Reading
Intent
At Farsley Springbank, we believe that reading transforms lives. Our intent is to develop fluent, confident and independent readers who are inspired by books, excited by language, and motivated to read for both pleasure and purpose. Reading sits at the heart of our curriculum and is the key that unlocks learning across all subjects, helping children to understand themselves and the world around them.
Through our six Curriculum Drivers (Independence, Determination, Curiosity, Risk-Taking, Collaboration and Respect), the teaching and culture of reading at Springbank ensures that children grow as Courageous, Kind and Curious learners:
- Independence – We help children become independent readers who make choices about what they read and how they read it. They develop ownership of their reading journey, confidently selecting books that challenge and inspire them and showing initiative in exploring new authors and genres.
- Determination – Children learn that reading requires perseverance and reflection. We celebrate the effort it takes to tackle complex vocabulary or challenging texts, building resilience and pride in personal progress.
- Curiosity – Our reading curriculum fuels curiosity and discovery. Through exposure to a wide range of rich and diverse texts, children are encouraged to ask questions, make connections and think deeply about characters, themes and the wider world.
- Risk-Taking – We believe that great readers are brave readers. Children are supported to take risks — trying new text types, reading beyond their comfort zone and sharing their interpretations even when unsure.
- Collaboration – Reading at Springbank is a social, shared experience. Children read together, discuss their ideas and respect different viewpoints. Through talk, they develop empathy, listening skills and a sense of belonging to a community of readers.
- Respect – We nurture a culture where all voices and stories are valued. Through diverse texts, children learn to respect different perspectives, experiences and cultures, deepening their understanding of the world and of one another.
At Farsley Springbank, reading is more than a subject - it is a culture. It promotes curiosity, courage and kindness, empowering children to explore diverse worlds, respect different voices, and build the independence and determination they need to shape their own futures.
Implementation
Single text approach
Once children in Year 2 have completed the Read Write Inc programme and are reading confidently, they begin a whole group/class text approach which is designed to include all learners in the classroom. Each half-term, a year-group will read one core text which will be used for the three core reading lessons each week. In addition to this, other texts will also be used to enhance the children’s wider knowledge. The core texts that are used throughout KS2 create our Springbank Reading Spine which encourages the reading of five different key text types throughout the year which help the children to navigate reading any text with confidence. These five ‘plagues’ include the types: Archaic, Non-Linear Sequence, Narratively Complex, Symbolic and Resistant. All children will experience a variety of these texts during their journeys through both Lower and Upper Key Stage 2.
Teaching of reading
In order for the children to be able to develop a deep understanding of the text and answer in depth questions about it, we utilise a fluency-based reading system. In every lesson, children will have the reading of the text modelled to them by an adult, they will practice the reading of tricky words in the text through our ‘speedy green words’ activity, will be guided by an adult in pace and prosody through echo reading parts of the text before finally practicing independent reading with a partner. Children may also use other fluency building techniques such as ping-pong and snake reading.
The core reading lessons follow a three-lesson approach designed to specifically support the learning needs of our children. Additional reading lessons are also taught throughout the week to practise key skills with the subject matter of these lessons being primarily focused on supporting wider curriculum knowledge through the use of non-fiction texts or on building the children’s knowledge of poetry.
The reading model used within lessons promotes the understanding of the mechanics of reading through five main steps:
1. Background Knowledge – where the children use prior knowledge to solve areas of confusion within the text.
2. Visualisation – a period of reflection which allows the children to put themselves into the text and empathise with characters in order to get a better understanding.
3. Hunting for Clues – build up, over time, a series of clues based upon what is being read in the text to aid understanding.
4. Questioning/Prediction - the children ask questions about what they have read and make predictions about what they will read next.
5. Breakdown – what to do when meaning is lost while reading and how to best solve those problems in order to move forwards.
Core Reading Lessons
Lesson 1: The children begin their learning with a lesson which develops retrieval skills and allows the children to familiarise themselves with the text. This will include ensuring that the children develop their skills of breaking down the meaning of unknown words before text mapping the key parts of the text. These two skills will then support the children with the subsequent use of the text for both retrieval and inference-based questions.
Lesson 2: The second lesson in the approach, prioritises the teaching of the key skills in line with the National Curriculum content. This lesson is an oracy focused lesson which focuses on the children being taught how to break down the meaning of a question, finding the answer within the text through open discussions, creating answers either as a class, groups, partners or individuals and editing these answers where appropriate. This lesson prepares the learner for lesson three where they will put the skills that they have either been taught or have refined into action by creating written answers.
Lesson 3: The third lessons allows the children to prove their understanding and confidence with the key skill that has been taught. In this lesson, children will be repeating the skills that have been used previously during the week, retrieving past learning in order to tackle more independent tasks.
Reading for Pleasure
At Farsley Springbank, we place great importance on developing a love of reading beyond phonics. From the start, children are encouraged to read for pleasure and to see reading as something to be enjoyed, shared and celebrated. Our well-stocked library offers a wide range of books and inviting spaces where children from Reception to Year 6 can relax and read or be read to. The library is managed by the reading leader alongside a dedicated team of Year 6 librarians, who are always on hand to help others choose books or borrow them to take home. Weekly library sessions give children regular opportunities to explore new authors and genres, while our whole-school reading challenge motivates pupils to step outside their comfort zones and broaden their reading experiences.
Each class also has its own reading area with a carefully chosen selection of books to inspire every reader. We work closely with the School’s Library Service to ensure that our reading offer in the classroom remains fresh and engaging. Classrooms receive regular refreshes of their book collections, including boxes dedicated to individual authors to showcase the variety of their work, genre-based selections, and non-fiction boxes linked to current curriculum topics.
Weekly book club sessions provide valuable time for children and teachers to come together to recommend books to one another, explore new titles, research authors they would like to read, and discuss the characters and plots of the books they are currently enjoying. This is then supplemented by the reading journals that the children in Years 3 to 6 create. These journals allow children to record and reflect on what they have read and offer them another opportunity to share their reading and their recommendations with others.
Impact
At Farsley Springbank the impact on our children is that they have all learned to read by the time they move into secondary education and that the majority are fluent, confident and have amassed a wealth of reading experiences within their young lives.
The impact of our reading curriculum is that our children develop a repertoire of reading skills which leave them perfectly placed to tackle the next challenges of their education. These skills also go hand-in-hand with promoting a fascination in the wider world and being able to link their learning together through retrieval of key facts and making links between new knowledge and background knowledge.
The impact of our reading teaching is that our KS2 statutory data demonstrates that children leave Farsley Springbank with a significant percentage above the national standard and many working within the greater depth standard for reading.
The impact of our passion for reading is that our children leave Farsley Springbank having been immersed in story, text and verse for the whole of their primary education. These children can become life-long readers with a passion for the written word and the knowledge and skills required to make use of them.
