Reading
Intent
“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.” – Kate DiCamillo
At Godolphin Primary School, we believe that reading opens doors to knowledge, imagination and opportunity. Our vision is for every child to become a skilled, fluent and enthusiastic reader who reads widely and with understanding.
We aim to create a school where reading is valued, celebrated and embedded in everyday life. Through high-quality teaching, protected time to read every day, rich literature and a culture that promotes reading for pleasure woven throughout school life, we ensure that children experience the power and joy of books.
Our reading curriculum is carefully designed so that pupils develop:
- secure decoding skills through systematic phonics
- fluency through explicit modelling and structured practice
- deep comprehension through vocabulary, knowledge and discussion
- a lifelong love of reading
We believe that reading is the foundation of all learning and is vital to every child’s success across the curriculum and beyond school. By the time children leave Godolphin, they will be confident readers who can access the wider curriculum, think critically about texts and enjoy reading independently.
Our reading curriculum is built around our core drivers:
We are Kind
We nurture a love of reading by creating safe, inclusive environments where all children feel supported, valued and empowered to grow as readers. We recognise that children develop at different rates and provide the care, encouragement and personalised support needed for every child to succeed.
We are Curious
We encourage children to explore a wide range of texts that spark imagination, deepen thinking and inspire questions about the world. High-quality literature opens doors to new ideas, perspectives and experiences, allowing children to journey far beyond the classroom.
We are Connected
Reading helps children make sense of themselves and others. Through books, children encounter different cultures, histories and viewpoints, developing empathy and understanding. Reading connects children to the wider world and equips them with the knowledge needed to participate in it.
“Reading is the gateway for children that makes all other learning possible.” — Barack Obama
Reading Intent at Godolphin Primary School
At Godolphin Primary School, our intent is to ensure that every child becomes a fluent, confident and motivated reader who can access the full curriculum and develop a lifelong love of reading. We prioritise the teaching of reading because we recognise it as the gateway to all learning. Through systematic phonics teaching, explicit instruction in reading fluency, rich vocabulary development and daily opportunities to engage with high-quality texts, we ensure that pupils develop the skills, knowledge and enthusiasm needed to read with understanding and enjoyment. Our approach is rooted in evidence-informed practice, particularly the work of Christopher Such, ensuring that children develop secure word recognition, strong language comprehension and fluent reading.
We believe that every child can learn to read with the right teaching and support. Mastering early reading unlocks the curriculum and shapes children’s future choices and opportunities. We therefore hold the highest expectations for ourselves and our pupils, aiming for all children to become fluent readers by the age of six.
Early Reading
“The most important starting point is to read to children. Reading to children is the best way of encouraging them to love books and reading.” — Ruth Miskin
Implementation
Children in EYFS, Year 1 and those in Year 2 who still require it participate in daily systematic phonics teaching using the Read Write Inc. (RWI) programme.
Through daily phonics lessons, children practise and apply the fundamental skills needed for successful reading:
- recognising letter–sound correspondences
- blending sounds to read words
- segmenting sounds to spell words
- developing increasing speed and accuracy when reading
Children practise reading using fully decodable books that are carefully matched to the sounds they know. This ensures that children experience success and develop confidence in their reading.
The pace and consistency of the programme are essential in enabling children to quickly secure the alphabetic code and develop the automaticity needed for fluent reading.
During their RWI journey, children learn all 44 phonemes and their corresponding graphemes. They are taught to blend sounds orally and then in print. As their knowledge develops, they are introduced to digraphs and trigraphs and begin blending more complex words.
As children become more confident readers, they begin to blend silently using “Fred in their head”, supporting the development of fluency. Children are also exposed to alien (nonsense) words to ensure they are relying on decoding rather than memorisation.
Assessment is ongoing and groups remain fluid, allowing teachers to ensure children are taught at the appropriate level. Formal assessments take place half-termly and the reading and phonics leaders regularly monitor and coach staff to ensure high-quality phonics teaching.
This systematic, rigorous and daily approach ensures that children develop the secure decoding skills needed to become confident readers.
All pupils need to understand the alphabetic code to become accurate readers and spellers. Some children with SEND may require additional targeted support to secure learning.
Children also learn to read common exception words so that they can access a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts.
Reading from Year 2
Once children can decode accurately and fluently and have completed the RWI programme, reading teaching focuses on developing reading fluency, vocabulary knowledge and deep comprehension through whole-class reading.
Daily reading lessons prioritise the development of fluent reading, ensuring children read with:
- accuracy (reading words correctly)
- automaticity (reading with ease and appropriate pace)
- prosody (reading with expression and meaning)
Teachers model expert reading so that children regularly hear what fluent, expressive reading sounds like.
Children practise reading using a range of evidence-informed fluency strategies, including:
- teacher modelling of fluent reading
- echo reading
- choral reading
- paired reading
- repeated reading
Teachers may break longer sentences into meaningful phrases before rereading them fluently so that pupils learn how phrasing and punctuation contribute to meaning.
