The National Curriculum programmes of study for reading focus on two dimesnions:

• Word reading
• Comprehension

Word reading involves children being able to work out the pronunciation of unfamiliar words (decoding) and the recognition of unfamiliar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics is emphasised in the early teaching of reading. 

If children arrive at the start of Key Stage 2 without good phonic awareness, the school aims to address this promptly in Year 3, as set out in our Year 3 Phonics Intervention Pathway (see document below).

The reading assessment grids below highlight the key reading skills the children are expected to master in each of the year groups.