Reading and Phonics
At Hayes Primary School, reading is at the heart of everything we do. Our reading curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that all children learn to read fluently, understand what they read and develop a lifelong love of books.
Our approach to reading fully meets the requirements of the National Curriculum, but goes beyond this by focusing on strong foundations, clear progression and enjoyment of reading.
Early reading and phonics
Children begin learning to read from the moment they start school. In Reception and Key Stage 1, early reading is taught through daily, systematic phonics using the Read Write Inc programme. This ensures that children quickly develop the skills they need to decode words accurately and confidently.
Teaching is delivered by well-trained staff and organised in small groups so that pupils receive targeted support. Children only move on once they have securely mastered the sounds and spelling patterns taught, ensuring no gaps in learning.
Developing fluency and comprehension
As children become secure decoders, the focus of reading shifts towards fluency and understanding. From Year 2 onwards, pupils take part in structured reading lessons that explicitly teach key comprehension skills, including:
- understanding and using new vocabulary
- retrieving information from a text
- making inferences and predictions
- explaining ideas and viewpoints
- summarising what has been read
Children read a wide range of carefully chosen texts, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and plays. These texts are selected to challenge thinking, broaden knowledge and reflect a diverse range of authors, characters and experiences.
Reading for pleasure
Alongside teaching reading skills, we place a strong emphasis on developing a love of reading. Children are encouraged to read widely and often, both in school and at home. High-quality class texts, well-resourced reading areas, author visits and reading events all help to foster positive reading habits.
We believe that when children enjoy reading, they read more — and when they read more, they become stronger readers.
Supporting all readers
Our reading curriculum is inclusive and designed so that all children can succeed. Pupils who need additional support receive timely intervention, while confident readers are challenged to think deeply about texts and express their ideas clearly.
Links to writing and the wider curriculum
Reading is closely linked to writing and to learning across the wider curriculum. High-quality texts are often used as models and inspiration for writing, and reading skills are applied across subjects so that children can access and understand a wide range of information.