Reading
Subject on a Page
Reading at St Margaret's at Troy Town
At St Margaret’s at Troy Town, we believe reading is the key that unlocks the whole curriculum and enables every child to ‘let their light shine’. Our reading curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils progress from secure early decoding to fluent, expressive reading and deep comprehension. Through exposure to high-quality, ambitious texts, pupils build strong vocabulary, background knowledge and a lifelong love of reading.
Intent
Whole class reading lessons in our primary school are designed to ensure that all pupils, regardless of ability, can access high-quality texts and develop essential comprehension skills in a shared learning environment. These sessions encourage a love of reading and provide rich opportunities for vocabulary development, critical thinking and oral discussion. By guiding children through structured questioning and meaningful dialogue, we enable them to explore a range of texts and deepen their understanding. The intent is to build confident, curious readers who can engage thoughtfully with texts and apply their comprehension strategies across the curriculum.
Implementation
Whole class reading sessions take place at the beginning of Year 3 following the completion of the Read Write Inc. Comprehension Programme. Children in Year 3 - Year 6 will complete whole class reading lessons 3 times a week for 30 minutes. During whole class reading lessons children are explicitly taught the skills of reading (outlined in the National Curriculum and the KS1 and KS2 test domains) using VIPERS which were created by Rob Smith (The Literacy Shed).
What are Vipers?
VIPERS is an acronym to aid the recall of the 6 reading domains as part of the UK’s reading curriculum. They are the key areas which we feel children need to know and understand in order to improve their comprehension of texts.
VIPERS stands for:
Vocabulary
Inference
Prediction
Explanation
Retrieval
Sequence or Summarise
The 6 domains focus on the comprehension aspect of reading and not the mechanics. As such, VIPERS is not a reading scheme but rather a method of ensuring that teachers ask, and students are familiar with, a range of questions. They allow the teacher to track the type of questions asked and the children’s responses to these which allows for targeted questioning afterwards.
Whole class reading sessions take place 3 times a week for 30 minutes. These are separate to but may complement writing sessions. Sessions may vary session to session/class to class depending on the needs of the children. Children read during these sessions in a variety of different ways. They may hear the teacher model fluent reading and then have time to reread the same extract themselves, they may read individually and feedback, work in groups, take turns in pairs or read aloud to their peers. You may see a number of these different strategies during one session. Teachers plan key questions each session. Children are encouraged to orally speak or discuss their answers before recording them. At times children are given sentence stems and vocabulary that is expected to be used within their answer. Children are encouraged to provide evidence for their answer based on a text extract or a picture they have seen in the book. Where appropriate children are encouraged to use evidence from a range of different places within the text.
Resources
In Years 3 - 6, we use 'The Literacy Shed' to guide our choice of books and questioning in whole class reading lessons.
Books
We select and use books that meet the recommendations in the 2023 reading framework, including that they:
- Cover a wide range of subjects and vocabulary
- Elicit a strong emotional response
- Have a strong narrative
- Have illustrations that are engaging and reflect children from all backgrounds and cultures
- Include fiction, non-fiction, modern and traditional stories
We have:
- Identified a core set of stories for each year group
- Refresh the list regularly, as new books are published and as our school welcomes new teachers
Book corners
Each classroom will have a designated space for their book corner that is in line with the requirements set out in the Reading Framework. When visiting their book corner, pupils will be able to:
- Browse the books
- Revisit the ones the teacher has read to them
- Borrow books to read or re-tell at home
- Spend time there
When arranging the book corner, teachers will display books clearly and in an engaging way.
Curriculum Aims and Approach
School leaders observe reading lessons to evaluate teaching quality and monitor pupils’ use of books to ensure consistent progress and high standards across the curriculum.
Our Reading Progression
• Fluency and automaticity are developed through regular guided and repeated reading
• Whole-class reading from Year 3 builds deep comprehension and critical thinking
Long Term Plan
Developing Reading Fluency
• echo and choral reading where appropriate
• explicit attention to pace, accuracy and intonation
• close monitoring of pupils who have recently completed phonics
Progression of Skills and Knowledge
reading progression of skills.pdf
Reading Policy
Inclusion and Support for All Readers
• targeted fluency practice following phonics completion
• pre-teaching of key vocabulary before whole-class reading
• scaffolded discussion and questioning
• additional adult support where appropriate
Subject in Action
Adaptive Teaching Toolkit
adaptive teaching strategies reading.pdf
Adaptive Teaching in Practice
Take a look below at some some examples of adaptive teaching strategies you will see in our teaching of Reading to ensure all children get the best outcomes in their learning -
Enrichment Opportunities
Take a look below at our fantastic World Book Day 2025. We took part in the country-wide quiz and created our own pictures and stories based on the book, 'The Dot'.
We had a visit from a local author where all year groups took part in a workshop.
"Having a real-life author in our school has inspired me to create my own stories. Anyone can do it if you put your mind to it!"
During the summer holidays, all children are set a challenge to read at least 6 books. For KS2 they are set an extra challenge to write a book review for their favourite book.
Read six books, receive a certificate and a prize!
Impact
Using the VIPERS scheme at SMATT has signifcantly strengthened pupils' reading skills across all KS2 year groups. Through structured focus on Vocabulary, Inference, Prediciton, Explain, Retrieval and Sequencing, children develop a deeper understanding of texts and improve their ability to discuss and reflect on what they read. VIPERS provides consistency and equips pupils with essential strategies to become confident, fluent and analytical readers.
We will track pupils’ progress using a combination of formative and summative assessment.
In KS2 classrooms, formative assessment is embedded into every reading lesson to monitor and support children’s progress. Teachers use group work, class-led discussions and independent tasks to observe comprehension, vocabulary use and analytical thinking in real time. These varied strategies provide immediate insights that inform next steps and tailored support, helping every pupil grow as a confident, reflective reader.
Our pupils will sit the following formal assessments:
- PIRA assessments in Years 3 - 5
- National Curriculum tests in the summer terms at the end of KS2
We will provide provide twice yearly verbal reports against these at parents’ evenings. Pupils will receive a written report annually.
Year 6 KS2 Reading Results (2024/25)
- 90% of pupils achieved the Expected Standard in Reading
Pupil Voice
Useful Links for Parents
https://www.literacyshedplus.com/en-us/resource/reading-vipers-question-stems-ks2-en-gb
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page