Through repeated exposure to the same text, children develop automaticity and confidence, freeing up cognitive capacity for comprehension.
During reading lessons, teachers explicitly teach vocabulary, particularly tier 2 and tier 3 words, ensuring children understand key language before and during reading.
Children are encouraged to discuss texts, explain their thinking and justify their ideas using evidence from the text. These structured discussions deepen comprehension and strengthen children’s ability to articulate their understanding.
Texts used in reading lessons are carefully chosen to ensure that children encounter high-quality fiction, non-fiction and poetry and that reading supports learning across the wider curriculum.
Christopher Such’s Evidence-Informed Reading Approach
Our approach to teaching reading is strongly informed by the work of Christopher Such, particularly The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading.
Such identifies reading as the interaction of three essential components:
Word Recognition
The ability to decode words accurately and recognise them automatically.
Language Comprehension
Understanding vocabulary, grammar and the knowledge needed to make sense of texts.
Reading Fluency
The ability to read with accuracy, automaticity and prosody.
These three elements underpin our reading curriculum.
Systematic Early Reading
Secure decoding is essential for comprehension. Our daily systematic phonics programme ensures that children quickly master the alphabetic code and develop the foundations of reading.
Fluency as Explicit Teaching
Reading fluency is explicitly taught and practised. Teachers model fluent reading and provide structured opportunities for pupils to practise through echo reading, choral reading and repeated reading.
These strategies allow pupils to build accuracy, automaticity and expressive reading.
Vocabulary and Knowledge Development
Comprehension is strengthened when children possess strong vocabulary and background knowledge. We therefore prioritise explicit vocabulary teaching and select texts that build knowledge across the curriculum.
Inclusive Whole-Class Reading
Whole-class reading ensures that all children access ambitious, high-quality texts and benefit from rich classroom discussion. Teachers provide scaffolding and support so that every child can participate meaningfully.
Assessment and Feedback in Reading
At Godolphin, children are encouraged to articulate their ideas verbally before recording written responses. This ensures they clarify their thinking and develop confidence when explaining their understanding.
Children frequently discuss their ideas with peers and adults before recording responses. Whole-class discussions allow children to explore multiple interpretations and deepen comprehension.
Teachers provide live feedback during reading sessions, listening to pupils read and assessing their accuracy, fluency and understanding.
Children are encouraged to edit and improve their responses, strengthening both their comprehension and written communication.
Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader is introduced when children demonstrate secure decoding and developing fluency, often from Year 2 onwards.
Books are matched to each child’s reading level so that texts provide an appropriate level of challenge while remaining accessible.
The programme is pupil-driven and teacher-guided, allowing children to develop independence while ensuring that texts remain appropriate.
During Accelerated Reader sessions:
- children read independently or with peers
- teachers listen to targeted readers
- children complete quizzes that assess comprehension
Regular assessments ensure that children continue reading texts that match their developing reading ability.
Additional Support for Readers
Some children require additional support to make expected progress. The following strategies may be used:
- RWI ‘Pinny Time’ and fast-track tutoring in EYFS and KS1
- Precision Teaching
- Accelerated Reader support
- Star Reading Assessments to inform teaching
- Priority / targeted readers
Love of Reading
“The greatest gift is a passion for reading.” — Elizabeth Hardwick
At Godolphin, teachers actively promote a love of reading with energy and enthusiasm. They model expressive reading when sharing class novels, focus texts and literature linked to other areas of the curriculum.
Our vibrant classrooms, school library and book-rich curriculum provide numerous opportunities to engage children in reading.
Texts chosen for English lessons are carefully selected for quality and richness of language. We ensure that every child has access to engaging literature and opportunities to read for pleasure.
Teachers and pupils regularly recommend books they have enjoyed, sharing them within classes and on Google Classroom.
Children are also encouraged to participate in:
- World Book Day celebrations
- The Summer Reading Challenge
- Library visits
- Vocabulary parades
- Sponsored reading events supporting Read for Good
Children read independently, aloud and are read to every day.
We believe that every teacher should be an advocate for reading, and time is devoted to staff training so that teachers are equipped to support children’s reading development and enjoyment.
Impact of Reading at Godolphin
The impact of our reading curriculum can be seen in the confidence, fluency and enthusiasm with which our pupils approach reading. As a result of our approach:
- Children develop secure phonics knowledge and become accurate readers early in their school journey.
- Pupils read with increasing fluency, automaticity and prosody, enabling them to focus on understanding what they read.
- Children build a rich vocabulary and strong background knowledge, which supports learning across the wider curriculum.
- Pupils confidently discuss texts, explain their thinking and justify their ideas using evidence.
- Children develop a genuine love of reading, regularly choosing to read independently and recommending books to others.
- Pupils leave Godolphin as capable, confident readers who are prepared for the next stage of their education.