Reading at Sandal

“Books and doors are the same thing. You open them and you go through to another world.”
Jeanette Winterson

What is Reading at Sandal?

Reading lies at the heart of the curriculum at Sandal Primary and we strive to instil a love of reading in all our pupils. It allows all our pupils to access all areas of learning and supports them in achieving their full educational potential. We are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become lifelong readers through reading and studying high quality texts (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) and through the delivery of a creative and highly engaging English Curriculum. We believe reading is key for academic success. As a school, we are determined that every pupil will learn to read regardless of their background, needs or abilities. Matched closely to the National Curriculum, our Reading Curriculum enables all our children to:

read easily, fluently and with good understanding
develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and
information
develop an appreciation and love for reading
develop word meaning and author intent
explore literature and have access to a wide range of text types, genres and
authors in order for them to make informed opinions about their favourite and
for them to be able to express preferences and opinions about the texts they
have read
understand more about the world in which they live through the knowledge
they have gained from texts
develop their creativity, imagination and a thirst for knowledge
be inspired becoming effective and lifelong learners
develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually

Here at Sandal Primary School, we believe that creating a culture of reading is a vital tool in ensuring our children are given the best life chances. Cultivating readers with a passion for a wide range of materials will ensure that children’s love of reading will extend far beyond the classroom and allow them to build on their skills independently through a real curiosity and thirst for knowledge. We recognise the responsibility to send children to secondary school having mastered at least the basic elements of reading as competence in reading is the key to independent learning and has a direct effect on progress in all other areas of the curriculum. We want our children to be ‘readers’, not just children who can read.

Meek (1983) believes that ‘Readers are made when they discover the activity is worth it.’ We will ensure that all children have equal access to the curriculum, regardless of gender, race, religion or ability. Children with specific reading, speech and language or hearing difficulties will be identified and supported through support programmes in school and external help will be sought where necessary.

As a school, we are committed to teaching our pupils to become skilled readers who develop a comprehensive understanding of words, language and texts as they move through school. They learn to read and then read to learn. Through using a range of strategies, our aim is to ensure that pupils develop a love of reading so that they can
read for purpose and for pleasure. We provide pupils with a range of strategies in
order to do this.

Further information about the structure and format of our reading curriculum can be found below which includes our approach to:

the systematic teaching of phonics through ‘Little Wandle Letter and Sounds Revised’
developing children’s comprehension understanding through VIPERS sessions
developing readers as writers across the wider curriculum
wider reading
developing a love for reading