English at Scunthorpe Church Of England Primary
Why we teach reading as we do:
Many pupils in our community are affected by the 30 Million Word Gap. Upon entering school, the children have heard a lot less vocabulary than their peers nationally. In addition, many of our children have English as an additional language and though we celebrate the diversity of languages in our school we are mindful that many of our children do not have the support of English speakers at home to hear them read.
With these factors in mind our first and foremost priority is to expand our children’s breadth of vocabulary. We work to narrow the vocabulary gap by discreetly teaching vocabulary subject specific and expressive language within all subjects. Furthermore, we instil in our children a pleasure and love of reading and as a consequence we work to ensure that our children are able to articulate the books, authors and genres that they enjoy. We regularly take each class to the local library, as well as our newly refurbished school one, to develop their love of reading and to give them access to a wider range of books. As part of our guided reading, our children will read a broad range of literature including classic literature appropriate for their age.
Ultimately, children at Scunthorpe Church Of England Primary learn to read in order to be able to access all aspects of the school curriculum.
Reading at Scunthorpe Church of England Primary School
At Scunthorpe CofE Primary School, we believe that reading is at the heart of a child’s education and plays a key role in unlocking learning across the curriculum. We are passionate about fostering a love of books and developing confident, fluent readers who enjoy reading for pleasure and purpose.
Our Aims
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To ensure every child learns to read fluently and confidently.
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To develop comprehension skills and the ability to engage with a wide range of texts.
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To nurture a lifelong love of reading.
Phonics and Early Reading
In the Early Years and Key Stage 1, we follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds, a systematic synthetic phonics programme. Daily phonics lessons help children build strong foundations in decoding and word recognition with keep up sessions as extra practise when needed. Children practise reading books matched closely to their phonics knowledge to build fluency and confidence; these books are then sent home to share with families and read together.
Reading in Key Stage 2
In Key Stage 2, we aim to build on the strong foundations established in early reading by developing fluent, confident readers who can comprehend and discuss a wide range of texts. Our approach is informed by the work of Christopher Such and focuses on three key types of reading sessions: fluency, extended reading, and close reading.
Fluency Sessions
Fluency is central to reading comprehension. In our fluency sessions, children practise reading aloud with accuracy, expression, and appropriate pace. These sessions often involve echo reading, choral reading, and repeated reading of carefully chosen extracts. The aim is to develop automaticity, prosody, and confidence in reading longer texts.
Extended Reading Sessions
Extended reading sessions provide children with the opportunity to enjoy longer, high-quality texts read aloud by the teacher or in shared reading. These sessions help build vocabulary, background knowledge, and a love of story. They also allow pupils to engage with more complex narrative structures and develop reading stamina.
Close Reading Sessions
Close reading sessions involve deep exploration of shorter passages, focusing on comprehension skills such as inference, retrieval, vocabulary understanding, summarising, and authorial intent. These sessions are carefully scaffolded, with explicit teaching and guided discussion to help children unpick layers of meaning and improve their analytical skills.
Across all sessions, teachers model expert reading, facilitate rich discussion, and provide opportunities for all children to participate actively. Texts are chosen carefully to reflect a broad range of genres, authors, and themes, supporting both the National Curriculum and our wider aim of nurturing readers who are knowledgeable, thoughtful, and enthusiastic. Please take a look at out Books Spines to see what each year group is reading.
Reading For Pleasure
At Scunthorpe CofE, we are committed to nurturing a genuine love of reading in all our pupils. We know that children who enjoy reading are more likely to read widely and often—and that this has a powerful impact on their academic success and well-being.
We promote reading for pleasure in a variety of ways:
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Daily Whole-Class Story Time - Every class enjoys a daily read-aloud session, where teachers share high-quality texts purely for enjoyment. This time is protected and valued, helping to build positive reading habits and deepen children’s appreciation of storytelling and language.
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Our New School Library - We are proud of our newly refurbished school library, which offers a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books. Children can visit regularly to explore books, discover new authors, and develop independence in choosing their own reading material.
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Visits to the Local Library - We have strong links with our local library and organise regular class visits. These trips help children become familiar with the resources available in the community and encourage them to see libraries as exciting, welcoming spaces for readers of all ages.
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Track My Read - Pupils have access to Track My Read, a digital platform that helps them log and celebrate their reading. This motivates children to read more regularly, reflect on what they’ve read, and take pride in their progress.
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Community Librarian sent our school this message
"It's great to see the children's library busy with your pupils, they are always well behaved and an absolute pleasure to have. You should be very proud and thank you for bringing them in."
Scunthorpe Church of England Book Spine
Meet our Reading Ambassadors
World Book Day
Helping your child read at home
Opening our new library!
Our Reading Afternoons
At Scunthorpe CofE, we value the role that families play in supporting children’s reading development. To strengthen this partnership and celebrate our shared love of books, we host termly Reading Afternoons that are open to all parents and carers. Each event is centred around a theme—such as seasonal stories, poetry, or a particular author—and is designed to create a joyful, relaxed environment for reading together.
During our Reading Afternoons:
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Parents join their children in the classroom or hall to share stories and explore books together.
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Our local library visits with a specially curated selection of books for children to enjoy and borrow.
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A range of creative, themed activities and crafts are on offer to spark imaginations.
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There’s always the chance to enjoy a few sweet treats while getting cosy with a good book!
These events are a much-loved part of our school calendar and play an important role in developing children’s reading for pleasure, encouraging families to share stories at home, and fostering a lifelong love of books.
Click the link on the left to find more information and help from the Book Trust
The teaching of writing at Scunthorpe Church Of England Primary
At Scunthorpe CofE Primary School, we want every child to become a confident, capable writer who can express their ideas clearly, creatively, and with purpose. Writing is a vital life skill and a key part of learning across the curriculum. We provide a rich writing curriculum that builds knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and structure while encouraging creativity, independence, and resilience.
Early Writing in Foundation Stage
In Foundation, children begin their writing journey by using the phonics knowledge they develop through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. As they learn new graphemes, they begin to segment and blend words, forming simple sentences using capital letters, finger spaces, and full stops. Writing is embedded in purposeful, engaging contexts—often linked to stories, role play, and their own experiences.
Writing in Key Stage One and Two
In Key Stage One and Two, we use Grammarsaurus to support the teaching of grammar and punctuation. Through the concept of the "Place Value of Punctuation and Grammar", children learn how each grammatical feature has a role to play in making writing clear, accurate, and effective.
Each writing unit is carefully structured and inspired by high-quality texts drawn from our whole-school book spine. These texts have been chosen to expose children to a wide range of genres, authors, and themes, and to provide engaging stimulus for writing. They offer rich opportunities for writing for different purposes and audiences, including:
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Narratives
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Poetry
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Persuasive texts
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Recounts and reports
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Instructions
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Letters and diary entries
This range ensures children experience writing in diverse contexts and learn how to adapt their tone, language, and structure accordingly.
Our writing sequence includes:
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Discrete Grammar Sessions
Key grammar and punctuation skills are introduced and practised in focused lessons. -
Modelled and Shared Writing
Teachers model writing in real time, thinking aloud and demonstrating how to craft sentences, develop ideas, and apply grammar purposefully. Pupils join in shared writing before using these skills independently. -
Planning and Drafting
Children are supported in planning their ideas and structuring their writing. They learn how to organise content and select vocabulary appropriate for the task. -
Editing and Redrafting
Time is built into each unit for children to reflect on and improve their work, building pride and ownership. They are taught to edit for accuracy, meaning, and effect.
Our approach aims to empower children as writers, equipping them with the skills, strategies, and confidence to write effectively and creatively across the curriculum.