Our Vision

Reading is the gateway to all learning. We aim to develop fluent, confident readers who think deeply about texts, communicate their ideas, and develop a lifelong love of reading.

Reading sits at the heart of everything we do at ROTJS. Our approach combines explicit fluency teaching, close reading of high-quality texts, vocabulary development, comprehension teaching, and — crucially — reading for pleasure.

How We Teach Reading in School

Whole-class reading is taught through a consistent weekly cycle. Each week, children read and revisit the same high-quality text across five days — building familiarity with vocabulary, structure and meaning, and moving beyond decoding towards deeper understanding.

Across the week, the cycle moves through text marking (exploring phrasing, punctuation and expression), fluency and vocabulary work (building accuracy, automaticity and word knowledge), Reading Theatre (developing expression, prosody and confidence through performance), a focused VIPERS comprehension skill, and finally comprehension questions where children apply their skills independently.

VIPERS is our approach to comprehension: Vocabulary (understanding word meaning), Inference (reading between the lines), Prediction (using evidence to anticipate), Explain (explaining author choices), Retrieval (finding information in the text), and Summarise/Sequence (organising key information).

Children also return to texts multiple times to deepen understanding, and reading fluency is developed across every subject.

Reading for Pleasure

Reading for pleasure sits at the heart of our reading curriculum, and we see ourselves first and foremost as reading teachers. We know that a teacher with a rich, current knowledge of children's books is far better placed to recommend the right book to the right child. We firmly believe there is no such thing as a reluctant reader — only a child who hasn't yet found the right book. Our shared mission is to make sure every child finds theirs. Sometimes it only takes one book to hook a reader for life.

To give our children the richest possible reading diet, our reading subject leader works alongside our librarians and teaching staff to choose the texts that line our shelves. Our teachers' deep knowledge of quality children's literature ensures our library and classroom book corners are filled with the very best books, and children can also recommend books they'd like to see added to the library.

This ethos runs through every part of school life. Every class has protected daily reading time, and a class reader shared aloud, building a community of readers. The children design and care for our reading corners, and our Scholastic Book Fair raises money to restock them. Pupil recommendations help children discover new books, and regular library visits keep our stock fresh and representative. We celebrate reading together through World Book Day, virtual author visits and our monthly newsletter, The Radcliffe Reader. Every member of staff shares their own reading life and recommends books to children, modelling the joy of reading.

Early Reading Support

Every child in Year 3 or above who cannot read at age-related expectations receives immediate, targeted support. Reading fluency is the gateway to the entire curriculum — without it, children cannot fully access learning.

We use Little Wandle Rapid Catch-up for children who are not yet secure in their phonics knowledge. It mirrors the main phonics structure but moves at a faster pace, designed to help older children close the gap quickly. Any child reading below the expected standard is assessed immediately and receives small group or individual sessions that are fast-paced and engaging, with vocabulary built into every session so children not only decode words but understand them. Our goal is for every child to read with sufficient fluency and accuracy to fully access the curriculum and build confidence for secondary school.

Reading at Home

Your child should read at home at least four times every week. This can include any text—a book, magazine, newspaper, leaflet, or even an e-book. Please record the date and text title each time your child reads in their reading diary. You can add a comment or simply initial to confirm they have read (children can do this, too!). Teachers check diaries weekly and count home reads signed by an adult. Children who reach four home reads earn a sticker on the reading chart. If your child isn't reading regularly at home, their teacher will contact you to offer support.

Please send your child's reading book and diary to school every day. This lets us record when they have read with an adult or in a guided group.

Choosing the Right Book: Accelerated Reader

We use Accelerated Reader (AR) to help your child choose books at the right level. After a short quiz, AR gives your child a ZPD range (for example, 3.2–4.5). Books within this range challenge them appropriately without causing frustration. Your child should choose books within their ZPD range for independent reading, and after finishing a book, they take a short quiz in school to check understanding. Quiz results help teachers track progress and set targets. If you're unsure about your child's ZPD range or how to find AR books, please ask their class teacher.

Reading Aloud at Home

We know home life is busy, and older children can be reluctant to read aloud. But hearing your child read — even just a page while you're cooking or washing up — makes a big difference. Fluency, expression, and intonation are skills all readers need to keep practising.

Three Ways to Read Together

Sometimes a book is too hard for your child to read alone — this is a good opportunity for you to read it to them, modelling fluent, expressive reading and showing that reading is enjoyable. If they can read some parts but not all, you can read with them, taking turns, reading tricky parts, or pausing for them to finish sentences. And if they can read it independently, they can read it by themselves — a chance for you to celebrate their achievement and talk about the book together.

Some questions to spark book talk: What happened in the story? Where could we find out more about that? What did you learn? Why do you think that character did that? Why did the author choose that title? How did the pictures help tell the story?