Intent

At Sunnyside Primary Academy, reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We believe that reading enables children to understand themselves, connect with their community and explore the wider world. Through reading, pupils encounter new ideas, build empathy and acquire the vocabulary and knowledge needed to access all learning confidently.

Our curriculum provides a rich, blended reading diet that includes:

• whole‑class reader sessions based on high‑quality class novels
• fiction, non-fiction and poetry
• decodable books matched to pupils’ phonics stages
• independent reading opportunities
• daily teacher read‑aloud sessions
• Cracking Comprehension to strengthen comprehension skills

This balanced and deliberate mix develops children who are fluent, reflective and enthusiastic readers.

We aim to nurture a lifelong love of reading, encouraging pupils to read widely, think deeply and discuss texts with curiosity and confidence.

Striving for Excellence

Learning to read is one of the most important skills a child will ever learn, as it opens the door to all learning. We therefore prioritise reading and work tirelessly to ensure that every pupil becomes a confident, fluent reader as early as possible. Alongside skill development, we place equal value on promoting enjoyment, ensuring children read for pleasure as well as for purpose.

Reading at Home

Regular reading at home is vital. It develops fluency, stamina and enjoyment, and strengthens pupils’ motivation to read independently. We work closely with families to encourage daily reading and celebrate each child’s progress as a developing reader.

Developing Vocabulary

A wide vocabulary underpins comprehension and communication. Children explore ambitious vocabulary through high‑quality texts, including stories, poetry and non-fiction. Teachers explicitly teach new words, display key vocabulary and encourage children to apply and revisit vocabulary across the curriculum.

Building Community

Parents and carers play a crucial role in nurturing confident readers. We build strong home–school partnerships by offering guidance, clear expectations and opportunities for families to support reading at home. Together, we ensure every child experiences consistency, structure and encouragement in their reading journey.

Expanding Cultural Experiences

Our reading curriculum includes diverse authors, characters and settings to ensure all children see themselves represented while also learning about the lives and perspectives of others. This develops respect, empathy and an appreciation for the wider world.

Implementation

Early Reading and Phonics

Phonics is taught daily from Reception using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. This structured programme enables children to build secure decoding skills step by step. Pupils take home books matched precisely to their phonics stage to support success and build fluency.

Alongside phonics, children enjoy a wide range of texts, including poetry, non‑fiction and picture books, to enrich language, knowledge and enjoyment.

Reading Fluency

Every reading lesson incorporates echo reading, choral reading and paired reading. These oral reading routines provide regular opportunities to read aloud, practise expression, pace and intonation, and build confidence. Repeated reading strengthens fluency and helps pupils approach more challenging texts independently.

Whole-Class Reading Lessons

Whole‑class reading lessons allow all pupils to access high‑quality texts and rich discussion. Lessons include:

• explicit vocabulary instruction
• structured fluency practice
• retrieval, inference and explanation activities
• exploration of characters, themes and authorial choices
• guided and independent comprehension tasks

Children who are accessing phonics also answer comprehension questions based on the fully decodable books they are reading, ensuring tasks are precisely matched to their phonics stage.
This ensures that early readers build both decoding skills and early comprehension simultaneously.

Cracking Comprehension

To develop formal comprehension skills, pupils regularly use Cracking Comprehension. This supports:

• retrieval
• inference
• explanation
• vocabulary understanding
• summarising

The programme helps children respond confidently to increasingly complex comprehension questions.

Accelerated Reader

From KS2 (and fluent Year 2 readers in the summer term), pupils use Accelerated Reader. Star Reader assessments generate personalised ZPD ranges, helping children select appropriately challenging books. Quizzes allow pupils to demonstrate understanding, and staff use this information to provide targeted support and challenge.

Impact

Through systematic phonics teaching, our aim is for all pupils to become fluent decoders by the end of Key Stage 1. As pupils move through the school, our blended reading curriculum helps them develop secure fluency, strong comprehension and confidence in accessing a wide range of texts.

Reading attainment is monitored through:

• statutory assessments (EYFS, KS1, KS2)
• Year 1 Phonics Screening Check
• half‑termly phonics assessments
• NFER reading assessments
• independent comprehension tasks completed every three weeks
• Accelerated Reader quiz data
• ongoing teacher assessment

However, the impact of our curriculum extends far beyond assessment data. Our intention is for every child to find joy in reading, to explore new worlds through books and to see themselves and others represented in the texts they encounter. Reading is the golden thread running through every child’s experience at Sunnyside Primary Academy. When pupils leave us, they will possess the skills, confidence and passion needed to flourish as readers for life.