Reading

At St Peter’s, our approach to reading is shaped by the aims of the Reading Framework: to ensure every child becomes a fluent, accurate reader who can access the full curriculum, develop a rich vocabulary, and experience the joy of reading for pleasure. We prioritise strong early teaching of phonics, followed by a carefully planned progression of reading skills throughout the school. As pupils grow, they build automaticity, deepen their comprehension, and learn to read with increasing confidence, independence, and critical awareness.

Intent

'Reading is at the heart of St Peter’s curriculum and we strive to develop a child’s love of reading both at school and home. Our aim is for all children to read for pleasure and be competent at decoding using strong phoneme and grapheme awareness and have reflective and secure comprehension skills.  Inspiring children to become absorbed by a wide range of rich quality reading material is perhaps the greatest gift any adult can pass on and is essential in developing children who become lifelong readers. 
The pleasure of being read to, being able to read and enjoy reading will allow our pupils to thrive.  We intend that all our children leave us holding an intrinsic love of reading which will equip them academically and socially, with a greater understanding of people and the world around them, and importantly with self-confidence, self-esteem and the emotional vocabulary to express themselves throughout their educational and working lives.'

Implementation

At St Peter’s, reading is the foundation of all learning. We begin our journey with Read Write Inc. Phonics and daily story time in Reception and Key Stage 1, giving children the strong decoding skills and love of stories they need to thrive. Some pupils in Key Stage 2 continue to access phonics groups and targeted support to ensure every child secures essential reading skills.

As pupils move beyond phonics, they take part in whole‑class guided reading, exploring high‑quality fiction, non‑fiction and poetry. Using VIPERS, they develop vocabulary, comprehension and critical thinking. Reading fluency is strengthened through modelled, echo and choral reading, alongside regular opportunities to read with adults, peers and trained volunteers in a supportive environment.

Our use of Accelerated Reader further motivates pupils by helping them choose books that match their interests and reading level. It celebrates progress, encourages reading at home and school, and supports pupils to develop fluency, comprehension and a genuine love of reading.