St Ambrose Catholic Primary

Our School Our Curriculum

Our Intent:

At St Ambrose Catholic Primary School reading is a top priority and is a key driver for our curriculum. Therefore we have a Reading leadership team comprised of the English Lead, Head of School and Executive Principal.

We value reading as a key life skill and are dedicated to enabling our children to be life-long readers.

We want all our children to gain the skills needed to read with fluency and confidence to become avid readers – reading for pleasure and information.

Children will acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading.

Our Implementation:

The development of literacy skills across the curriculum will be implemented according to the following guidelines:

Teachers are expected to uphold high standards and deliver lessons of high-quality using effective and up-to-date teaching methods and tasks. Teachers are expected to impart knowledge accurately and with enthusiasm to generate high levels of commitment from children.
Teachers plan exciting lessons following a clear learning journey (sequence of lessons)
Pupils lacking basic literacy skills will be identified, and the special educational needs coordinator SENCO and English lead will advise teaching staff on supporting pupils with reading and writing difficulties.
All assessment and testing will take place according to the school’s Assessment Policy.
Teaching, interventions and revision programmes are adjusted in the light of progress children make.
Enrichment opportunities are provided for children to encourage children to have an appreciation of and discuss a wide variety of books, authors and illustrators e.g. World Book Day, National Poetry Day.
Classrooms will have learning walls and will be vocabulary rich to ensure children’s learning and language development. The learning environment will support and inspire all pupils to succeed.
Each classroom will have a reading corner where children are encouraged to read for pleasure and each child will have access to a fully stocked library where they can log out books to take them home.
Children in Key Stage Two where appropriate will continue to read levelled Oxford Reading Tree banded non-fiction and fiction books to ensure that each child continues to get a varied and appropriately challenging reading diet. Each level introduces new things and practises the skills and knowledge learned in the previous levels with age appropriate content. This will be supplemented with books they want to read from home and our school library.
Regular book trawls and learning walks will indicate that at least good progress is seen across the school and regular shared feedback is given to teaching staff on best practice.
We recognise that reading is fundamental to the writing process. From blending phonics to building words and sentences, to using a text as an inspiration for structure, theme and atmosphere, reading forms the essential starting point of any child’s writing journey.

Impact:

Children embed knowledge and use it fluently. Children know the goal, the end point for their learning and how the knowledge and skills taught in each lesson will help them get there on their learning journey. More Able learners are able to showcase this knowledge and skills to a deeper level.

All children are given the opportunities and knowledge to succeed in life.

Children are able to confidently read to an age-appropriate level and with fluency in line (at least) with their peers nationally. As a result, they can therefore access all subjects across the curriculum with confidence and enjoyment.

Children’s vocabulary is improved across the school and is extensive by the end of Year 6. This is seen in class discussions, understanding of passages in texts and in written pieces of writing.

Pupil voice indicates that children enjoy reading and they want to read a wide variety of books. Children use our school library frequently and take part in reading enrichment activities such as World Book Day.

Book Trawls, Lessons observations and learning walks indicate that all children are taught a broad and rich curriculum.

In This Section:

In Phonics, St Ambrose follow the Read Write Inc Phonics programme by Ruth Miskin. This programme is a method of teaching reading which is centred around learning the sounds of the letters (phonics), and then blending them together to read words. Following this method of teaching also provides children with the opportunity to learn to break down words into individual sounds in order to write them.
Using Read Write Inc the children learn to read effortlessly so that they can put all their energy into understanding what they read.
When using 'Read Write Inc' to read the children will:
Learn 44 sounds and the corresponding letter/letter groups using simple picture prompts.
Learn to read words by blending the sounds together
Read lively stories featuring words they have learnt to sound out
Show that they understand the stories by answering 'Find It' and 'Prove it' discussion questions.

'They will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.'

Timothy 4: 4

Research Review Series English

'More than any other subject, English – and especially reading – gives pupils access to the rest of the curriculum and is fundamental to their educational success.'

KS1 Reading Domains:

1a - Vocabulary

1b - Retrieval

1c - Sequencing

1d - Inference

1e – Prediction

KS2 Reading Domains:

2a - Word Meaning (Vocabulary)

2b - Retrieval

2c - Summarising and Sequencing

2d - Inference

2e - Prediction

2f - Whole Meaning (Explain)

2g - Word Choice (Explain)

2h – Comparison (Explain

A typical whole class reading lesson

1 Get ready:

Discuss the key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities.

2 First Steps:

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the questions.

