Reading

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss

We use the Read Write Inc Phonics (‘RWI’) programme to get children off to a flying start with their reading. RWI is a government backed phonics scheme which teaches children the sounds in English, the letters that represent them and how to form the letters when writing. RWI includes reading books written only using the letters they have learnt at each level (and a small number of separately taught tricky words.) The systematic and routine based structure of the scheme allows children to quickly feel confident and successful as they develop their reading skills.

Who teaches RWI phonics?

We have a dedicated team of Teachers and Teaching Assistants who have all received accredited RWI training. They are passionate about achieving success and take part in regular meetings for coaching and training purposes. The scheme is overseen by the RWI leader, who will monitor RWI sessions and ensure that all teaching is high quality and that children are focused and engaged.

How does RWI ensure success?

Each child is carefully assessed and placed into a RWI group based their phonics sound knowledge and reading skills. This ensures that all children are working at the right level for their ability which is the best way to ensure progress and confidence in their reading skills. Your child might not be taught phonics by their own class teacher however all information is passed on from their RWI tutor to enable further guidance and support in all subsequent lessons.

Groups are assessed every half term (6 weeks) and children are moved accordingly to either accelerate progress or provide further consolidation. Any children who are not making the expected progress will be given targeted intervention or additional 1:1 support. This compilation of rapid acceleration, streamed groupings and targeted support all helps support our aim that our children are confident readers by the time they leave Year 2.

Introduction to Read Write Inc

“Reading is the gateway for children that makes all other learning possible” – Barack Obama

At Potters Gate Primary School, we believe that reading is the key to all learning. As a school, we are fully committed to support all of our children to become fluent and confident readers. Reading, we believe, is a key building block for our children to lead life in all its fullness. (John 10:10).

Guided Reading Whole School Overview

Teachers celebrate the books they are reading through classroom displays which the children can add their own ideas and predictions to. These displays help make the story visual for the children and will include questions and vocabulary linked to their book.

At Potters Gate, we strive to engage all children in a love of reading and spread our passion for literature across the curriculum.

We are lucky to have incredible school libraries at both sites, which provide the children with an abundance of high-quality fiction and non-fiction books.  Our inviting, fun book corners in every classroom provide opportunities for the children to further develop their reading skills and promotes our school ethos. 

Daily story time is included in our curriculum and the children enjoy reading with their reading buddies across the year groups. Reading is celebrated in extra-curriculum events such as World Book Day, workshops and many author visits for all year groups.

Reading Ambassadors

At Potters Gate we are very proud to have twenty-four reading ambassadors across the school. After filling in an application form, these children have been selected to help promote reading and reading for enjoyment across the school. Over the last two years, the successes of the reading ambassadors have included choosing and helping to organise activities for World Book Day, setting up postal boxes for classes to receive books from one another, promoting reading scrapbooks, presenting their book recommendations in school assemblies and introducing reading competitions.

Reading Scrapbooks

In every KS2 class, there are reading scrapbooks for the children to share and take home. These are a creative space which allow the children to reflect on their favourite books, choose one to create a page about and then share it with their teacher and class. These have proved to be extremely popular and have opened the eyes of others to lots of new amazing books.