Our Belief
At St Johns, we believe strongly that a child’s ability to read has a great impact upon their success and progress throughout their education and further lives. Therefore, it is one of our core aims to make every child a reader. This begins with phonics (please see the Phonics page of or Curriculum section). There, we introduce Phonics and Reading as being like a jigsaw. All pieces are necessary for a jigsaw to be complete as is the same for reading. Phonics provides the edges and the next few layers; actual reading comes next. Reading comprises of two elements which need to be taught alongside each other, the word reading element and the comprehension element. A jigsaw can be completed with pieces alone (the word-reading) but to actually understand, discuss and analyse what is happening in it requires active immersion (the comprehension).
We believe fully in not only teaching children to read, but also, developing real readers who enjoy reading can discuss themes, develop vocabulary and understanding in texts which is why, at St Johns we have developed our own, bespoke method of teaching reading. Children participate in daily, whole class guided reading on a focus text. They are introduced to that text in creative ways, are given the opportunity to listen, wonder, develop fluency, discuss themes, vocabulary and characters. They are taught to predict, summarise and justify authors choices as well as their own thoughts and opinions.
We emphasise the importance of reading, not only for academic and education benefit but for our mental well-being. We encourage reading to be enjoyable and celebrate it in various ways such as the use of our library, book clubs and theme days within the year. Reading is truly believing!
Read our Reading Policy and Progression map alongside our Phonics Policy for more information.