We recognise that secure early reading is fundamental to children's future success.

Children at Forest View are taught phonics systematically through Read Write Inc. (RWI). Daily phonics teaching helps children learn the sounds that letters and groups of letters represent and teaches them how to blend these sounds together to read words accurately.

Children begin by learning the initial sounds and progressively build their phonic knowledge, learning more complex sounds and alternative ways of representing them. Alongside decoding, children develop their fluency, vocabulary and understanding so that they increasingly move from learning to read to reading to learn.

Children's progress is checked regularly so that teaching can respond quickly to their needs. Children who require additional practice receive appropriate support to help them keep up and make progress.

Where older children continue to require support with their phonic knowledge and reading fluency, additional teaching is provided, including Read Write Inc. Fresh Start where appropriate.

Our aim is simple: we want every child to become a successful reader as quickly as possible.

Books that match children's reading

When children are developing their phonic knowledge, the books they read are carefully matched to the sounds they have been taught.

This gives children opportunities to practise their learning, develop accuracy and experience success. Familiar texts are revisited so that children can increasingly read them with fluency, expression and understanding, rather than simply decoding individual words.

Reading at home is an important part of this process. We encourage families to share children's books regularly and talk about what they have read. Questions and discussion help children develop their understanding alongside their fluency.

As children become secure and increasingly independent readers, they progress to a wider range of appropriately challenging books and texts.

Becoming fluent and thoughtful readers

Learning to decode is only the beginning of becoming a reader.

As children progress through Forest View, we teach them to read increasingly complex texts with fluency, understanding and confidence. Children learn to discuss what they have read, explain their ideas, make connections, explore vocabulary, retrieve information and use evidence from a text to support their thinking.

In Key Stage 2, children regularly experience dedicated reading sessions using a rich range of material. This can include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, songs, advertisements and other texts, enabling children to encounter different forms of language and explore how meaning is communicated.

Reading also extends throughout the curriculum. Children use texts to develop their understanding in subjects such as history, geography and science, while the vocabulary and ideas encountered through reading contribute directly to the quality of children's speaking and writing.

Learning to read: our approach to phonics

Reading for pleasure

We don't just want Forest View children to be able to read.

We want them to want to read.

Children are introduced to a broad and exciting range of authors, stories, poetry and non-fiction throughout their time with us. Staff regularly read aloud to children so that every child experiences the enjoyment of sharing an excellent book, including books that may currently be beyond their own independent reading ability.

Our class readers are deliberately chosen to excite, challenge and inspire children.

At the beginning of each term, classes discover their new class book through one of our Forest View traditions. The book is wrapped in layers and children play pass the parcel, discovering clues to its identity as each layer is removed. The class reader is then shared regularly by adults throughout the term.

Children also have regular opportunities to explore libraries and select books for themselves. Our links with the local library help children recognise that reading is not something that belongs only in the classroom, but something that can become a lifelong source of enjoyment, discovery and learning.

We celebrate reading in many different ways, including author visits and other reading activities and events throughout the year.

Reading beyond children's immediate experience

Our reading provision supports one of the wider ambitions of the Forest View curriculum: to ensure children are proud of where they come from and confident about where they can go.

The books and texts children encounter provide important opportunities to broaden their horizons. We deliberately expose children to a wide range of authors, characters, cultures, communities, experiences and viewpoints, helping them understand both their own lives and lives that may be very different from theirs.

For children growing up in our Forest of Dean community, books can take them to places they have never visited, introduce them to people they might never otherwise encounter and allow them to explore ideas and experiences beyond their immediate surroundings.

Alongside books, experiences such as library visits, visiting authors, storytellers and poets, theatre experiences, drama and writing activities help bring language and literature to life.

We want every child's world to become bigger through reading.

Reading for every child

Our ambition applies to every child, regardless of their starting point, background or additional needs.

Teachers carefully monitor children's reading development so that children who need additional help can be identified quickly. Teaching is adapted and targeted support provided where necessary, which may include additional phonics teaching, pre-teaching of vocabulary, targeted reading intervention, additional opportunities to read with an adult, visual support or small-group and individual teaching.

Support is matched to children's individual needs and its impact is reviewed so that teaching can be adapted as children progress.

Children with SEND, children who speak English as an additional language and children experiencing disadvantage are supported to access ambitious reading experiences alongside their peers.

Equally, children who demonstrate particular strength in reading are provided with opportunities to encounter increasingly challenging texts, deepen their understanding and extend their thinking.

A child's starting point should never place a limit on what we believe they can achieve as a reader.

The importance of language and vocabulary

Reading is closely connected to children's wider development of language.

Throughout the curriculum, we explicitly develop children's vocabulary and provide opportunities for them to listen, discuss, question, explain and rehearse their ideas.

High-quality texts introduce children to vocabulary and language structures they may not routinely encounter in everyday conversation. Through discussion and careful teaching, children learn to understand and increasingly use this language themselves.

This is particularly important for children with speech and language needs and those learning English as an additional language, but a rich vocabulary benefits every child.

Developing children's ability to communicate confidently helps them become stronger readers and writers and enables them to access learning successfully across the whole curriculum.

