At Oakwood Junior School, we believe that reading is the key to unlocking learning across the curriculum and enriching children's lives beyond school. We are committed to ensuring that every child becomes a skilled, fluent and enthusiastic reader who can access the full curriculum and develop a lifelong love of reading.

We aim for all children to read with accuracy, automaticity and prosody, enabling them to comprehend increasingly complex texts and engage critically with what they read. We believe that fluent reading is not about reading quickly; it is about reading accurately, effortlessly and expressively so that cognitive energy can be devoted to understanding meaning.

Through a combination of high-quality literature, daily fluency practice, targeted support and a rich reading culture, we ensure that all children develop the knowledge, vocabulary and confidence needed to become successful readers.

The aims of our reading curriculum are to develop pupils who:

· Read fluently, accurately and with understanding.

· Develop automaticity and confidence when reading unfamiliar texts.

· Use prosody to bring meaning to their reading.

· Acquire ambitious vocabulary through wide reading.

· Read widely across a range of genres, authors and text types.

· Develop strong comprehension skills.

· Read independently for pleasure and information.

· Discuss books, authors and themes thoughtfully.

· Become lifelong readers who value the opportunities reading provides.

Our Literature Spine

Each year group studies a carefully selected collection of high-quality texts through our English curriculum. These texts form our literature spine and represent a promise to every child about the books, authors and experiences they will encounter during their time at Oakwood Junior School.

Our literature spine has been carefully designed to ensure children experience:

· A diverse range of authors, characters and perspectives.

· Heritage and contemporary literature.

· Strong female role models.

· Texts reflecting different cultures, communities and experiences.

· Social, moral and ethical themes.

· Rich literary language and ambitious vocabulary.

The literature spine acts as both a mirror and a window, allowing children to see themselves reflected in books whilst developing an understanding of lives and experiences beyond their own.

Through our literature-led English curriculum, children engage deeply with texts through reading, discussion, drama, vocabulary exploration and writing.

Daily Fluency Lessons

Alongside our English curriculum, pupils take part in a daily fifteen-minute fluency session designed to develop the key components of fluent reading: accuracy, automaticity, prosody and comprehension.

Children study one carefully selected text each week, which may include fiction, non-fiction, poetry or curriculum-based reading. Fluency lessons follow a structured sequence across the week:

Monday: Vocabulary, Context and Expert Model

Teachers introduce key vocabulary, background knowledge and challenging language before modelling expert reading. This removes barriers to understanding and prepares children for successful reading.

Tuesday: Echo Reading

Teachers model expression, intonation, phrasing and pace before children echo the reading. This explicitly teaches prosody and helps children understand how fluent reading sounds.

Wednesday: Repeated Partner Reading

Children participate in structured partner reading to develop automaticity, confidence and reading stamina. Through repeated practice, pupils become increasingly fluent and accurate readers.

Thursday: Close Reading, Text Marking and Rehearsal

Children annotate texts, identify emphasis, discuss author intent and rehearse reading aloud. This develops understanding and supports pupils to think like expert readers.

Friday: Performance, Reflection and Comprehension

Children perform their reading through partner work, group reading, choral reading or Reader's Theatre activities before reflecting on their fluency and demonstrating their understanding of the text.

This carefully sequenced approach follows the progression:

Understand → Hear It → Practise It → Refine It → Perform and Explain It

Reading Support and Inclusion

We are ambitious for every child.

All pupils access high-quality reading instruction through quality-first teaching. Additional support is provided for pupils who require further intervention, including children with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those who enter Key Stage 2 below age-related expectations.

When children join Oakwood, reading and phonics information is carefully analysed so that barriers to reading can be identified quickly and support can be put in place.

Adaptive teaching, scaffolding and targeted intervention ensure that all children can access texts, develop reading confidence and make strong progress from their starting points.

Read Write Inc and Fresh Start

For pupils who require additional phonics support, we continue to use the Read Write Inc approach.

Year 3 pupils are assessed on entry and provided with targeted support where needed. Pupils who require ongoing phonics instruction receive carefully matched teaching to secure decoding skills and reading confidence.

