Reading Overview
At West Newcastle Academy, we place the utmost importance on reading – both for purpose and for pleasure. We know that confident, capable, critically-thinking reading is a life-long skill that will open a wealth of opportunities.
Here, we have children join us at all stages of their primary education, with varying degrees of reading experience. As such, we carefully assess your child at every step of the way, ensuring their reading teaching is tailored to their ability.
Phonics is taught robustly and consistently and our curriculum is completely centred around high quality novels and texts.
What WE do to help your child’s reading
The skill of reading is modelled and promoted in every lesson at West Newcastle Academy. Furthermore, every single class has a golden 15 minutes at the end of the day in order for the class to enjoy a story together. Here are some of the ways we support your children in their reading journeys:
Shared Reading: This is a carefully structured lesson that is taught three times a week in ALL classes. This allows children to share and analyse a challenging text, while learning and practising the keys skills of reading, such as deduction and inference.
Read Write Inc. at Home – Support for Parents
We believe that reading is the most important life skill we can teach our children. It opens up a world of opportunities and is the key to learning. Once children have mastered the early reading skills they can go on to explore their interests, develop confidence and independence and really enjoy the magical world that books can provide.
As a school we are constantly looking for ways we can support children to develop their reading skills as soon as they can. We have recently invested in a new reading scheme called Read Write Inc. Read Write Inc is a scheme developed to teach children to decode in a consistent, systematic way. All staff have received training and children are assessed regularly to ensure they are being taught at exactly the right level for them.
We have now started sending home Book Bag Books and home learning with all children who do Read, Write, Inc. This is so parents can continue to support their children’s reading at home.
One to One Reading
In ALL classes, all children read on a 1:1 basis with an adult weekly. Our skilled teaching assistants know how to extend children’s thinking and support their understanding.
Phonics Lessons
ALL classes in years 2 and below have a daily phonics session. Phonics are the sounds that help us read and build words. Our staff are highly trained in delivering phonics.
How YOU can help your child to read
Teaching children read, and to love reading, is very much a partnership between school and home.
We do not want children to see reading as boring or a chore. It is therefore important to make reading a regular part of your family routines. Below are some ideas of how you can achieve this:
Recipes: Allow your child to cook with you and read the recipes together. Reading for purpose is a great way to motivate children to read.
Visit the Library: Libraries are a fabulous and FREE resource for families. Allow your child to explore the local library. Borrow books of their choice and share them together.
Create a Reading Space at Home: Perhaps you have some old cushions, a spare chair or blanket? These would make a great reading area in your home. Fill the area with books and allow your child time to be comfy and enjoy some quite solo reading time.
Bedtime Stories: ALL children love having a story read to them by their parent at bedtime. This is a brilliant way to share new books and old favourites. Look for questions you can ask your children to check their understanding: “Why did he do that?” “What do you think she’s going to do?” “How do you think he’s feeling?”
If you want to help your child to read but are not sure how, please speak to their teacher. We LOVE supporting families in reading and any of our staff would be delighted to share some ideas.
Can you volunteer to read with children?
We are always on the lookout for parents/ carers to come in and read with children. Please speak to your child’s teacher or the School Office if you are available to volunteer.