Reading at Gawsworth Why Change? Following our recent Ofsted inspection, which found reading to be a strength of the school, we wanted to improve the children’s experiences of reading at Gawsworth even further. So we began by asking the children what they would like to see…

“…exciting books!!!” A wide range of interesting authors By far, the overwhelming view of the children was that they wanted to read exciting books, by real authors who they had discovered - such as Michael Morpurgo, Roald Dahl, Anne Fine etc. Many of the boys wanted more “action-packed” books to interest them and to inspire them to read more.

Reading for Pleasure Encouraging children to develop a genuine love of reading. We decided to change the way we approach reading at Gawsworth. We have developed an exciting reading library for Key Stage Two children to select books from. Children have been tested to establish their current reading age and they select books from a section of the library which caters for their reading ability.

Reading for Pleasure How is the library structured? Books are banded into colours which equate to age bands like those seen in book shops such as Waterstones. Orange/Green – Early Independent Readers Orange/Purple – “ “ “ “ Orange – Reading Age 7-8 Blue – Reading Age 8-9 Yellow – Reading Age 9-10 Green – Reading Age A white sticker alongside these labels indicates a factual book within the age band.

Reading for Pleasure Choosing a book The children can select a new book when they wish to. They have a Reading Diary in lower KS2 and a Recording Sheet in upper KS2. There will be a variation of books within a given level and your child, at times, may need some support with their reading book. If a child sees a book from a different level that they are keen to read, they will be encouraged to select it. This may mean a child reading a less challenging book for enjoyment or sharing a more challenging text with their parents/grandparents, promoting further, the ethos of reading for pleasure.

Reading for Pleasure Home –School Links We have purchased a computerised system for the library similar to those seen in public libraries. Children will have their book ‘scanned’ to register that they have borrowed it from the library. This will enable staff to further monitor books being read. In the near future there will be a link on the Learning Platform for parents to access the system in order to monitor their child’s reading and to view reading books available for the children to choose from.

Teaching of Reading How will reading be taught at Gawsworth? We have purchased a structured reading scheme called ‘Project X’ which is designed to enthuse and motivate primary school readers of the twenty first century. Your child will work in a group of children, who are all reading at a similar level to themselves, on books from ‘Project X’ and they will complete various follow up tasks based on the texts read. Other reading materials will also be used to support topics being taught at a given time.

Teaching of Reading Assessment This structured approach to reading within school will allow teachers to monitor and assess progress made by the children even more effectively. This will be supplemented by other assessment materials such as reading comprehensions.