At Willingham Primary School, we believe reading is both a key to unlocking a world of knowledge and experiences across the whole curriculum and an end in itself to be treasured and enjoyed. Indeed, the ultimate aim of reading any text is to understand it so its content can be learned from and/or enjoyed. This complex process consists of several parts: 

Decoding + reading fluency + related knowledge (subject knowledge, text-specific knowledge and language / vocabulary) = comprehension. 

To this end, once pupils have progressed through their phonics instruction, our daily reading lessons focus on three main lesson types: 

• Fluency reading – focusing on modelled and repeated reading to develop pace and expression; 

• Extended reading – focusing on engaging in discussions about a text, usually a high-quality, carefully selected class novel; 

• Close reading – focusing on specific themes or authorial decisions in a text. 

We also believe that in a world of competing distractions, it is increasingly vital to foster a love of reading. We do this in several ways, including: 

• Regular refreshing of class reading materials guided by knowledgeable and passionate staff; 

• ‘Books of the Half-Term’ selected and promoted purely for pleasure; 

• Year 6 Reading Ambassadors who promote reading for pleasure across the school; 

• Celebration of reading through Word Millionaire certificates and badges; 

• A school reading blog: ‘The Willingham Book Wander’