As there's a lot of discussion in the media about learning in schools, new initiatives, and the curriculum, we want to take this opportunity to share how learning in Reading looks at our school.

At our school, our daily reading program is designed to ignite a love of reading in every child. We aim to equip them with the skills to confidently explore a wide range of texts and truly make sense of what they read. We believe that reading should be both a learning experience and a genuine pleasure.

All learning is carefully aligned to the new curriculum’s learning statement for the year group of that child. There are times when ākonga (students) need targeted intervention or extension so teachers tailor learning to meet the needs of their learners. It's important to note a shift in expectations within the new curriculum. This may mean that ākonga who were achieving at an expected level previously may now not be at the expected level. 

Phase 1 (Years 0-3)

In our junior school, the focus is on learning to read. This involves helping children use clues from meaning, sentence structure, and the appearance of words to understand print. Our program includes a mix of:

• Shared reading, where the whole class enjoys a big book or a rich language story together. This is a wonderful opportunity to discuss the text, expand vocabulary, and develop an appreciation for stories.

• Instructional reading, which happens in smaller groups. We use resources like 'Phonics Plus' readers to build foundational decoding skills, as well as 'Colour Wheel' texts to develop fluency and other reading strategies.

• Independent reading, where children choose books they enjoy and practice reading quietly on their own.

We also incorporate Structured Literacy activities daily to build strong phonics skills, using language that is easy for children to understand, like "Magic e" instead of technical terms. Teachers read quality literature to children every day to foster a lifelong love of books.

We regularly assess children's reading progress through tools like the New Entrant Entry Check, running records, and a phonics check. This helps us tailor learning to each child's individual needs, ensuring they are challenged and supported appropriately. Children take home readers regularly to practice at home, and we encourage a good variety of fiction and non-fiction books.

Phase 2 (Years 4-6)

As children move towards the senior area of the school, the focus shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. We continue to build on foundational skills while introducing more complex strategies for comprehension and critical thinking. Our program continues to include shared, instructional, and independent reading.

• Shared reading often involves a class novel or picture book, providing rich opportunities for discussion, vocabulary expansion, and developing higher-level comprehension. Students are encouraged to share their opinions and responses to texts.

• Instructional reading happens in flexible groups, based on individual learning needs identified through assessments. Teachers guide students through various reading comprehension strategies using a wide range of materials, including journals, poetry, articles, and chapter books. We also use a Structured Literacy approach to target specific learning needs.

• Independent reading is a regular part of the week, with children choosing from library books, personal texts, and digital resources. We also use platforms like 'Literacy Pro' to support their learning.

We integrate reading across the curriculum, showing students how reading is essential for learning in all subjects. Teachers read aloud to students, and children have opportunities to respond to texts throughout the read-aloud sessions. We use various effective literacy practices like Guided Reading, Reciprocal Reading, and Readers Theatre to engage students and deepen their understanding.

We encourage students to read regularly at home with age appropriate reading material, as this greatly supports their development.

There are targeted reading groups in classes for ākonga who may need some extra support or to build their confidence. Assessment of reading is done in a range of ways with a PAT test in reading comprehension from Years 4-6 and use of the curriculum learning statements to make overall teacher judgements (OTJs) to figure out achievement levels and next learning steps.