We strive to give our children the best start in establishing secure foundations in reading by ensuring that all children become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage One. We believe this is achievable through a combination of high quality, discrete systematic phonics teaching combined with a language rich curriculum. Our primary intent is to create avid readers, which we believe is the foundation for any greater depth learner.
While phonics and fluency will be emphasised in the early teaching of reading, immersive Whole Class Wider Curriculum Reading sessions later take precedent using challenging texts and extracts to ensure our reading curriculum offers ambition and challenge. These sessions help to develop fluency, comprehension and increase children’s vocabulary whilst focusing on the contextualisation of language.
We also promote a reading culture in which children are encouraged to read widely and for pleasure. It is our intention that by the end of their primary education, all of our pupils will be able to: read fluently, with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education; drawing on their knowledge of quality literature to further drive their passion for reading and writing and continue on their journeys as life-long readers.
Reading to become: Active Learners, Successful Communicators and Considerate Citizens.
Our curriculum is built on a root foundation of rich, diverse and wonderful books. No other skill is more important than reading; it is the gateway to all other knowledge. At Ashlands, we are committed to teaching our pupils to become skilled readers who develop a comprehensive understanding of words, language and texts as they move through school. They learn to read and then read to learn. Our aim is to ensure that pupils develop a love of reading so that they can read for purpose and for pleasure. Our pupils read to become: active learners, successful communicators and considerate citizens.
Whole Class Wider Curriculum Reading sessions
Whole Class Wider Curriculum Reading sessions create readers. They allow our pupils to engage with a wide range of human experience: why characters make the choices they make, and why they feel what they feel. It gives them the chance to consider ideas beyond their own experience, and encounter concepts that might never occurred to them before, as well exploring universal moments.
These sessions allow for pupil to pre-visit up-coming curriculum work prior to an area of learning being taught – allowing them to access key vocabulary in context and to gain a ‘foothold’ with new leanring; it can also be used as a tool for re-visits, where children can access previous learning in order to establish secure knowledge within the hippocampus.
Class Libraries Ashlands Primary School – reading for pleasure.
The school has recently invested in new class library book collections.
The class library collections have been carefully created by class teachers and are a range of traditional and modern classics as well as non-fiction and poetry titles. Through the class library collections children from Nursery to Year 6 have the opportunity to ‘read for pleasure’. Class reading time benefits all our pupils, including those who do not read regularly at home, appreciating the benefits and pleasure of regular, sustained reading. Equally, with the captivation and enthrallment of reading, we aim to create authors, poets and journalists of the future.
Writing to become: Active Learners, Successful Communicators and Considerate Citizens.
We strive to give our children the best start in establishing secure foundations in writing. Our primary intent is to create avid readers which we believe is the foundation for any great writer. We foster automaticity in transcriptional skills while a huge amount of high-quality reading and motivation supports cohesion and creativity. We recognise the importance of nurturing a writing culture: creating writers and story-tellers who take pride; write clearly and accurately; and select and adapt language and style to suit a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. Our pupils write to become: active learners, successful communicators and considerate citizens.
The Reading Spine has been carefully developed to broaden children’s literature repertoire and encourage them to become wider, more avid and life-long readers and to support writing.
These are our core English texts through which our writing units are derived. Where possible, cross-curricular links are made and texts are chosen because of their connection with wider learning in areas such as history or geography. Some texts have been chosen because of the route they offer into discussing and exploring many social, emotional and cultural issues thus developing the cultural capital of our children.
Teach Your Monster to Read: Free Phonics & Reading Game
BookTrust: Getting children reading | BookTrust
Vooks — Storybooks Brought to Life
Transforming lives through reading and writing – Scottish Book Trust
Oxford Owl for School and Home
BookTrust: Getting children reading | BookTrust
Transforming lives through reading and writing – Scottish Book Trust
Oxford Owl for School and Home
CEO: Ms Helen Williams
Cowpasture Road Ilkley West Yorkshire LS29 8TR
The Multi Academy Trust is a Company incorporated in England and Wales, limited by guarantee with registered Company number 07663864