Reading and Phonics

Reading and Phonics at Pear Tree

Intent:

At Pear Tree we intend our children to gain reading skills that will allow them to achieve success both academically and personally throughout their lives. We want all children to develop a love of reading and to be able to express their ideas clearly and creatively, acquiring a wide vocabulary. Our intention is to create readers who have the skills to access all parts of the curriculum with understanding; to have the ability to pursue their own interests through reading and to be able to talk about books with confidence. We intend our children to rapidly acquire a secure knowledge of letters and sounds and make sustained progress in learning to read fluently, to participate in the teaching of phonics knowledge, skills and understanding in a systematic and enjoyable way.

Implementation:

Teaching of Phonics and KS1 Reading: Our school follows the Little Wandle program from Reception into Key Stage 1 (see here for further details). All children have a baseline assessment in phonics and are then grouped accordingly by the class teacher. Phonics is timetabled from Monday to Thursday for 20 minutes each day. Friday’s phonics sessions are used for a spell check. Children move to different classrooms and learning areas for phonics and all staff including support staff are responsible for a group. Regular assessments are carried out by the class teacher and the groups are changed accordingly. When children first become readers they have access to our book system associated with Little Wandle. This is assessed using Benchmarking. 

Across the school, we encourage reading for pleasure by modelling this to our children and by implementing strategies such as our ‘Pear Tree Reading Challenge’, which encourages children to try different authors, genres and a wider range of reading materials. Reading skills are taught progressively, starting with daily phonics sessions in EYFS and KS1, 1-2-1 reading with children, guided reading and whole class shared reading across the school. 

Daily reading time and reading lessons take place across the school. Reading VIPERS are used across the school as a strategy for the specific teaching of reading skills. A range of reading interventions are used in order to support those pupils working below age-related expectations. We provide many opportunities for ‘book talk’ throughout the school week to develop language and vocabulary.

Impact:

At Pear Tree, there will be a consistent approach to the teaching of reading and phonics across the school and this will be evident as part of classroom and school displays. Children will make good or better progress from their own personal starting points. By the end of KS2 they will be able to read a wide range of texts fluently and with understanding.

This will be measured through a variety of methods such as, summative and formative assessments in reading and phonics each term, phonics screening results, Benchmarking to assess book bands, pupil voice, lesson observations, questioning and reading records. Most importantly, the children at Pear Tree will develop a love of reading and therefore be well-equipped for the rest of their lives.

Yr. 1 Phonics Results Summary 

  • National Average 2019 = 82%
  • Cheshire East 2018 Yr. 1 Phonics Average = 84%
  • Pear Tree Results 2016 = 77%
  • Pear Tree Results 2017 = 78%
  • Pear Tree Results 2018 = 93%
  • Pear Tree Results 2019 = 93%
     

KS1 Reading SAT Results Summary 

  • National 2019 Reading Average = 75% (At EXS+)
  • Pear Tree 2016 Reading Average = 77% (At EXS+)
  • Pear Tree 2017 Reading Average = 80% (At EXS+)
  • Pear Tree 2018 Reading Average = 80% (At EXS+)
  • Pear Tree 2019 Reading Average = 84% (At EXS+)
     

KS2 Reading SAT Results summary 

  • National 2019 Reading Average = 73% (At EXS+)
  • Pear Tree 2016 Reading Average = 84% (At EXS+)
  • Pear Tree 2017 Reading Average 85% (At EXS+)
  • Pear Tree 2018 Reading Average = 97% (At EXS+)
  • Pear Tree 2019 Reading Average = 76% (At EXS+)

 

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