INTENT

At Barden Primary School, we understand that reading is a vital skill that children will learn and develop throughout their lives. Through our rich curriculum, we aim to inspire the children to develop a life-long love for reading, which will continue after their time at primary school.  Through our curriculum offer, we promote reading for pleasure as well as a vital tool for learning.  Children will learn to develop their reading skills through a structured approach, which is aimed at nurturing not only their reading ability but also a deep comprehension of a diverse range of texts.  Being strong, independent readers will enable our children to access wider areas of our diverse curriculum, enabling them to gain a rich learning experience.  Through our engaging learning environments, we continue to spark interest and intrigue in our children, further embedding the love for reading and promoting the positive development of reading at Barden. 

IMPLEMENTATION

The children will begin their journey with reading in EYFS, developing their letter recognition and starting to learn decoding skills.  These vital life skills are introduced through the EYFS curriculum, focussing on the development of the Early Learning Goals in word reading and through the teaching of phonics in Read Write Inc.

During Key Stage 1, children will continue to receive high quality teaching of phonics through Read Write Inc.  Children will develop their understanding of the letter sounds and will apply their knowledge to reading books that are suitable for the stage of learning they are currently working at.  Moreover, the children will take part in daily English lessons created using the LPDS English units, designed to expose the children to a diverse range of texts and a wide array of vocabulary.  This is done to challenge and inspire the children during their learning and to give them as many opportunities as possible to use and develop their reading.

In Key stage 2, children who have completed their phonics through Read Write Inc., will take part in daily guided reading sessions.  At Barden, we follow a whole class guided reading approach.  This is completed using a class novel as the main driver for the lessons.  At Barden, in guided reading sessions, the children are explicitly taught the skills of reading through our 'shared reading language'. This incorporates the explicit teaching of a number of comprehension skills, including retrieval, inference, summarising, prediction and exploring vocabulary. Through guided reading sessions, in addition to English lessons planned using the LPDS English, the children gain a rich experience of different fiction, non-fiction and poetry, designed to allow the children to apply their ever-developing reading skills.

Developing the vocabulary of our children at Barden is vital to the development of their reading skills.  Throughout both key stage 1 and key stage 2, the children take part in daily Ninja Vocabulary sessions. The children are introduced to a new word each day, focussed on an area of their learning for that week – normally taken from their English lessons. The children learn the word, clap out the syllables for the word, define the word, hear it in a sentence and use it in a sentence of their own.  The words are then placed on the working walls for use in their learning.  In addition to this, children are exposed to a wide array of vocabulary through our English units.  For English, vocabulary is collected and added to the working walls, where children can access and use it in their learning.

Children visit our school library weekly and are welcome to borrow a range of texts, from newspapers to graphic novels, to read in class or at home. Barden Primary School also has strong links with the Burnley Campus library, and we visit it regularly to borrow books or join in with activities. Children all have their own library card and are encouraged to visit with their parents and carers outside of school.

IMPACT

We measure impact through learning walks, book scrutiny, formative and summative data, and pupil/parent/teacher voice. Subject Leaders meet half termly to evaluate the impact of reading and the progress of pupils at Barden Primary School.

We hope children leave Barden Primary School in year 6, fully equipped with the vocabulary and reading skills they need to be life long learners.

Our Class Novels 

Each year group has a set of class novels, which they will share together that year, a common bank of stories that bind us together as a community. They will become your child's classic books that they will hopefully remember for a long time to come.  By the end of their time at Barden Primary School your child will have learned and loved over 30 books. 

Reading Challenge

“Books need to enable children to look through windows in order to see the realities of others and into mirrors in order to see their own reality reflected.” Emily Style

At Barden Primary School, we understand how important reading is to ensure children develop empathy and experience opportunities to read books which reflect the wide world in which they live. We are proud to have invested a lot of money in our school and class libraries, and the bookshelves are now overflowing with high-quality, inclusive and representative literature. Each year group has a 'Reading Challenge', which is comprised of 30 high quality, language-rich and diverse stories. These beautiful books will allow our readers to deepen and enrich their understanding of the world they are growing up in, and their place in it. 

Reading Corners at Barden

All classrooms have a book area where books and information about books are displayed from the reading spine attractively and where browsing, choosing and reading can take place as a visible way of establishing and promoting a positive ethos for reading for pleasure. They aim to encourage booktalk, be interactive and promote independent reading time.

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Reading at home

RWI

Once your child is able to recognise and blend the Set 1 single letter sounds they will start bringing books home to practise. These will start off with simple words and lead on to stories as they progress through the RWI programme. 

Read Write Inc Books

Please encourage your child to read though the speed sounds page first, then the green and red words page and then check your child understands the meaning of words on the vocabulary check page, before they start reading the book. Your child will have read this book at least three times before they bring it home. They should be able to read this book with fluency and expression by the time they bring it home and they should have a good comprehension of what the book is about. At the back of the book are find it/prove it questions for you to do with your child.

Each child has received login details from their teacher, they can access the student area by logging in at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. Before entering any details, please ensure the students tab is selected. The children will be assigned to eBooks to read at home after the 'third read' of the book in class. At the end of each eBook, there is a short quiz to consolidate the sounds and words encountered in the eBook. 

Our Reading Incentive: 'The Golden Box' 

When a child has 5 signatures in their reading records (one signature per day allowed), they will receive a raffle ticket.  On a Thursday, reading ambassadors collect all raffle tickets from classrooms. These are put into the golden box (EYFS/KS1 and KS2 separate). In Friday’s assembly, one name is drawn out of each box. Each child will receive a small prize and a golden ticket. The golden ticket is for story time with Mrs Holgate, (once a half term) with milkshake and cookies!

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Our School Library! 

We have a fabulous school library at Barden which is visited by every class once a week. Our school library is like a treasure trove for our pupils. It's a special place where they can dive into the world of books, magazines and online resources. Not only is it a quiet spot for focused reading but it's also a safe space that children can come together and form relationships over their love of books. Our library is more than just shelves filled with books; it's the heart of our school. 

Our children are also incredibly lucky that we have full access to the Burnley Campus Library, based on​ our fantastic site. All our children have a library members card and we visit regularly to loan books and join in with fun activities. 

Click this link to find out more about the Burnley Campus Library...

Burnley Campus Library - Lancashire County Council

Celebrating reading!​

World Book Day!​

On days such as World Book Day we set aside the timetable and really celebrate books. This year we engaged in all sorts of exciting activities such as book relay, design a life size character, speed dating with books and book treasure hunt. We dressed up in our pyjamas. Every year WBD gives our children at Barden a real reason for understanding characters, expressing preferences, talking about books they have enjoyed and hearing about books from their peers. Importantly, it enables them to see the power of a shared love of reading. 

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