Reading

Intent
Ladysmith is a reading school with books sitting at the heart of all we do. Reading is the gateway to independent learning and we passionately believe that our curriculum should open children's minds, develop a sense of wonder about the world around them, engage their natural curiosity and inspire them to be life-long learners.

The explicit teaching of reading is integral to a child’s understanding and appreciation of the world around them; a platform that allows our children to see beyond what they know, share in cultural and diverse experiences and develop the vocabulary they need to effectively express themselves.

Our carefully structured and progressive curriculum is delivered through synthetic phonics, guided and whole class reading, home reading, reading across the curriculum, regular opportunities for independent reading and hearing carefully chosen quality texts read aloud every day. All of these are essential components to develop fluent, enthusiastic, critical readers who comprehend and interpret what they read. We aspire to develop a love of reading for both pleasure and information, opening up future opportunities for life in the 21st century. 

 What do reading lessons look like at Ladysmith?
All of our reading lessons are based on high quality texts: picture books, short stories, novels, poems and non-fiction. Although each individual lesson will have a key focus, sequences of lessons always focus on developing an overall understanding of the whole text to develop a ‘real’ reading purpose. Depending on what is being taught, some lessons will be whole class sessions and some will feature small, teacher-led guided groups. This enables children to think deeply about what they are reading, learn from each other through discussion and respond in a variety of different ways. Each sequence also builds in opportunities for children to read independently, enabling them to explore more deeply, practise and develop personal responsibility for their enquiry into a text. Sequences of lessons, across year groups, build reading skills, strategies and knowledge cumulatively and iteratively through this regular and varied practise in context with increasingly complex texts.

All children participate in a fortnightly Book Club session, where they have further opportunities to read and develop their ‘book talk’ skills, fostering the joy of reading in all of its forms. If you are need of a reading recommendation why not have a look at our whole school padlet using the QR code below.

How do we make sure that every child succeeds?
Our curriculum is designed to be inclusive and accessible for all learners. For some children, this may mean additional phonics teaching. We place a high priority on these sessions, which are led by teachers and conducted in small groups to enable a highly personalised approach to learning. We use Read Write Inc phonics materials to ensure continuity from the Infant School.

We continually assess pupils throughout teaching, addressing misconceptions and providing additional support where needed. In addition, each child participates in a 1:1 reading conference with their class teacher each term, where they can be offered additional bespoke guidance to further encourage the reading habit. We will act quickly to identify and support children who are dropping behind and ensure we close gaps in learning.