At St. Joseph's we want all of our children to grow up loving reading. We want them to be confident, engaged readers who can use their skills to access the world of work as well as to find enjoyment and relaxation.

We know that all of this is dependent upon being fully secure with the mechanics of reading and for this, we rely solely on the Read Write Inc. programme, which we are loyal to throughout EYFS and KS1 as well as into KS2 where necessary. Children are regularly assessed and monitored as they make their individual journey through the stages of RWInc. and their school-based learning is supported by taking home RWInc. books to read and share with their families.

When the children are ready to leave the RWInc. programme they progress to RWInc. comprehension, which supports them with acquiring skills that go beyond fluency and word recognition. Where a little extra support is required, we use RWInc. intervention programmes to give a necessary boost and move the children forwards.

In KS2, our children have reading books from the Oxford Treetops KS2 Scheme and these are tailored to their specific reading level. They are also, of course, encouraged to read their own books at home and at school. Additionally, the children use the Reading Plus programme, which is an individually-tailored web-based resource that facilitates progress in reading fluency and speed; reading comprehension skills; vocabulary extension and engagement with reading. The children move up through the levels, collecting awards, and complete their set assignments during multiple sessions each week. Progress has been rapid with Reading Plus and we are seeing significant impact across both reading and vocabulary development.

"I can do everything as it comes along. It gets harder as you get better so it’s at the right level for me. On the reading tasks, it lets you re-read things if you need to and on the vocabulary tasks you can get hints so that helps you if you are confused. They help a lot." (Year 4 Pupil)

"At the start of Reading Plus, it asks you questions about whether you like to read and if you say no, it does lots to help you like reading – it shows you lots of videos to explain how important reading is. It gives you questions that get harder as you get better at reading so it supports me like that too." (Year 4 Pupil)

"I’ve learned all about football players and about nature. I’ve learnt that you can read faster or slower at different times and that helps you understand." (Year 5 Pupil)

"I've learnt a lot of new words like tardiness and riotous! And peninsula. I know what those words mean now and I’ll try and use them in my writing." (Year 6 Pupil)

Reading is fun as well as functional and we make sure that our children have lots of opportunities to fall in love with books and with reading. Each week, one of our classes spends the morning at the local library -  where every child has an account - and pupils have the opportunity to return and choose books as well as to sit quietly alongside their friends and teachers and read. Our school library provides the children with opportunities to select from a wide range of high-quality texts.

Teachers read aloud to the children every day and classes enjoy 'Reading Together Time' sessions at least twice a week, where carefully chosen texts are shared and talked about. We make sure that we cover a wide range of high-quality texts throughout the school year, to include archaic texts, non-linear narratives, poetry, etc. 

We celebrate World Book Day as well as National Poetry Day and hold books fayres and second-hand books sales in school. It is our hope and intention that all of our children learn to see reading as something that is for them; something that will open endless doors and windows throughout their lives and bring them success, contentment and happiness.