Working with families

We recognise the important role families play in developing successful readers.

We encourage children to read and be read to at home regularly. Sharing books provides an opportunity not only to practise reading but also to talk together about characters, events, vocabulary, ideas and opinions.

Children don't always have to do the reading themselves. Hearing an adult read a story, sharing a library book or talking about something you have read together all contribute to developing positive attitudes towards reading.

We want reading at home to be a positive shared experience, rather than simply a task that children must complete.

If a parent or carer has concerns about their child's reading, we encourage them to speak to their child's teacher so that we can work together to provide appropriate support.

• The school expects all children to read from their own books and to be read to each day while in school.

• Reading is built in as part of all curriculum lessons.

• During English units children read and learn a text.
• Children are also expected to read and be read to at home with children being rewarded for doing this through a class raffle where a book can be won each term.
• Children in EYFS and KS1 take part in group reading sessions daily. In this session, two groups of children are listened to reading by an adult in class whilst the remainder of the class read for pleasure or complete reading based activities.
• Children in KS2 take part in a separate whole class 20 to 30 minute whole class reading session 3 times each week. In this session a challenging text, song, poem or other text/advert will be shared and analysed in depth with the class.
• Children will be taught how to read and interpret the text, focus on and learn new vocabulary and will have to answer a range of inference and deduction questions based on the content that will range in difficulty appropriate to their age.
• Children in KS2 take part in a 20 to 30 minute reading session 2 times each week. In this session children read their books and staff will listen to them read (this often takes place in the library).
• All EYFS children are signed up to town library.
• All children will have a library session once a week and they visit the town library.
• We have author visits at least once a year.
• Children show evidence of implementing learning from reading lessons in their writing lessons.

• We continually evaluate children's reading development through their everyday learning, regular assessment and conversations about books and reading.

  Success means much more to us than assessment outcomes alone.

  We want to see children who:

• develop secure phonic knowledge and become increasingly accurate and fluent readers;
• understand and discuss increasingly challenging texts;
• develop a rich and growing vocabulary;

• Ultimately, we want every child to leave Forest View understanding that reading can teach them something, take them somewhere, introduce them to someone or simply give them enormous enjoyment.

  We want every Forest Venturer to leave us as a reader.

• confidently use reading to access learning across the curriculum;
• talk enthusiastically about books, authors and what they have read;
• read widely and encounter different genres, cultures, communities and viewpoints;
• choose to read independently and for pleasure;
• receive effective support when they find reading difficult; and
• leave Forest View with the reading knowledge, fluency, confidence and enthusiasm they need for secondary school and beyond.

English supports all pupils to be successful by ensuring that reading, writing, speaking and listening are taught in a clear, progressive and inclusive way, allowing all children to access age-appropriate learning. This starts with securing strong foundations right from the beginning, including the development of fine motor skills, correct handwriting and secure letter formation, so that pupils are physically and cognitively ready to express their ideas effectively in writing. High-quality books and model texts, strong modelling and carefully structured lessons enable pupils to build vocabulary, comprehension and writing stamina over time. Teaching is adapted to meet a wide range of needs through scaffolding and flexible grouping, ensuring that pupils develop confidence and independence as readers and writers. A strong emphasis on oracy further supports access to learning, particularly for pupils with speech, language or EAL needs, allowing them to rehearse ideas and deepen understanding before moving on to written outcomes.

For pupils who are at risk of falling behind, timely and targeted support is put in place to close gaps and prevent learning from becoming a barrier. This includes structured phonics teaching and catch-up programmes, pre-teaching, targeted reading interventions, small-group or 1:1 support and additional opportunities for reading with adults. Intervention programmes are carefully matched to need and regularly monitored for impact, drawing on assessment information to ensure support remains purposeful. A wide range of resources—such as decodable reading books, visual supports, pre-teaching of vocabulary and assistive strategies—help ensure that all pupils, including those with SEND or in receipt of pupil premium funding, can engage fully with English learning and make strong progress alongside their peers.

English teaching goes beyond the national curriculum by creating rich, meaningful experiences that inspire pupils to see reading, writing and speaking as purposeful and enjoyable parts of everyday life, rather than isolated classroom skills. Pupils are immersed in high-quality texts, drama, debate and creative writing opportunities that encourage curiosity, empathy and imagination. Themed/hook days, book studies, book weeks and performance opportunities allow pupils to engage with language in active, memorable ways, helping to sustain enthusiasm and motivation. By making strong links across the curriculum and to real-life contexts, English becomes a vehicle for expressing ideas, exploring viewpoints and developing confidence, ensuring pupils remain engaged and develop a genuine love of language and literature.

English also plays a vital role in meeting the needs of the local community by providing experiences that pupils may not otherwise encounter. In a semi-rural area, opportunities such as theatre trips, visiting authors, storytellers and poets, drama and writing workshops and strong links with local libraries help broaden pupils’ cultural capital. Carefully planned assemblies and enrichment days expose pupils to a wide range of voices, texts and experiences beyond their immediate environment. These opportunities help pupils develop language linked to aspiration, diversity and the wider world, ensuring that all children—regardless of background—can build the confidence, vocabulary and cultural awareness needed to succeed both in school and in later life.