“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” Walt Disney

Intent

At Springfield Academy, it is our intent to instil a love for reading in our children. We do this by providing our children with high-quality reading experiences that will teach them to read and motivate them to engage enthusiastically with books. We are determined that every child who embarks on a journey with us at Springfield Academy will learn to read.

Implementation

Reading is embedded within our Curriculum and we ensure every opportunity is taken to expose children to a range of high-quality texts. Reading skills are taught within phonics and through English lessons. The VIPERS framework is used to support reading comprehension skills and assess children’s understanding of the texts they are reading.

Reading plus is used to aid teaching comprehension and fluency in children’s reading. Class authors are selected to engage and inspire children and class author books are shared daily where teaching staff model prosody and discuss texts with children.

Children are encouraged to share books at home and record their efforts on Boom Reader. We have mixed Reading Gem groups across the school to motivate children to read, earning prizes for themselves and gems for their team. We celebrate children’s reading achievements during a whole school assembly each Tuesday.

Weekly, we welcome into school volunteers from the Literacy Volunteer charity to provide children with enriching reading experiences and an opportunity to explore texts and ideas with props and through games.

Impact

At Springfield Academy, we are developing a culture amongst our children where reading is important and books are valued. Our children are motivated to choose, read and share books from their learning environment. They are developing their vocabulary, understanding of language and imagination through exposure to a range of high-quality texts.

Through quality first teaching and thorough assessment in Phonics and reading lessons, our children are becoming confident, fluent readers who understand and enjoy the texts they are reading.

Reading in our Environment

Every classroom has an area where reading is celebrated and valued. Children can access class libraries to enjoy books and use them to find information. Books are displayed and made accessible to children throughout school.