completed in a week will depend on children’s abilities and this could be different across classes. Differentiation is still essential and can be achieved through using different texts for different children, different task maps on the same text and small group work.

Engagement, Personalisation and Choice

Primary 1- Primary 3

· Weekly Opportunities to pick a book from the library or Oxford Reading Tree collection to read in class and take home to read with parents

· Short stories in class on a regular basis

· Weekly trips to the school library to look at books and hear stories being read

Primary 4 – Primary 7

Accelerated Reader:

Managing Progression, Depth and Breadth

· All children should start the session by completing their ‘Star Reader’ test on their Accelerated Reader account to set their reading stage

· Children will sit a test on their book when they feel ready to do so. If they achieve 60% or above children will be able to move on to the next book

· Children will be expected to achieve 60% or above in one non-fiction book and one fiction book before they move on to the next level

· Children will start at the bottom of their reading range and progress through this. E.g. if a child passed there 2 books at level 2.2 they can then move on to level 2.3

Organisation

· The library will be open to children completing tests at 8.50am – 9.20am and to change books at 2.30pm. This will be managed by support staff

· Support staff will begin set up of laptops from 8.30 am so as they are ready to be accessed by children first thing

· Support staff will keep a record of children’s books and the level they are at – this will be kept in the library

At Class Level

· Class teachers can use class ICT to complete tests but must inform PSAs of children’s passes so as support staff can allow children to change their books

· Children should have the opportunity to read their Accelerated Reader Books each day but this should be for no more tan 15 minutes. This is not focused teaching time and it is important that this programme does not cut into this

· Accelerated reader books can be taken home as part of homework however if a book is not returned children will not be able to take books home again until this book is returned of a parent/carer has covered the cost of the lost book

Assessment, Monitoring and Tracking

Assessment is an integral part of the learning and teaching process. A balance between formative and summative assessment will be used to:

· Provide pupils with clear and regular feedback

· Assist teachers and pupils to plan their next steps

· Evaluate the effectiveness of teaching.

In Term 1 of each new school year pupils will complete a base line assessment to clarify the stage their reading and comprehension is at. This assessment will then inform planning and teaching for the term. Following this reading will be assessed at the end of every term to determine progression and next steps.

Monitoring and tracking will be carried out by Class teachers and SLT who will track progress through forward plans, reading assessments and through discussing progress with stage partners.

Resources

· Primary ones reading ability will be assessed at the start of the year using a specially designed baseline for reading.

· Across the rest of the school a variety of assessment can be used depending on the needs of the class. Here are some of the resources we have in school you could use to aid this:

Roles and responsibilities

The role of the SLT team will be to:

· Create an ethos of achievement in literacy

· Provide a clear policy for skills development in literacy

· Ensure rigorous assessment and monitoring takes place

· Promote literacy across the curriculum

· Ensure staff access appropriate training opportunities

· Ensure staff engage in agreed programmes to be used cross the school

The role of teaching staff will be to:

· Take account of prior learning when planning next steps

· Employ a range of teaching strategies to take account of different learning styles

· Create a literacy rich learning environment

· Share learning intentions and reading progression with the children

· Use effective questioning techniques (see Blooms taxonomy of questioning on the shared drive)

· Have high expectations and celebrate success

· Be an effective role model in promoting reading and literacy (demonstrate a love for reading, celebrate mistakes and show that different people can have different views of a text)

· Use a variety of resources including ICT to support learning

· Set a pace of learning which ensures challenge

· Encourage independent learning

Parents are asked to support the work of the school through encouraging children in homework tasks (see homework folder on shared drive). Regular reading with children is an important way to demonstrate the significance of literacy and develop skills.

Pupils are expected to participate fully in all classroom and homework activities. Children will set themselves targets and have high expectations of the work they can produce.

Pupils with additional support needs will be supported in line with Niddrie Mill Primary School’s Additional Support for Learning Policy. These pupils may be supported by Pupil Support Assistants (PSAs) or given further explanation and/or be supported individually by the class teacher through hot-listing systems.

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