Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.  

^{Kate DiCamillo}Intent

Intent

At Whiteoak Academies, we aim for all pupils to become fluent, confident and reflective readers who develop a lifelong love of reading. Reading is prioritised as a fundamental life skill and a gateway to learning across the curriculum. We ensure that pupils access a rich, carefully sequenced reading curriculum that builds strong foundations in phonics, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary, alongside a sustained culture of reading for pleasure.

Implementation

Early reading is taught through a systematic synthetic phonics programme using Unlocking Letters and Sounds, ensuring consistency, precision and early success in decoding. Pupils are supported to apply phonics knowledge securely in reading, enabling them to become increasingly accurate and fluent readers.

As pupils progress, reading is explicitly taught through structured approaches to fluency, extended reading and close reading, informed by the work of Christopher Such. Teachers model fluent reading, develop prosody, and teach pupils to understand and discuss increasingly complex texts with precision.

Comprehension is taught through carefully planned reading sessions that develop inference, retrieval, vocabulary and authorial intent. Pupils are supported to read widely and deeply across a range of high-quality texts.

Reading for pleasure is systematically developed through a whole-school culture informed by Teresa Cremin and supported by the Oxford University Press (OUP) reading resources. Pupils are exposed to diverse texts, engage in book talk, and are given regular opportunities to recommend, share and discuss reading, both in school and at home.

Impact

Pupils become fluent, expressive and confident readers who can understand and engage critically with a wide range of texts. They apply phonics knowledge effectively, read with increasing accuracy and prosody, and demonstrate secure comprehension skills.

By the end of their primary education, pupils read widely for both learning and pleasure. They can discuss texts with insight, explain their thinking using evidence, and show enthusiasm for reading that extends beyond the classroom.