Penn Fields School
Learning for Life
Reading at Penn Fields School
Penn Fields School aims to provide a supportive and engaging English curriculum for every child. We believe that it is important to embed phonological skills whilst also providing an enriching curriculum that provides learners with access to high quality texts that the students could not necessarily access independently. We recognise the important role that parents, carers, support staff and all teachers play in promoting reading positively, developing fluency and also supporting the development of comprehension skills.
Reading Together: Shared Reading at Home
Reading can be a magical time for parents and children to spend together. It is not just about listening to your child reading, it is also about showing them how to read, whether that is through reading to them yourself or listening to a book together. If you do not have any books, you can either come to our school lending library each term (texts are sent out informing you of the date) or visit your local library. If you prefer to listen to books together, here are some links to free stories:
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Remember to ask your children questions about the story. Please have a look at this PowerPoint to help you:
Read, Write, Inc. Phonics
Beginner readers follow the Read, Write Inc. phonics programme as soon as they are ready. This is a highly structured, cumulative, synthetic phonics programme that is taught in different ways dependent upon developmental age. More information for parents can be found here: Parent guide to Read Write Inc. Phonics - Oxford Owl
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Willow, Acorn, Garden Room, Ash, Elm and Oak
In lower school, all students are taught within their phonics groups by their class teacher and TLSA. They receive phonics lessons every day. The students are assessed every term to monitor their progress. If a child does not make the progress expected of them, additional small group or one-to- one interventions are put in place.
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When students are fluent readers and have finished the RWI Phonics programme, they begin the Comprehension units to further develop their reading skills.
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In addition to phonics, the students also have English lessons where they experience a range of different text types such as poetry, non-fiction and fiction.
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All children have access to RWI Book Bag books and RWI e-books through Oxford Owl which they are encouraged to read at home to their parents. Throughout the year, we offer different workshops to support parents in developing their child’s reading skills and we also offer a lending library for parents so that they can have shared reading time with their children at home.
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Years 7 – Sixth Form
In upper school, we continue with the RWI programme but its delivery is dependent upon the class and the individuals. Where the students are identified as needing phonics support, they are provided with interventions in their English lessons. These children are also assessed every term and their progress is monitored closely. Where a child has not made expected progress, we provide additional support through one-to-one interventions at least once per week.
In English lessons, the students explore texts that do not follow the phonics programme in order to stretch and challenge their learning and provide them with exciting topics which we use to enhance their comprehension skills and foster a love of reading.
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Additionally, reading is actively promoted throughout the school. At the start of every day, upper school have 15 minutes of reading time where the learners read to themselves or an adult. When they have completed their book, they are asked to complete an Accelerated Reader quiz on the computer. The Accelerated Reader programme is a further way of developing the students’ comprehension skills. In addition to this, we run a reading mentor programme where more able, older readers support younger readers who have been identified as requiring additional support.
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