Collingwood Primary School

Family feedback: *All staff go out of their way to make sure my child is safe and happy. Excellent care. *I feel the school goes above and beyond to support my child. Thank you. *This school is very caring to the children, and always has a lovely atmosphere. Thank you! *Both of my children are very happy at this school and I am very happy with their progress. The school has good/effective communication with parents. *My child’s older siblings went to this school when they were younger and also loved it. The teachers are fantastic. *Always been a lovely school. All of family members, including myself, went here. *Have always been happy with Collingwood staff and their teaching with all of my children. *Brilliant school – I even returned my child back here after leaving. *The teaching staff are very accommodating and cheerful. Our kids are happy and they always look forward to going to school. *

Reading

We expect every child to become a fluent reader by the time they leave Collingwood. We strive to develop a passion for reading here at Collingwood Primary School through the use of: exciting and varied reading material; engaging reading areas; taking pleasure from hearing stories; and enhancing this love through special events such as World Book Days and author visits. We incentavise engagement with reading by rewarding children for regular home reading through use of golden coins and a visit to our fabulous vending machine! Additionally, we arrange trips to reading festivals to celebrate those who have made a real effort with reading throughout the year. Each child has a Reading Record Book which parents sign to show that their child has read at home as we strongly believe in the value of regular home reading and its lasting impact.

Early reading and phonics is consistently taught through the Read Write Inc (RWI) scheme, which begins in Nursery and progresses throughout KS1 and into KS2 where appropriate. For our children who may still need phonics teaching, we also run RWInc FreshStart groups in Upper KS2. To support our children who need additional help, we run Fast Track Tutoring interventions with children requiring further phonics support. In addition to this, we run BR@P interventions and inference interventions to support targeted readers, ensuring we give all pupils the opportunity to make good progress.

Pupils progress through our reading schemes, reading both at home and at school. RWI class reading books and 'book bag books' are provided for home reading, closely linked to current phonics teaching and learning, and Oxford Reading Tree Decode and Develop books, at the appropriate level, provide supplementary reading material. Once our children progress from the RWInc scheme, they move onto Oxford Reading Tree books and choose from a selection of exciting titles within their stage as a Reading for Pleasure Book. Finally, when children are ready to read without targeted support, they move onto our 'bridging texts' and onto 'choosey books'.

Reading forms the cornerstone of the entire curriculum and whole class and small group reading sessions are very popular with our children where we link learning in English to other subjects, deepening that understanding, through carefully chosen texts. We focus on comprehension, fluency and expression in these fun sessions.

Salford Reading Assessments are also administered annually (or more often if deemed appropriate) which gives staff a reading age outcome. The YARC Reading Assessment provides more diagnostic assessment if required. Where appropriate, we also use Launchpad for Literacy to identify gaps in early learning which may be preventing our children from making the appropriate progress. This information all feeds into our assessment of reading and allows staff to provide reading interventions where necessary.

Children also use the Mobile Library which offers a lovely range of books for children to read and enjoy. Our children have access to our school library where fiction and non fiction books are available for children to use as a home reading book or support for class work. Stories are also shared in assembly times that cover a range of themes such as friendship, changes and moving on. We also enjoy Book Week every year when classes spend the week reading a special class book within a given theme e.g. diversity, literary heritage etc. We finish the week with a Show and Tell Assembly so everyone can find out what's been happening across the school. We also invite Scholastic Book Fair in so parents, carers and children have the opportunity to buy books to enjoy at home.

If you would like ideas on how to have fun with reading at home with your children, please visit this website : www.wordsforlife.org.uk which has lots of activities and recommendations for reading with babies up to children age eleven.