Reading
Reading is taught as a basic skill in its own right and is practised throughout all areas of the curriculum.
Nurturing Lifelong Readers: Our Approach to Reading
At Martongate Primary School, we believe reading is the gateway to all learning. Grounded in the principles of the National Reading Framework, our curriculum is designed to spark a love for books while building the essential skills for success. In our school, Reading is taught as a basic skill in its own right and is practised throughout all areas of the curriculum.
In EYFS and Year 1, we use the Little Wandle Phonics programme, where children master the phonetic code through daily phonics lessons. In addition to this, children read three times per week in a small group using texts matched to their phonics stage using a scaffolded reading approach - a structure designed to give pupils plenty of decoding practice and to begin to build fluency. The Little Wandle approach is structured to focus on three key reading skills:
- decoding: teaching children to turn printed letters (graphemes) into spoken sounds (phonemes) and words
- prosody: teaching children to read with understanding and expression
- comprehension: teaching children to understand the text
As children move into Year 2 and Key Stage 2, the focus shifts from decoding to developing fluency and comprehension. Towards the end of Year 2, this progresses to whole class reading for most children. Those still needing support continue to access the Little Wandle phonics intervention and reading groups, until they have completed the phonics programme and are reading fluently.
Our daily whole class lessons are based on three structures, each with its own aim:
- Fluency reading – aimed at building reading fluency through practise. Key approaches are teacher modelling, echo reading and repeated partner reading
- Extended reading – aimed at developing children’s reading stamina and breadth of reading using books chosen from the Martongate Reading Spine
- Close reading – using extracts discuss texts in depth
As children progress through Key Stage 2, the combination of structures changes to account for growing confidence and skill. They begin to take ownership of their reading, reading independently for longer periods of time to build stamina and taking part in more analytical discussions and building confidence in using key comprehension strategies including:
- activating and using background knowledge
- generating and asking questions
- making predictions
- visualising
- monitoring comprehension
- summarising
From the first sounds in Reception, to deep, critical discussions and mastery of complex texts in Year 6, we aim to ensure every child becomes a confident, fluent and discerning reader.
Wider Reading
Martongate's reading curriculum combines cross-curricular learning with daily opportunities to read for pleasure and build fluency. Teachers share a variety of curated high-quality texts from the school's reading spine daily, while pupils engage in independent reading, peer discussions and library book selections. Home reading is supported through decodable books in early years to share progress with families, alongside reading-for-pleasure texts. To encourage consistent reading habits, staff monitor home reading logs weekly, offer extra support when needed, and celebrate achievements with half-termly class rewards.