⭐ “Pupils work with focus and independence and show exemplary behaviour and pride in their work.” — Catholic Schools Inspectorate June 2025
At St. Ignatius, we believe that learning to read is one of the most important skills a child will ever develop. Reading opens the door to the whole curriculum and helps children become confident, curious and independent learners.
Our aim is simple: every child becomes a fluent, confident reader who enjoys books.
We use a carefully structured approach to reading that combines phonics, fluency, comprehension and a love of reading so that all children can succeed.
“Everyone is a reader… some just haven’t found their favourite book yet.”
Top 100 Books to Read BEFORE Leaving Primary School!
Our Reading Curriculum Intent
At St. Ignatius, we believe that reading is the gateway to learning. Our reading curriculum is designed to ensure that every child becomes a fluent, confident and enthusiastic reader.
We aim to:
ensure all children learn to read quickly and securely through systematic phonics
develop fluent readers who can read with accuracy, expression and understanding
expose children to a wide range of high-quality and diverse texts
build strong vocabulary and language development
foster a lifelong love of reading
We believe that reading should be accessible to all, and we are committed to ensuring that every child receives the support they need to succeed.
How Reading Progresses Through School
Early Years
Children begin their reading journey with phonics, learning the sounds that letters make and how to blend them together to read words. They read fully decodable books matched to the sounds they know, building early confidence and success.
Key Stage 1
Children continue to develop their phonics knowledge, fluency and understanding through structured reading sessions and regular opportunities to practise reading aloud.
Key Stage 2
As children become more secure readers, teaching focuses on developing fluency, vocabulary and deeper comprehension. Pupils read a wide range of texts and learn strategies to help them understand, interpret and analyse what they read.
Throughout school, we ensure pupils revisit and practise reading regularly so they become confident, expressive readers who understand what they read.
Early Reading (EYFS and Year 1)
Children begin their reading journey with systematic synthetic phonics, following the Floppy’s Phonics programme.
Phonics teaches children how letters represent sounds and how these sounds blend together to make words. This gives children the tools they need to read unfamiliar words and develop confidence.
Through phonics teaching, children learn to:
recognise the sounds that letters make
blend sounds together to read words
segment words into sounds to help with spelling
read simple texts with increasing confidence and fluency
Phonics is taught four times a week, with an additional weekly session to revisit and practise previously taught sounds and tricky words. Lessons are engaging, structured and include opportunities for children to practise reading, writing and speaking.
Children read fully decodable books that match the sounds they have been taught so that they can practise and succeed as readers. This builds both confidence and enjoyment in reading from the very beginning.
For more information on early reading, please see the phonics and early reading page.
Reading from Year 2 to Year 6
As children become secure readers, our focus shifts towards developing fluency, understanding and deeper thinking about texts.
Children take part in three whole-class reading sessions each week where they read carefully selected texts together. These sessions help pupils develop:
fluency – reading accurately, smoothly and with expression
vocabulary – understanding new and challenging words
comprehension – understanding, discussing and analysing texts
We teach reading through a structured approach where teachers model how skilled readers think. Lessons follow a gradual release model:
I do → We do → You do
This means teachers demonstrate strategies first, then practise together with the class before pupils apply them independently.
Children read texts multiple times to build fluency and confidence, often using strategies such as:
choral reading
echo reading
partner reading
performance reading
This repeated reading helps pupils develop accuracy, expression and understanding, enabling them to access increasingly complex texts.
Supporting Every Child to Succeed
We carefully monitor children’s reading progress to ensure that every pupil receives the support they need.
Teachers regularly assess reading using:
teacher assessment
reading fluency measures (words per minute)
reading age assessments where appropriate
Children who need additional support receive targeted reading practice, additional teaching and close monitoring to help them keep up and catch up quickly.
Our approach ensures that all pupils, including those with SEND or who find reading more challenging, are supported to make strong progress.
Developing a Love of Reading
Alongside the teaching of reading skills, we work hard to build a rich reading culture across the school.
Children enjoy:
class reading time
high-quality texts across the curriculum
opportunities to discuss books and share recommendations
celebrating reading achievements
We believe that reading should be enjoyable, inspiring and meaningful, helping children discover stories, ideas and knowledge that stay with them for life.
Reading at Home
Reading at home plays a vital role in developing confident readers. We encourage families to:
read with their child regularly
talk about books together
visit libraries and explore different types of texts
celebrate progress and enjoyment in reading
Working together, we can ensure every child becomes a lifelong reader.