Phonics and Reading 

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” — Frederick Douglass

Our Reading Curriculum & Ambitious Reading Spine

At St John’s, we follow the Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership (CUSP) reading curriculum. From Reception - Year 6 we read daily during our whole class reading sessions.

In each reading module, pupils and teachers read and engage with both the core text and bespoke supplementary texts to ensure pupils are exposed to a range of genres and disciplinary reading. 

Each session follows a ridgid structure that guides the children through a range of question types to promote conceptual fluency and reasoning.

From Years 1 to 6, these sessions apply the following structure:

  1. Explicit vocabulary instruction of tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary.
  2. Teacher, paired, individual, or whole class reading of the text, using specific strategies to develop fluency, prosody and comprehension.
  3. Teacher explanation of theme, skill or knowledge to be learned.
  4. Teacher modelled example.
  5. Teacher/pupil guided example.
  6. Pupil's individual task and challenge.
  7. Live feedback, usually  under the visualiser. 

Each session structure is guided through session specific task strips. Task design on these strips promotes deep thinking and reasoning. A range of question types promote conceptual fluency and there is a careful architecture of response frameworks.

For more information, please visit the CUSP website, here

Here are texts which form part of our rich and ambitious reading spine. Texts have been deliberately chosen with diverse representation, relevant social issues, big ethical questions, moral dilemmas, joyful literary experiences, aspirational themes and vocabulary. 

Early Reading 

Early Reading

At St John’s, we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Systematic Synthetic Phonics Programme (SSP). Phonics is taught systematically from Reception through to Year 1 every day, with Year 2 continuing to Stage 5. 

We implement this SSP through their seven principles of effective practice, which are:

  • Direct teaching in frequent, short bursts
  • Consistency of approach
  • Secure, systematic progression in phonics learning
  • Maintaining pace of learning
  • Providing repeated practice
  • Application of phonics using matched decodable books
  • Early identification of children at risk of falling behind, linked to the provision of effective keep-up support.

In Reception and Year 1, all children read a phonically decodable book at their level three times a week with an adult. Session 1 focuses on decoding, session 2 on prosody (how to read with expression), and session 3 on comprehension strategies. The book then goes home to be read with an adult. 

Please click here to visit the Little Wandle parents section of their website. Here you will find advice on how we teach early reading and how you can further support at home. 

Use this video guide for parents and carers to help with the correct pronunciation of the sounds:

 

Please click here for the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Curriculum Overview.

 

Interventions

Any children who are find reading a challenge receive additional daily keep-up or catch-up interventions in order for the gaps to be filled quickly. 

 

What books do the children take home? 

EYFS & Key Stage 1

Every week, the children will bring home a Collins Big Cat Phonics book or will be assigned a phonics book from our new Big Cat Ebook Library. These books contain a section at the start of the book for adults to go through before reading.

The children in EYFS & Key Stage 1 also take home a sharing book which is to be enjoyed together. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!

Key Stage 2

The children will select a Collins Big Cat book linked to the individual banding they are on. As the bands progress, the number of pages and words per book increases and the themes develop (see above). Once children have progressed through the levels, they are able to select their own book from the class library.

 

Our School Library

At St John’s, we believe that all children should have access to the best books, both at school and at home. In 2018, we raised £20,000 to fill our new school library with brand new books for the children to enjoy. The children love the library space and are desperate to spend as much time in there as possible reading and selecting texts. Our wonderful librarians in Year 5 and Year 6 maintain the library and scan books in and out using our scanning system so as many books can be read as possible.  

The library is open at lunchtimes so that children can read books in a quiet space. The library is also open to our families from 3:30 - 4:00 everyday. 

 Our Reading Milestones

The children achieve certificates for their home reading when they reach a milestones (25, 50, 75, 100, 125, etc).  If they reach 200 nights, they win a prize for their class.

10 Top Tips for Reading at Home

Whether your child has just started at St John’s or is preparing for secondary school, a lifelong love of reading is the best gift we can give them. Here are our 10 top tips to support children on their reading journey, whatever their age.

  1. 1: Make reading routine

Little and often is the key. Help your child choose a regular time when they can read and a comfortable spot where they won’t be distracted.

 

  1. 2: Read to your child – at any age

Once children can read independently, it can be tempting to just let them get on with it but research shows that being read aloud to has benefits way beyond the early years.

 

  1. 3: Remember variety is the spice of life

‘Books’ come in all shapes and sizes – graphic novels, magazines, comics, leaflets, recipes, poems, joke books, adverts, encyclopaedias all make great reading material. Feel free to make recommendations but respect your child’s preferences.

 

  1. 4: Visit your library

A great – and free – way to encourage your child to take ownership over what they read and give them the opportunity to explore new authors or genres. Downham Library is a great local resource, which runs storytelling workshops and organises reading challenges to inspire young readers. I know lots of children got involved in the Summer Reading Challenge this year! As all children have a library card, you can also to choose from a huge variety of ebooks available ABSOLUTELY FOR FREE from the Lewisham Library through the Libby App: https://libbyapp.com/interview/welcome#doYouHaveACard

 

  1. 5: Use technology wisely.

Screen time can be a problem for families; however, technology can help your child's reading development at any stage of their reading journey. For new readers, programmes like Alphablocks can help with phonics. There are also a range of reading apps, including PocketPhonics and Pirate Phonics, that children enjoy. Audio books can allow independent readers to broaden their vocabulary and challenge them to summarise what they have heard.

  1. 6. Praise, praise and praise again.

Children thrive on encouragement – praise their efforts rather than their achievements.

 

  1. 7: Ask questions

Engaging with what your child is reading makes them feel valued. Ask questions about what they have read, what they think might happen next, which characters they like most, how the book could have ended differently, etc.

 

  1. 8: Embrace unfamiliar words

In every book, there are bound to be some words a child doesn’t know. Be patient – give them time to work out the pronunciation of the word. If they don’t know the meaning of a word, first encourage them to use the information around the word to try to figure it out.

 

  1. 9: Set reading goals

The home/school reading journals are an easy way to help your child set reading goals. This year we will be celebrating reading milestones in our celebration assembly. When the child has filled in 25 nights of reading in their journal, they will receive a certificate in front of the whole school. The children will then aim for the next milestones (50, 75, 100, 125, 150…etc) and will receive the next certificate in assembly if they reach that milestone.

 

  1. 10: Be seen reading

Seeing a parent, carer or teacher enjoying a book can be a powerful motivator. If you want your child to be excited about reading, you need to be too.

 

Home support is the key to future success and we encourage you to read with and to your child daily. Reading aloud to a child should not stop at a certain age – it is always beneficial for them!

Click on the image below to read the BBC Bitesize guide for parents and carers to support reading at home:

As St John's is a Lewisham Library Service, we also give our pupils a free library card to use in our local libraries so they can access a wide range of books and ebooks. 

 

 

Volunteers

St John’s has a long history of parents and Governors volunteering to read with children. The role was really personified by Arthur Newton, a former long-standing Governor and friend of the school for many years. There is a reading area in the school dedicated to Arthur and the children can still enjoy reading in this space.

We are always happy to welcome new parents or Governors to our group of vounteers; please do get in touch with the school office if this is something you could offer, even if it is only an hour a week.