Older pupils who still require phonics support work through the Read Write Inc Fresh Start programme to close gaps and support successful access to the wider curriculum.

Once pupils have completed the phonics programme, they continue to develop spelling and word knowledge through carefully planned morphology and spelling instruction.

Accelerated Reader

Once children have secured the necessary decoding skills, they access our Accelerated Reader programme.

Regular STAR assessments generate a reading age and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), helping pupils select appropriately challenging books and monitor their own progress.

Our extensive school library offers a wide range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, ensuring that every child can discover books that interest and inspire them.

Accelerated Reader supports both progression and motivation, helping pupils develop independence as readers whilst encouraging enjoyment and reading for pleasure.

Reading for Pleasure

Reading for pleasure is central to our reading culture.

At Oakwood Junior School, we aim to create communities of readers where children see reading as an enjoyable, social and meaningful activity.

Our reading for pleasure approach includes:

· Daily opportunities to encounter high-quality texts.

· Teacher read-aloud sessions.

· Informal book talk and recommendations.

· Independent reading.

· Access to a rich and varied library.

· Author visits and literary events.

· Book fairs and book swaps.

· Reading competitions and celebrations.

· Opportunities to discuss books with peers and adults.

We actively encourage children to develop their own reading identities and to make choices about what they read, helping them become lifelong readers.

Assessment and Outcomes

Assessment is used to ensure all children develop as fluent, confident readers.

Teachers use ongoing formative assessment throughout fluency sessions, English lessons and independent reading activities. This includes listening to pupils read, monitoring fluency development, discussion, comprehension responses and pupil voice.

Additional assessment information is gathered through:

· Read Write Inc assessments.

· Accelerated Reader STAR tests.

· Reading ages.

· ZPD levels.

· Fluency observations.

· Termly reading assessments.

· End of Key Stage assessments.

The impact of our reading curriculum is evident through pupils who:

· Read accurately, automatically and with expression.

· Demonstrate strong comprehension skills.

· Use ambitious vocabulary confidently.

· Read widely and independently.

· Discuss books thoughtfully and critically.

· Show enthusiasm for reading.

· Apply reading skills successfully across the curriculum.

· Leave Oakwood as confident, capable and motivated readers.

Readathon

In the Autumn term, we held a Readathon to promote reading for pleasure across the school and raise money to help purchase books for children in hospital.  We took part in a whole range of activities that got us reading more and helped promote positive mental health too!  Click the link below to access our Mental Health and Wellbeing page, where you can find out more about what we did in our Readathon.

Children's Derby Picture Book Award

Oakwood Junior School has proudly participated in the Derby Book Festival this year, and the students have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the three carefully selected books. They have had fun discussing the stories, characters, and themes, sharing their thoughts with one another. The children are now excited to cast their votes for their favourite book, eagerly anticipating the results as they reflect on the enjoyable reading experience.

The Year 3 children have had a great time creating dioramas inspired by the flats in the book Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield. Using their creativity and imagination, the students carefully crafted detailed models that represent the flats from the story, bringing the book's setting to life. They also enjoyed discussing the hidden messages within the book, which sparked thoughtful conversations about its themes. Some children even felt a personal connection to the characters, finding similarities between their own experiences and the ones portrayed in the story. This hands-on project allowed them to explore the book's deeper meanings while developing their artistic skills, and they were excited to showcase their work with their classmates.

Ronneigh-Rae: “I really enjoyed making the stem of the plant and attaching it to the ceiling in my room. I also liked making the characters for it.”

Arthur: “I liked how it was really creative. If I had enough boxes I would have made it taller and done the whole block of flats!”

Erin: “I enjoyed reading and listening to all the books. Some of them were funny, especially ‘If I were prime minister’ that was my favourite!”

Eddie: “I enjoyed crafting the flats and making up my own rules as if I was prime minister, I liked writing down different ways of how to say hello in different languages to support refugee children, like in the book ‘The girl at the front of the class’. My favourite book was definitely ‘Flower Block’.