At All Saints’, we aim to:

• Inspire a lifelong love of reading in every child.
• Fully comply with the National Curriculum Programme of Study for English and the Year 6 Assessment Framework to deliver a carefully and cumulatively sequenced and structured curriculum to ensure all children become confident and competent readers
• Build firm foundations in KS1 through a singular focus on ensuring every child can decode the alphabetic code and read fluently with accuracy, automaticity and prosody.
• Achieve high standards in reading by developing comprehension, vocabulary, and literary criticism skills — including appreciation of authorial intent, characterisation, atmosphere, literary devices, and structure.
• Strengthen speaking, listening, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension through a rich, systematic curriculum rooted in oracy.
• Broaden horizons through exposure to diverse, high-quality texts, building vocabulary, cultural capital, and world knowledge.
• Promote inclusion and celebrate every learner, ensuring SEND pupils have equitable access to reading success.
• Embed our Catholic values by reading texts that inspire compassion, justice, stewardship, and empathy.

EARLY READING – Building Firm Foundations

At All Saints’, we know that early reading is the gateway to future success. Our provision is rooted in the Development Matters (2021) framework and shaped by the latest evidence-based practice, ensuring that every child develops the skills, confidence, and love of reading that will last a lifetime.

A Language-Rich Environment

• Classrooms are filled with high-quality language experiences, from daily storytelling and singing to rich role-play scenarios.
• Children are immersed in vocabulary through conversations, songs, rhymes, poems, and a wide range of high-quality books.
• Practitioners use sustained shared thinking, modelling ambitious vocabulary and encouraging children to articulate ideas in full sentences.

Systematic Synthetic Phonics

• We teach the Read Write Inc. (RWI) Synthetic Phonics programme, selected from the Department for Education’s validated list.
• Phonics begins at the very start of Reception and continues through to the end of Year 1. In Year 2, children spend Autumn 1 consolidating phonics before moving onto our spelling programme.
• Daily sessions are taught in small, needs-based groups, with ongoing assessment ensuring progress at the right pace.
• Children regularly apply new sounds and words in real reading and writing contexts.
• Where a child above Year 1 is not yet secure in phonics, they receive targeted interventions and continue to take home a decodable reader to maximise practice.

The Role of Parents

Parents are essential partners in early reading. We provide guidance through workshops, information sessions, and reading events, ensuring parents feel confident in supporting their child’s reading journey. We ask parents to:

• Support daily reading at home using the decodable practice book sent each week.
• Encourage, praise, and listen attentively.
• Sign and comment in reading records at least three times per week.

Decodable Reading Practice Books

• Children in Reception and Year 1 take home a decodable reading practice book from the Read, Write Inc scheme, carefully matched to the Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondences taught the previous week.
• Some are Partner Texts with parts for the adult and parts for the child to read independently.
• Daily reading of these books builds fluency, confidence, and motivation.

Reading for Pleasure Books

• In addition to their decodable book, every child takes home a Reading for Pleasure book from our All Saints’ Class Collections and Library
• In Reception and Year 1, these are read by an adult to the child, allowing for rich discussions and comprehension development.
• Our Reading Spine includes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, chosen for quality, cultural diversity, and the ability to inspire curiosity.

Story and Book Talk

• Every day, adults read aloud from a selection of carefully chosen books — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and traditional tales — modelling expression, rhythm, and phrasing.
• Repeated readings help children internalise vocabulary, story structure, and language patterns.
• Children are encouraged to discuss characters, settings, and events, developing comprehension and inference skills from the earliest stages.

Print-Rich Provision

• The environment is rich in print, with labels, captions, and signs to promote word recognition.
• Books are available in all areas of provision, indoors and outdoors, embedding reading naturally in play.
• Role-play areas are stocked with books and resources linked to current themes, encouraging imaginative engagement with print.

Daily Reading Expectations

Year Group	Word Reading	Comprehension Skills	Reading Record
Reception	Practise segmenting/blending sounds for the decodable text (5 mins)	Adult reads the Reading for Pleasure text and discusses it (min. 5 mins)	Signed and commented on at least 3x per week
Year 1	Practise segmenting/blending sounds for the decodable text (5 mins)	Adult reads the Reading for Pleasure text and discusses it (min. 10 mins)	Signed and commented on at least 3x per week
Year 2	Practise segmenting/blending sounds for the decodable text (5 mins)	Adult reads the Reading for Pleasure text and discusses it (min. 15 mins)	Signed and commented on at least 3x per week

The Power of Repetition

Re-reading is not just enjoyable — it is powerful. Each re-reading deepens understanding, builds anticipation, and strengthens emotional engagement. When children ask for the same story again, they are exploring language, characters, and feelings, reliving emotions, and developing confidence to retell — all of which lay the foundations for independent reading.

 

Outcomes By the end of the Early Years, our aim is that all children:

• Can confidently decode age-appropriate texts with increasing fluency and accuracy.
• Have a secure bank of high-frequency words.
• Possess a broad and rich vocabulary for their age.
• See themselves as readers, motivated to explore books for both pleasure and knowledge.

