Redlands Primary and Nursery School
Reading at Redlands
You can find magic wherever you look.
Sit back and relax, all you need is a book - Dr Seuss
Every child's reading journey at Redlands starts with the Read, Write, Inc programme. This is a structured, synthetic phonics approach to teaching children to read. It is a complete literacy programme taught for 20 - 40 minutes a day in Reception and an hour a day in Year 1 and above. It is proven to develop:
-fluent, enthusiastic readers
-deep comprehension of texts
-confident speakers
-keen writers
Children are taught to:
-learn to read and write letter-sound correspondences quickly
-decode effortlessly, spell and handwrite easily
-comprehend what they read
-read with fluency and expression
-write confidently using oral rehearsal
-work effectively with a partner to articulate their learning at every step
When children join F2 they begin to learn the 44 sounds that form the English language. They learn to blend the sounds together using ‘Fred Talk’ (which is oral blending). Fred can only speak in ‘Fred Talk’. For example Fred says ‘S-I-T’ and the children blend the letters together to say ‘sit’. As soon as they are able to blend, children begin to read the specially written, lively story books in every Read Write Inc lesson.
As the children move into Year 1 and 2, they continue to learn the sounds and blend more complex words. During their RWI time children read a range of fiction and non-fiction texts from the RWI scheme.
By the time children reach Key Stage 2, we offer them a broad and balanced reading curriculum using a range of texts. Whilst we do not adopt a specific reading scheme within Key Stage 2, we do offer children a variety of quality texts from a range of schemes, also highly engaging texts, with which children can link their topic learning with reading and writing.
Establishing high standards of pupil achievement in Reading is a priority at Redlands Primary School. Within lessons, pupils receive direct teaching of reading alongside writing, spelling, and speaking and listening. Children learn about a range of different text types, and about the key features of each text. To engage readers we have dedicated reading weeks and author visits throughout the year. We have several initiatives set up to support children with their reading – Redlands Readers and Switch On readers. Both of these offer support and encouragement for children, giving them that extra boost on their reading journey. By adopting these approaches, children leave Redlands with a well-rounded love of reading that continues for the rest of their life!
We appreciate how difficult and challenging the reading journey can be for some children, if you have any problems please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or the reading leader: Mrs Woodcock
At Redlands we value the help of any parent who may wish to come and read with children on an individual basis. If you are interested please pop into the office for further information.
Early Reading and Phonics Progression Map
Useful links: