Reading

At Clearwell, there is a strong reading culture throughout the school. In EYFS and KS1, children read to adults regularly.  In KS2, children are given opportunities to develop their reading skills daily, and adults hear some children on a more regular basis according to their needs and abilities. Class novel time is prioritised within the school day. Stories are read to the children daily in both classes. This includes longer texts in KS2 and picture books/shorter novels in EYFS/KS1.

Phonics learning takes place daily in EYFS/KS1 and is supported by closely matched reading books and word games, which are sent home. The school follows the Read, Write, Inc. synthetic phonics scheme.

The school works closely with parents and carers to provide a consistent and sustained approach to reading, including a reading meeting, reading diaries and an open-door policy with the English lead and class teachers.

A poetry day is celebrated every September with children working in mixed age groups to cover a variety of activities, including learning the poem by heart. 

Model-guided reading sessions take place weekly in KS1 and daily in KS2. These sessions allow children to learn and apply the skills needed to interpret texts. The EEF ‘Developing Literacy in KS1/2’ guidance has informed the teaching of Guided reading.

The school has a focussed approach on the core skills of: Activating Prior Knowledge, Prediction, Clarifying, Inference and Summarising. This is underpinned by the research and guidance given by Tony Whatmuff – ‘Think aloud, read aloud’.