Our Early Years provision is where the golden thread of reading begins — setting the stage for confident, curious, and capable readers throughout their time at All Saints’ and beyond.

 

Daily Reading Skills Lessons

From Year 2 to Year 6, all children take part in a dedicated daily Reading Skills lesson lasting between 30–45 minutes. These lessons are carefully planned and sequenced to build on prior learning, ensuring that every child develops both fluency and deep comprehension over time. Our bespoke All Saints’ Reading Curriculum is designed to be both a mirror — reflecting the children’s own lives, cultures, and experiences — and a window — offering insights into other lives, places, and perspectives across the world.

Reading at the Heart of Learning
At All Saints’, we believe that reading is the launch pad for learning in every subject. It is timetabled at the heart of the school day because it underpins success across the curriculum. Strong reading skills allow children to access, enjoy, and excel in all areas of learning — from interpreting word problems in maths, to understanding primary sources in history, or exploring scientific concepts.

Our Reading Skills lessons often connect to other curriculum areas, creating meaningful links and deepening understanding. For example:

• Reading a non-fiction article about climate change in Geography
• Exploring a diary extract from the trenches in History
• Studying a poem about nature before a Science lesson on habitats

By linking reading to real curriculum content, we give children a purpose for their reading, broaden their vocabulary, and deepen their subject knowledge. This integrated approach helps them see reading not just as a subject in itself, but as a gateway to the world.

Lesson Structure
Each session typically includes:

• 15 minutes of focused reading – silent reading, teacher-led reading, paired reading, or a combination, with pupils actively tracking vocabulary and noting points for discussion.
• 30 minutes of discussion and activities – exploring the text in detail, responding to carefully chosen questions, collaborating with peers, and completing purposeful tasks linked to the learning focus.
• Questioning based on VIPERS skills – Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval, and Sequencing/Summarising.

Our All Saints’ Reading Spine: A Broad Range of Texts
Children engage with a wide variety of genres and formats, including:

• Fiction – classic and contemporary novels, short stories, playscripts
• Non-fiction – biographies, historical accounts, scientific articles, news reports
• Poetry – from traditional verse to modern performance poetry
• Songs and lyrics – exploring rhythm, meaning, and cultural context
• Picture books – developing visual literacy and interpreting imagery and symbolism

High-Quality Teaching Practices
Teachers explicitly model reading strategies such as re-reading for clarity, reading with expression, and breaking down complex sentences. They demonstrate how to annotate a text, identify evidence, and structure a thoughtful response.

Through partner talk, pupils rehearse their ideas before sharing them with the class, refining their thinking and building confidence in expressing themselves.

Children are encouraged to act as critical thinkers and literary detectives — questioning authorial intent, recognising how language creates effect, and connecting themes to wider issues, including those linked to our Catholic values.

Purposeful, Varied Activities
Activities are designed to stretch and support all learners, for example:

• Vocabulary hunts and meaning-matching
• Inference challenges using evidence from the text
• Predictions with justification based on prior events
• Explanation tasks that require reasoning and evaluation
• Sequencing and summarising key events or ideas
• Creative responses such as drama, illustration, or debate to deepen engagement

By the end of each lesson, children leave with a clear understanding of what they have learned, how they achieved it, and how they can apply these skills across the curriculum and in their own reading for pleasure.

Reading Reward Badges

Our exciting All Saints’ Reading Curriculum has inspired children to embrace books and discover the joy of reading. To celebrate and encourage this love of reading, we have introduced the All Saints’ Reading Award — a special recognition for pupils who demonstrate enthusiasm, commitment, and a positive attitude towards reading.

Children might earn a Reading Award for:

• Contributing thoughtfully to book discussions
• Listening attentively during story time
• Bringing in and sharing books from home
• Showing curiosity and excitement about reading

Winners receive both a certificate and a badge which they can proudly wear on their school uniform.

Each half term, children can work towards different levels of achievement:

• Bronze Badge – Awarded for having their reading record filled in at least 5 times each week.
• Silver Badge – Achieved by including additional information in their reading records about other age-appropriate books they have enjoyed at home.
• Gold Badge – For this award, creativity is key! Pupils create a reading scrapbook showcasing their reading journey, using drawings, writing, photos, and even digital content to celebrate their reading adventures.
• Platinum Award – New this year! A special award for those who go above and beyond, showing exceptional dedication, creativity, and engagement with reading across the term.

We hope these awards further inspire our children to develop a lifelong love of reading and to take pride in their achievements as readers.

Our ambition is for all children to leave All Saints’ as confident, capable, and passionate readers, ready for the next stage of education and life.

We know reading is successful because:

• Pupils read widely, fluently, and with enjoyment.
• Pupils talk enthusiastically about books and authors.
• Books are well-matched to individual needs, ensuring progress and challenge.
• Lessons are engaging, purposeful, and adapted to meet the needs of all learners.
• Gaps in learning are identified early and closed rapidly.
• Pupil voice, lesson visits, and book looks demonstrate a strong reading culture.
• Phonics and KS2 reading data reflect strong outcomes.

At All Saints’, we don’t just teach reading — we inspire a love of stories, knowledge, and adventure that lasts a lifetime.