Reading
Intent
At APSOL, we believe reading is an essential life skill and the foundation for success across the curriculum. We aim to develop fluent, confident readers who enjoy reading and can apply their skills across all areas of learning.
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure children progress from mastering phonics and word recognition to becoming active, independent readers with strong comprehension skills. Through exposure to high-quality texts, we aspire to foster a lifelong love of reading while ensuring all pupils achieve age-related expectations.
Implementation
Early Reading and Phonics
In EYFS and Key Stage 1, children follow the Read Write Inc. (RWI) phonics programme. Daily phonics lessons focus on mastering key reading skills, including decoding, blending, segmenting and recognising high-frequency words. Strong links are made between reading, writing and spelling to support children's wider literacy development.
Children are regularly assessed and taught in groups matched to their stage of development to ensure rapid progress. Additional support and intervention are provided for pupils who require further reading practice.
Developing Fluency and Comprehension
Following completion of the RWI Phonics programme, pupils move on to the RWI Comprehension programme, which systematically develops comprehension skills while consolidating phonics knowledge. This provides a bridge from learning to read towards whole-class guided reading.
From Year 4 onwards, pupils take part in daily whole-class guided reading sessions linked closely to the wider curriculum and writing programme. Teaching focuses on vocabulary development, retrieval, inference and active reading strategies, using a range of high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
Reading for pleasure is promoted through carefully selected class texts, regular reading opportunities and access to rich, engaging literature. Children needing additional support are identified early and receive targeted interventions to ensure they make strong progress.
Impact
By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are fluent, confident readers who can apply a range of comprehension skills independently and read for both pleasure and purpose.
Our pupils:
- Meet or exceed age-related expectations in reading.
- Achieve strong outcomes in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check and end of Key Stage 2 assessments.
- Read with accuracy, fluency and understanding.
- Use vocabulary, retrieval and inference skills effectively.
- Access all areas of the curriculum successfully.
- Develop a genuine enjoyment of reading and a lifelong reading habit.
Ultimately, children leave our school as skilled, enthusiastic readers who are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