3 Explore:

Model appropriate pace, fluency and expression. In KS2, this could be one or two paragraphs then pupils read the remainder of the text individually. Pupils underline or circle words they do not understand the meaning of. These word meanings could then be discussed as a class and/or pupils could use a dictionary to clarify their meaning and create a glossary.

4 Skills Focus: Modelling:

Model the skill. E.g. modelling retrieval using the modelling slides.

5 Comprehension questions: Pupils to complete the questions and the mix up questions.

Year 1 Reading Skills

Year 2 Reading Skills

Year 3 Reading Skills

Year 4 Reading Skills

Year 5 Reading Skills

Year 6 Reading Skills

Reading for Pleasure

Using our 'Kiva'-Outdoor reading den
Reading in our Library.
Reading in Class.

What our school community say about Reading

"I don't just like reading, I love it."

"Reading takes you to new places."

"Books are better than films because they give more details and you can imagine more."

"We have loved the library sessions, please can we have more." (Parent)

"Thank you for the reading workshop, it was very informative. The handouts will be useful." (Parent)

"It was lovely to get to see the classroom. It was good to learn what they are doing in reading in school so I can replicate it at home." (Parent)

Reception Pupil: I love saying 'good morning' to Fred the Frog and speaking in 'fred talk'.

Year 1 Pupil: I love looking at the speed sound chart and seeing all the different sounds.

Year 2 Pupil: I like reading my phonics book with my partner and building up fluency the more times we do it.

Reading at St Ambrose

At St Ambrose we use fully decodable resources to establish confident readers in Key Stage 1. The books provide our children with a rich and varied choice of writing styles, genres and artwork styles to enjoy.

We use the Read Write Inc book bag books designed to support the teaching of reading in class and to ensure that when a child takes a book home they can read it successfully, build confidence and make progress.

In Key Stage 2 children read levelled Oxford Reading Tree banded non-fiction and fiction books to ensure that each child continues to get a varied and appropriately challenging reading diet. Each level introduces new things and practises the skills and knowledge learned in the previous levels with age appropriate content.

Boom reader is a digital reading record used by teachers, parents and pupils to log reading.

Go contactless! Boom reader removes the need for paper copies of reading records. No more back and forward, and no more lost record books!

Children can also add home books to their 'Boom reader' account. We would love to see what books your child is interested in reading at home.

Please watch the following videos to see how you can help you child read at home.

TURN ON THE SUBTITLES!

Double the chances of your child being a good reader!

Our Library

At St Ambrose we understand the importance of developing a love of reading across the school because we are fully aware that the more children read, the more knowledge they absorb, and knowledge is important in all aspects of life.

To support a love of reading, we have a vibrant library full of exciting new books that children are encouraged to loan out and are they helped to choose books by our Key Stage Two librarians.

In Key Stage Two, each classroom also has their own mini library of reading books that children are welcome to choose to read alongside the reading scheme books and they are also encouraged to read a range of material outside of school e.g. newspapers and comics.

What our community says about reading at St Ambrose...

"I don't just like reading, I love it." (Reception)

"Reading takes you to new places." (Year Four)

"Books are better than films because they give more details and you can imagine more." (Year Six)

"We have loved the library sessions, please can we have more." (Parent)

"Thank you for the reading workshop, it was very informative. The handouts will be useful." (Parent)

"It was lovely to get to see the classroom. It was good to learn what they are doing in reading in school so I can replicate it at home." (Parent)

Library Events

"I don't just like reading, I love it." (Reception)

"Reading takes you to new places." (Year Four)

"Books are better than films because they give more details and you can imagine more." (Year Six)

"We have loved the library sessions, please can we have more." (Parent)

"Thank you for the reading workshop, it was very informative. The handouts will be useful." (Parent)

"It was lovely to get to see the classroom. It was good to learn what they are doing in reading in school so I can replicate it at home." (Parent)

Year 5 pupils launched a lunchtime book club for Key Stage One children and introduced it in an assembly.

National Poetry Day

2025-Theme of Play

2024-Theme of Refuge.

All classes recited a poem to celebrate National Poetry Day. This years theme was 'Refuge' and throughout the assembly children respectfully listened to each year group. All children were clear in voice and worked brilliantly in year group teams to perform either a poem they had learnt or had written. Well done everyone. Please see below for the list of poems that were performed.

Reception	Year One	Year Two	Year Three	Year Four	Year Six	Year Six
On the Move again by Michael Rosen	My Treasures by Kate Wakeling	We are Six by AA Milne	On the Move again by Michael Rosen#	Acrostic poems of the word Refuge	Own poems on Refuge	Refugees by Brian Bilston

The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Dr Seuss