At Newquay Primary Academy we love reading. Listening to your child read every night and reading to them is incredibly important. Sharing this time with your child each day will make a significant difference to, not only their reading, but their success as a learner across the whole curriculum. In this section of the website, you’ll find more information about how we ensure our pupils are successful readers.

All staff are reading experts

Newquay Primary Academy staff effectively use professional development training delivered by the Kernow English Hub, RWI (Read Write Inc.) and the English subject lead to improve their knowledge and teaching of reading so that that they are teachers who read and readers who teach.

How we prioritise reading

Newquay Primary Academy is proud of its provision of a progressive reading curriculum. We recognise that reading is an essential skill therefore, reading lessons are prioritised.

Reading is at the heart of our learning at Newquay Primary Academy. After our daily Read, Write, Inc. (RWI) lessons, we incorporate reading into our curriculum time. In EYFS, this takes the form of Discover & Do time. The children navigate different challenges, often having to read to complete tasks – such as ‘What do I have to add to the magic potion?’ and ‘What is the space alien asking me?’ The children love the reading challenges as they always have a fun purpose.

This progresses to a wide variety of reading opportunities throughout Key Stage 1.

The children also vote every day for which story we will have in storytime, which is linked to their Fundamental British Values learning on democracy. We have a wealth of specially chosen texts that develop a lifelong love of stories and non-fiction texts. The children will often act out our stories afterwards using puppets, our story telling box or songs and rhymes, which helps develop excellent language skills and encourages them to use new vocabulary.

How do we check pupil progress?

Class teachers have a clear view of where all pupils are in their reading progress. In addition, all staff have high expectations for the progress that their pupils will make throughout the academic year.

Teachers closely monitor reading progress during each term, so they can support any pupil falling behind age-related expectations.

From Year 1, pupils take termly standardised tests (PIRA).

Teacher check pupils’ progress following daily reading lessons and provide extra support where needed. Some pupils receive short ‘catch-up’ intervention during the afternoons.

Helping learners to catch-up quickly

Through formative and summative assessments teachers identify when pupils are falling behind in reading and provide effective support to catch up quickly.

Provision Map software, used by Newquay Primary Academy, show specific provision for pupils who need to catch up in reading.

Promoting a love of reading

Each year group select high-quality texts that inspire pupils and introduce them to a widening range of authors. The texts are carefully chosen to ensure a wide range of ethnicity and diversity, which are used to enhance Newquay Primary Academy’s thematic curriculum as well as providing a broader cultural understanding.