Reading and Phonics
Our vision for reading
We want every child to read with growing fluency, understanding and enjoyment. Reading gives children access to knowledge in every subject and helps them discover different experiences, voices and ideas.
What children learn
Rocket Phonics is taught from Reception through Year 2. Children learn the relationships between letters and sounds, blend for reading and develop fluency. From Year 1 upwards, we also use Reading VIPERS to guide comprehension teaching and questioning. VIPERS stands for Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval, and Sequence (in KS1) or Summarise (in KS2). Children learn to understand words, find information, make sensible inferences and explain ideas using the text. Phonics teaches children how to decode; VIPERS gives a shared language for exploring meaning. Alongside this, shared texts and class reading help children grow vocabulary, comprehension and a love of books. Year A and Year B literature choices appear in the long-term phase outlines; the change of cycle does not replace year-specific reading development.
Essential Knowledge and progression
Early readers learn to decode and recognise increasingly familiar words. As fluency develops, pupils retrieve information, make inferences, discuss meaning and explain their ideas using evidence from texts. Reading knowledge is used throughout the curriculum.
A learning journey: Children first learn a sound–letter correspondence and blend sounds to read a word such as ship. With further practice they read connected sentences accurately, then build the fluency to attend to the meaning of a whole text. Later, they explain what a character says or does, infer a feeling using clues and compare that with another passage. Vocabulary, background knowledge and opportunities to hear ambitious texts develop alongside decoding. When a child needs further decoding practice, this continues while the child also participates in rich class reading.
How we teach it
Staff teach Rocket Phonics in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 and provide practice in applying sounds to words and reading. Teachers share stories and non-fiction, model fluent reading and discuss vocabulary and meaning. From Year 1, VIPERS questions help children practise different ways of understanding a text: for example, finding a fact, explaining a word in context or using a character’s actions to infer a feeling. Details of groups, reading books and home routines should reflect the school’s current practice.
DISCERN in this subject: In reading, Dialogue retrieves a known sound, word or idea from a text. The teacher Introduces Essential Knowledge and models blending or a comprehension strategy; children practise with support, then discuss meaning together. Checks identify who needs more teaching before independent reading or a response. Next Steps revisit the sound, vocabulary or reading idea in another text.
How all children take part
Staff identify children who need more practice and adapt teaching so that pupils can access texts and take part in discussion. Children also hear rich books read aloud while their independent reading develops.
How we check learning
Teachers observe decoding and fluency, listen to children read and discuss texts with them. Assessment helps identify what each child has secured and what needs to be taught or practised next.
The school’s Marking and Feedback Policy also applies here. Evidence may be spoken, practical, digital or written: a brief observation, question, performance, product or recorded response can show the Essential Knowledge. Feedback identifies the next useful step and informs what the teacher revisits.
Beyond the classroom
Reading at home, library access, class texts and books across subjects help children make reading a part of daily life. Families can support children by sharing books and talking about what they read.
Curriculum documents and further information
