The context of our school
Stratford-Upon-Avon Primary is situated in a culturally rich area, and we are lucky to have
internationally-renowned local history on our doorstep. As such, the town has a thriving tourist
industry, meaning we benefit from interacting with visitors from far and wide! Our community is
comparatively affluent and we have below average numbers of Pupil Premium-eligible pupils.
All children flourish at our school and we are proud of our long track record of achieving above
national average outcomes. Children arriving in Reception start school broadly in line with national
age-related expectations, although speech and language needs are increasing year on year. Many
of our children have dual heritage and speak two languages. We currently speak 16 languages
across the school. In fact, the percentage of children in our school with EAL is above the national
average for primary schools. We also have above national average numbers of pupils with SEND.
We work hard to ensure our curriculum is equitable, inclusive and enables all pupils to be at their
best. Our English approach embraces the diversity of our talented pupils, reflecting the full make-up
of our school community.
Intent
Reading is at the heart of everything we do and underpins our curriculum. Proficient reading
unlocks all other subjects and enables our children to be at their best. We want our children to be
excited about their learning, and our pupils are engaged and enthusiastic readers, writers and
actors as a result. We intentionally promote a love of reading, oracy and performance throughout
our learning opportunities. Using our knowledge of our children, we make informed, deliberate
choices about what our children read, ensuring texts are age and stage appropriate, useful,
inspiring and engaging. We believe in offering a rich English curriculum that offers ‘windows,
mirrors and doors’, so that all children believe that they belong here and can flourish. We also
know that our children ‘Can’t be what they can’t see’, so we ensure our curriculum choices are
ambitious and varied so as to promote role models and possibilities for later life.
Implementation.
Children read and are read to by an adult every single day in lessons across the curriculum in
every phase across school. Our aim is to develop knowledgeable, strategic and fluent readers who
read independently and for pleasure. Children know that they can read to extract useful
information and they can read for enjoyment. We are dedicated to the development and
refinement of our reading pedagogy. Our approaches are research-led and informed by experts
who can point to impact achieved efficiently. The intention of this document is to outline the
approaches used at Stratford Primary School to teach reading comprehension. Please see our
Phonics Policy to learn more about our early reading approaches.
Impact
Children leave Stratford-upon-Avon Primary School as successful, passionate, opinionated readers
and performers. The read fluently and expressively, and are confident in front of an audience. They
read clearly, persuasively and dramatically, so that people enjoy listening to them.
Pupils make excellent progress and our Reading outcomes have been significantly above national
averages for all groups for some time.
Shakespeare Week
