Penryn Primary Academy

Reading and Phonics

Intent:

At Penryn, we aim for all our children to become fluent, confident readers who are passionate about reading. Reading will give your child the tools to become an independent life-long learner. We recognize the importance of the English language in preparing children to be confident in all aspects of their lives. We believe that improved performance in reading, writing and spoken language will enable our pupils to engage more successfully with other curriculum subjects, while enriching their lives beyond school.

Phonics

Our intention is to rapidly and effectively build phonics skills in order to develop confident decoding, blending and segmenting skills through Read, Write, Inc (RWI).

What is Read Write Inc?

Read Write Inc (RWI) is a phonics programme which helps all children learn to read fluently and at speed so they can focus on developing their skills in comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling. Small group phonics lessons are taught daily by trained staff and there are consistent expectations across the range of abilities. Children begin their phonics journey from Nursery and will continue this until Year 2. At the end of each half term the children are assessed to check their progress and regrouped accordingly. For more information, please visit Parents and Carers - Ruth Miskin Literacy on the link below on how to best support your child at home.

Parents and Carers - Ruth Miskin Literacy

Year 2-6

From Year 2-6 our priority is both the teaching of reading skills and enjoyment of literature. Each class will focus on a challenging yet age appropriate novel per term. This will support pupils to develop their reading fluency through guided oral reading instruction and repeated reading of texts. Alongside daily oral reading of the text, children will also practise their comprehension skills to deepen their understanding of the novel. A balance of 7 key reading strategies are taught and interwoven into every session. These are: predicting, inferring/interpreting, asking questions, explaining/evaluating, clarifying, making connections and summarising.

Due to our whole school approach, children will be taught these skills each year but they will develop them in more detail throughout their school journey. By the time children leave Year 6, they will be able to discuss, compare and evaluate a range of texts by a wide range of authors in depth. They will be able to recognize and consider complex themes where they draw on their skills from previous year groups and, most importantly their improved knowledge of language and vocabulary will support them with their ongoing, life-long love for reading.