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Reading

At Stoke St Gregory Primary School, reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We believe that being able to read fluently and with understanding opens doors to learning, wellbeing and imagination. Our approach combines systematic teaching, high-quality texts and a culture that celebrates reading, so that every child becomes a confident, motivated and thoughtful reader.

Our Approach to Teaching Reading Beyond Phonics

Once children have secured the foundations of early reading, we continue to develop their fluency, comprehension and enjoyment through a rich and carefully structured reading curriculum.

Scarborough’s Reading Rope

Alongside other primary schools in The Oak Partnership Trust, our reading curriculum is shaped by Scarborough’s Reading Rope, which illustrates how skilled reading develops through two interwoven strands:

  • Word Recognition – becoming accurate and increasingly automatic with decoding, fluency and recognition of familiar words
  • Language Comprehension – developing vocabulary, background knowledge, verbal reasoning and understanding of language structures

We deliberately teach and strengthen each strand as children move through the school, ensuring reading becomes both fluent and deeply meaningful.

Whole-Class Reading Lessons

In Key Stage 1, guided reading continues alongside phonics, helping children apply decoding within structured reading practice. In Key Stage 2, we teach reading primarily through whole-class reading lessons, enabling every pupil to access high-quality texts and rich discussion. These lessons include:

  • explicit vocabulary instruction
  • fluency practice (including choral, echo and modelled reading)
  • retrieval, inference, summarising and prediction
  • discussion and debate
  • exposure to a wide range of authors, genres and text types

This mirrors the progression set out in our Reading Progression document, which outlines how pupils develop increasingly sophisticated comprehension skills from Year 2 to Year 6.

A Broad Range of High-Quality Texts

Across the school, children encounter a diverse and ambitious range of texts, including:

  • modern fiction and classic literature
  • poetry, playscripts and picture books
  • non-fiction and reference books
  • texts representing a range of cultures, voices and perspectives

These texts are used for reading lessons, writing units, story time and cross-curricular learning. This ensures pupils read widely, experience literary heritage and see themselves—and others—reflected in what they read.

Reading Fluency

Fluency is taught and practised throughout the school using:

  • modelled reading
  • choral reading
  • echo reading
  • paired reading
  • repeated reading of short sections

Children move from reading with accurate decoding and simple expression towards reading that is effortless, smooth and expressive, allowing them to focus on meaning.

Vocabulary Development

A strong focus on vocabulary underpins our reading curriculum. Across all subjects we:

  • teach vocabulary explicitly
  • use stem sentences and language scaffolds
  • pre-teach key vocabulary for pupils who need it
  • build cumulative vocabulary knowledge into each unit of work

We maintain a strong focus on foundational language, oral composition, reading for meaning and the importance of disciplinary vocabulary across the curriculum.

Reading for Pleasure

We are committed to nurturing a genuine love of reading.

Our School Library

We are proud of our well-stocked, inviting school library, which is used regularly by all classes. Children borrow books weekly, explore new authors and enjoy spending time reading in a calm, inspiring environment.

Daily Story Time

Every class enjoys daily story time. Teachers choose high-quality texts that broaden children’s horizons, strengthen vocabulary and model fluent, expressive reading.

Reading Events and Celebrations

Children also experience:

  • author studies
  • World Book Day activities
  • paired reading across year groups
  • curated book corners in every classroom
  • reading for pleasure sessions

These experiences help children connect reading with enjoyment, curiosity and creativity.

Supporting All Readers

We ensure that every child, including those with SEND, EAL or emerging needs, can succeed in reading through:

  • immediate intervention where needed
  • targeted small-group support
  • careful text selection and scaffolding
  • ongoing fluency practice
  • close assessment of progress

Our Aim

By the time children leave Stoke St Gregory Primary School, we want them to:

  • read confidently, fluently and with understanding
  • talk about books and authors with enthusiasm
  • use reading to learn, think, imagine and connect with the world
  • choose to read for pleasure