Reading

Reading at Boughton Heath

At Boughton Heath, we believe that reading is the key to unlocking learning across the curriculum and fostering a lifelong love of books. Our reading curriculum is carefully designed to develop confident, fluent readers who can understand, discuss and enjoy a wide range of texts.

Early Reading

In the Infant Department, we use Floppy's Phonics to teach children the essential skills needed for early reading. Through daily phonics lessons, children learn to recognise letter sounds, blend sounds together to read words and develop the confidence to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary independently.

Alongside phonics teaching, we use Pathways to Literacy to support the development of reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. This approach enables children not only to decode words accurately but also to understand, discuss and respond to what they read.

In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, children's reading books are carefully matched to their phonics knowledge and reading ability. This ensures that children can successfully apply the sounds and strategies they have been taught in class, helping them to develop confidence, fluency and enjoyment as readers. As children become secure and fluent readers, they gradually move on to a wider range of texts.

Reading in Key Stage 2

As children move into Key Stage 2, the focus shifts from learning to read towards reading to learn. We continue to build upon the strong foundations established in the early years through the use of Pathways to Literacy, ensuring that reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary development remain central to our teaching.

Children engage with a wide range of high-quality texts, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and classic literature. These texts are carefully selected to challenge, inspire and broaden children's experiences of reading. Many year groups use whole-class texts, allowing children to explore rich and engaging books together whilst developing deeper understanding through discussion and shared learning.

Accelerated Reader

Once children have completed the school's phonics programme and are reading independently, they move on to Accelerated Reader.

Accelerated Reader is a reading programme that encourages children to read books that interest them whilst ensuring that texts are appropriately matched to their reading level. Following a simple assessment, children are given a reading range from which they can choose books independently, helping to promote both choice and enjoyment.

After reading a book, children complete a short online quiz which assesses their understanding of the text. This provides valuable information for teachers about each child's reading comprehension, reading habits and progress over time. The programme helps teachers identify strengths, celebrate achievements and provide targeted support where needed, ensuring that every child continues to develop as a reader.

By combining freedom of choice with regular monitoring and assessment, Accelerated Reader helps children become motivated, independent readers who take ownership of their reading journey.

Developing Fluency and Comprehension

Reading lessons are designed to help children become thoughtful and reflective readers. Through discussion, questioning and shared exploration of texts, children develop the skills to:

• Understand and explain what they have read.

• Make predictions and inferences.

• Explore authors' language choices and their impact.

• Identify themes and key ideas.

• Develop a rich and varied vocabulary.

• Express and justify their opinions about texts using evidence from the text.

Regular opportunities to read aloud, discuss books and engage with challenging texts help children develop both fluency and deeper comprehension.

Engaging and Inspiring Readers

Across the school, children read a variety of engaging, diverse and high-quality texts. Through carefully chosen class novels, poetry, non-fiction texts and independent reading opportunities, we aim to broaden children's experiences and foster a genuine enjoyment of reading.

Reading for pleasure is at the heart of our approach. We want every child to see themselves as a reader and to discover books, authors and genres that inspire them.

Reading Beyond the Classroom

We recognise the important role that families play in supporting reading development. We encourage children to read regularly at home and to share books with parents and carers. Through a strong partnership between home and school, we can help every child become a confident, enthusiastic and successful reader.

Our aim is for every child to leave our school with the skills, confidence and love of reading that will support them throughout their education and beyond.