Reading
At Hartside, we are committed to ensuring that every child becomes a confident, enthusiastic reader. Phonics and early reading are central to this vision, and we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme with fidelity to give pupils a strong and secure start. Daily phonics lessons build systematically from sound recognition to fluent blending, and targeted keep‑up sessions ensure that any child who needs additional support can make rapid progress.
As children move beyond early decoding, our reading curriculum continues to nurture a love of books and develop deeper comprehension. Pupils read fully decodable texts matched precisely to their phonics knowledge and, as their skills grow, they transition to a wide range of high‑quality reading books through Accelerated Reader. This programme supports pupils in choosing appropriately challenging texts, encourages independent reading, and motivates them through quizzes and goals that celebrate progress.
To strengthen understanding and develop critical thinking, we use Reciprocal Reading strategies, teaching pupils to predict, clarify, question, and summarise. These structured approaches enable children to engage thoughtfully with texts, explore meaning collaboratively, and build the comprehension skills needed across the curriculum.
Across school, we aim to create a rich reading culture where pupils encounter a diverse range of stories, poetry, and non‑fiction. Our commitment to reading extends beyond the classroom, with strong partnerships with families and guidance to help support reading at home.
Our reading curriculum is designed to empower pupils with the essential skills for learning, open doors to new knowledge and experiences, and cultivate a lifelong love of books.
Phonics – Little Wandle
At Hartside, we use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised to teach early reading and phonics. Little Wandle is a systematic and structured programme that helps children learn the sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes) they need in order to read and write confidently.
How Little Wandle Works
- Daily phonics lessons are taught in a clear, consistent way so children build their skills step by step.
- Children learn how to:
- recognise sounds
- blend sounds together to read words
- segment words into sounds to help with spelling
- read fluently and with growing confidence
- The programme follows a carefully designed progression, meaning new learning builds securely on what children already know.
Decodable Reading Books
Each week, children read Little Wandle fully decodable books that are matched exactly to the sounds they have been taught. This ensures:
- children experience success
- reading feels achievable and enjoyable
- they can practise blending and fluency at the right level
Books are read in school during small‑group reading practice sessions before being shared at home.
Support for Every Child
Little Wandle includes targeted keep‑up sessions for pupils who need extra practice. These sessions mirror classroom teaching and help children catch up quickly if they find something tricky.
How Parents Can Help
We work closely with families and offer guidance on:
- how phonics works
- the pronunciation of sounds
- how to support reading at home
- what to do if children find particular sounds or words difficult
Our aim is to make sure every child feels confident, supported, and successful as they begin their reading journey.
Phonics Screening Year 1
In Year 1, the children are required to complete a statutory phonics screening that helps us to confirm whether your child has made the expected progress – this usually happens at the start of June, however the exact date varies from year to year. Please see the document below for more detailed information.
Phonics screening information for parents
Reciprocal Reading
From Year 2 onwards, children at Hartside take part in Reciprocal Reading lessons. This approach helps pupils develop strong comprehension skills by teaching them how to think about what they are reading, not just decode the words.
Reciprocal Reading is a discussion‑based method where pupils work with the teacher—and with each other—to explore a text in depth. Instead of simply reading through a story or information page, children pause at key points to talk about what is happening, what it means, and what they think might happen next. This helps them become active, thoughtful readers.
The Four Key Strategies
Reciprocal Reading is built around four specific strategies that children learn to use in every session:
1. Predicting
Children think about what might happen next in the text.
This encourages them to:
- use clues from pictures, titles, and previous events
- make sensible guesses
- link ideas together
Prediction builds curiosity and helps pupils read with purpose.
2. Clarifying
Here, children identify words or ideas they do not understand and learn how to make meaning clearer.
This helps them:
- explore new vocabulary
- ask questions about confusing parts
- use context clues or re‑read sections
Clarifying develops confidence and reduces frustration when reading independently.
3. Questioning
Children generate questions about the text—what, why, how, when, and who.
This develops:
- deeper thinking and inference
- the ability to look for evidence in the text
- a better understanding of characters, events, and themes
Good readers ask questions naturally; this strategy teaches children how to do that.
4. Summarising
Pupils learn to identify the most important information and retell it in their own words.
Summarising improves:
- memory and recall
- understanding of the main ideas
- the ability to explain learning clearly
This strategy is especially helpful for longer or more complex texts.
Why We Use Reciprocal Reading
This structured approach helps children:
- understand texts more deeply
- discuss ideas with confidence
- build vocabulary
- develop strong comprehension skills across all subjects
- become independent, reflective readers
Most importantly, Reciprocal Reading gives pupils a set of lifelong strategies they can use whenever they read—whether it’s a story, an information book, or a tricky question in a test.
Reading for Pleasure
We believe that reading is an essential life skill and we are committed to developing our children into lifelong readers. At the heart of our strategy, is our drive to foster a love of reading. We do this in a variety of ways, including introducing the children to texts through daily shared reading, as well as encouraging and monitoring the children’s independent reading.
Please see the below article to find out more about our reading journey:
Accelerated Reader
One of our main strategies for encouraging independent reading, developing good habits, and helping children take responsibility for their reading progress is Accelerated Reader.
Once children are fluent, accurate readers and have successfully passed the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, they begin to choose their own books from either their classroom collection or the school library. These books are organised by Accelerated Reader (AR) level.
How Accelerated Reader Works
- Each child completes a short AR quiz which gives them a reading range.
- Their class teacher tells them which colour band or level to choose from.
- After reading their chosen book, children complete a short online quiz to check understanding.
The software then tracks:
- how much they are reading each day, and
- how well they perform on the quizzes.
We aim for:
- a quiz average of 85% or more, showing strong comprehension
- at least 20 minutes of reading per day from Year 3 onwards
This system helps motivate pupils, supports them in choosing appropriate texts, and gives teachers valuable information to guide and support reading development.
See below for more detailed information about Accelerated Reader and practical hints and tips.)
