Highgate Primary Academy Astrea Academy Trust
At Highgate we use the Read Write Inc programme to give each child the best possible start to their literacy learning. Read Write Inc is a reading programme which teaches synthetic phonics in a structured exciting way. Children will start the scheme when they join the school in Foundation Stage and will work through the scheme until they can read confidently with good understanding.
Reading opens the door to learning. A child who reads a lot will become a good reader. A good reader will be able to read more challenging material. A child who reads challenging material is a child who will learn. The more a child learns, the more he or she will want to find out.
Using Read Write Inc, children learn to read effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into comprehending what they read. It also allows them to spell effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into composing what they write.
When using Read Write to read the children will:
- learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple picture prompts.
- learn to read words using Fred Talk.
- read lively stories featuring words they have learned to sound out.
- show that they comprehend the stories by answering questions.
When using Read Write to write the children will:
- learn to write the letters/letter groups which represent 44 sounds.
- learn to write words by saying the sounds in Fred Talk.
- write simple sentences.
- compose stories based on picture strips.
- compose a range of stories based on writing frames.
Once children have successfully completed the RWI programme, they participate in a daily, reading comprehension session, where reading fluency and core comprehension skills are further developed at a more complex level. Sessions will include reading and exploring a wide range of well-chosen poetry, fiction and non-fiction that are chosen to further develop pupils’ vocabulary, knowledge of other areas of the curriculum being taught and to further foster a love of reading. Sessions are organised into a different comprehension focus each day, including:
- Retrieval of information from texts
- Inferring and deducing information from texts
- Working out meaning of vocabulary, using the context it is written it
- Summarising what children have read
- Sequencing key events from texts
- Making predictions
- Making comparisons
- Evaluating authors use of language choices and reflecting on author intent.
These are aligned with core KS1 and KS2 reading domains. Pupils then apply these skills, at the end of the week.
A love of Reading – At Highgate, we have a strong passion for developing a love of reading. All of our writing is linked around a well-chosen novel. A class book is read each day to all classes across school by the teacher, where children are invited to relax, ask questions and simply enjoy the story. Each child also has the opportunity to visit the library every week to enjoy reading a book of their choice with either their classmates, teacher or by themselves. They can also create book recommendations for other pupils in school and choose a free choice book to take home with them and enjoy!
Our library is managed by our Year 6 Reading Ambassadors, who help to keep the library organised, and are happy to provide reading recommendations based on their personal favourites. Once per week, alongside our appointed reading buddies, they also support younger children around school with reading related activities to promote and encourage confidence and reading for pleasure from an early age.