Please click here to view our phonics and KS1 reading progression document.

Please click here to view our KS2 reading progression document.

Read Write Inc

At Glenleigh Park we aim to develop children who are confident readers with a passion for books. We want children to be able to apply their reading skills effortlessly to further their own learning as they move through primary school and beyond.

We use the Read, Write Inc. phonics (RWI) program right from a child’s first term in reception. Children remain on this program until they can confidently read at approx. 90 words per minute with texts containing the sounds contained in phases 2-6. It is our aim for children to have successfully completed the phonics program by the end of year 2. If children need to remain on the program in year 3 and beyond we continue to offer phonics lessons at an appropriate level.

We assess all children on the RWI program every 6 weeks and place them into ability groups. The children read books consistent with their phonic knowledge and colour group. We have organised our home books so the colour levels are now coded according to RWI colour bandings. We have charts which show how book bands equate to these colour levels.

The impact of phonics teaching is assessed every 6 weeks so that children can be moved on rapidly. Children develop through this program at their own rate and we have a flight path which helps us to identify, assess and understand age related progress. We run intervention programs for those who need support in keeping up with their peers.

To provide in the moment coaching, we have a RWI lead who monitors and reviews the phonics teaching and learning every day. We find that this is a very effective model in supporting reading teachers to develop their understanding of the program. Our ambition is to provide staff with weekly practise sessions where the RWI lead offers 20 minutes of training on one aspect of the program. A trainer from RWI comes to our school twice a year to provide strategic leadership support to the reading leader as well as running practise sessions for reading teachers.

We firmly believe that the RWI program produces children who are positive readers because we ensure that they read books which accurately match their ability level and their progress is carefully and regularly monitored. We believe that children’s growth as a reader is key to helping them fully access learning into KS2 and beyond. With this in mind our ambitious aim is for all children to have completed the program in year 2.

Reading 

At Glenleigh Park are aim for all children to be enthusiastic, confident and motivated readers. We feel that it is vital that our children are instilled with a passion for reading and a strong desire to read for pleasure. By the time they leave Glenleigh Park, our children should be able to decode and clarify words they are unsure of and will have developed a range of skills, which gives them an independence around reading. At the same time, we teach and encourage children to use skills to be able to discuss and explore texts verbally with others. We feel it is important that children are can think more deeply as a reader and are able to have insightful discussions on a range of text types.

In KS1, we use Daily Supported Reader (DSR) to build up strong independent reading skills from the start of a child’s reading journey, which aligns with our daily teaching of phonics. Right from the start, when a child joins Glenleigh Park in reception, they are exposed to a wide range of texts. DSR is a highly successful approach to the teaching of early reading that motivates children to read stories on their own, learn to respond to and engage with new ideas and information as well as learning to problem solve independently while keeping a story in mind.

In KS2, we use Destination Reader (DR) to teach our reading skills. This allows us to move children seamlessly on from Daily Supported Reader which they have followed in KS1. DR explicitly teaches a range of skills, which are vital to being a good reader. It is heavily based on pupil interaction and allows children to explore and analyse texts in pairs and groups. Pairings are carefully selected to ensure peers are supportive to each other and progress is monitored by teaching staff.

To complement all of this, we have a well-stocked library that offers a large range of books from various authors, old and new. Children are encouraged to select books themselves, within their reading ranges, to allow them to read books which they enjoy. Children are able to take quizzes on these books to test their understanding and to contribute to their termly targets and yearly word counts. We reward hard-working and enthusiasm towards reading with badges, certificates and signed books.