Reading
At Newtown Primary School, we understand that learning to read is a key life skill and is the foundation for children’s
future educational success. We know that reading unlocks learning.
As a staff, we are passionate about teaching reading in an exciting and progressive way, through high quality texts and
to develop reading for pleasure; giving children the tools and skills required to be successful, independent readers.
We understand that teaching reading is our moral duty.
Newtown Primary School puts reading at the heart of the curriculum. We strive to foster a love of reading at school
and at home. We believe reading is an entitlement that should enable children to connect with some of the finest
words ever written. It should open up a world of possibility and intrigue and is a fundamental life skill which, enables
children to communicate effectively in all areas and equips them for the challenges they will face in the wider world.
We aim to have pupils leave Newtown Primary School as lifelong readers, who have an instilled love for reading in
them. In order to do this, children are encouraged to read widely and are exposed to a variety of genres.
Building vocabulary and understanding
Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out what’s printed on the page. Through
hearing stories daily, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary
and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read. It’s important for children to
understand how stories work too. Even if your child doesn’t understand every word, they’ll hear new sounds, words
and phrases which they can then try out, copying what they have heard.
We aim to foster a lifelong love of reading by promoting reading for pleasure and creating a culture where children
choose to read for their own enjoyment.
Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better across the curriculum and
in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a
better understanding of other cultures. In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does
well at school than their social or economic background.
Oracy and speaking and listening is prioritised in order to build vocabulary for all learners in order to understand more
complex texts. We provide a vocabulary/language rich environment alongside a reading rich environment where
pupils can access text linked to curriculum areas and their own areas of interest.
At Newtown Primary School we ensure that all pupils:
• Begin their reading journey listening to a wide variety of high-quality texts from EYFS;
• Are exposed to a language rich and vocabulary rich environment;
• Can read developmentally appropriate texts confidently and fluently;
• Choose to read for their own enjoyment and become passionate lifelong, fluent readers;
• Acquire strong understanding and comprehension skills through challenging discussions;
• Progress to being able to analyse the authors choice of writing conventions and how this impact the reader;
• Have the opportunity to read a broad variety of quality texts from different genres and authors;
• Have opportunities to read across the curriculum and use texts to discover and retrieve information;
• Acquire a rich and varied vocabulary;
• Use the literature and vocabulary that they have explored to inspire their own learning.
