At Horton Grange we believe that Reading is one of the most important skills a child can learn during their time at school. Reading, listening to and talking about stories and non-fiction texts develops pupil’s vocabulary. Understanding vocabulary is vital for comprehension and for wider learning and progress across the entire curriculum. Reading at Horton Grange Primary School supports and contributes to our rich and engaging curriculum. The pupil’s develop problem solving skills and build resilience through a progressive reading structure which results in fluent, confident readers, who can access a range of texts throughout the breadth of the curriculum. Each week, pupils are provided with a reading fluency book that matches their reading level, a library book and a reading for pleasure book. If pupils read four times a week at home, they will receive a raffle ticket from their class teacher and be entered into a prize draw to win a book from the vending machine.

Early Years

In Early Years, we aim to teach phonics and a love of reading so that pupils develop enjoyment and pleasure in learning how to read from an early age. We achieve this by exposing our pupils to a range of different books related to their interests and imagination. We use the Bug Club phonics scheme to support reading as soon as pupils start in Nursery.  Pupils are encouraged to listen to a range of sounds through continuous provision with outdoor and indoor provision being planned so that there are various activities and opportunities for pupils to apply their reading skills. When pupils start Reception, they receive daily phonics lessons, in which they will learn phonemes (sounds) to develop their reading skills which are then further developed within Guided Reading sessions.

Key Stage 1

Throughout Key Stage 1, we continue utilising the Bug Club phonics programme to build on pupil’s reading skills.  Pupils consolidate their learning from Reception before being introduced to more phonemes (sounds) across Years 1 and 2. Our daily phonics lessons and weekly Guided Reading lessons are carefully planned to meet the reading needs of all pupils. We also utilise a remote tutoring reading platform called Chapter One, to ensure that targeted support is provided to pupils who require it.  During Key Stage 1, pupils are introduced to range of texts such a poems, rhymes and non-fictions texts which allows our pupils to increase their vocabulary and comprehension skills which are then developed further in Key Stage 2.

Key Stage 2

In Key Stage 2, pupils are exposed to class novels and non-fiction texts that are carefully chosen to encourage a love of reading, whilst ensuring that a wide range of genres and authors are covered within each year group. During weekly Guided Reading lessons, there is an emphasis on vocabulary, retrieval of facts, sequencing, prediction and inference skills, all carefully interwoven within each session. Pupils also have two ERIC (Enjoying Reading, Improving Comprehension) lessons per week that allow them to further develop their love of reading.