Reading

Introduction

Our curriculum at Cornelius Vermuyden aims to cater for the individual strengths and needs of every student, enabling each one of them to make outstanding progress and allowing them to achieve their goals.

We believe that developing skills in literacy is about learning to use language to express, explore and communicate our thoughts, ideas and feelings with others. We do this through speaking, listening, reading and writing, and getting better at literacy means making progress in each of these areas.

Reading and literacy skills open doors and allow our students to access all aspects of the curriculum, whilst improving oracy, communication and problem-solving skills. We owe it to our students to give them the very best literacy skills in order to improve their chances in life, and to enable them to succeed in whatever path they choose.

The Matthew Effect

It is proven through the studies of psychologist Keith Stanovich that children who learn to read in the first three years of their education become fluent readers. They read more, learn more vocabulary which then enables them to read more and comprehend more advanced texts and so they advance further.

The children who fail to learn to read, read less, are less fluent, have a poorer vocabulary, comprehend less and the gap just keeps on growing. It is the principle of ‘The rich get richer and the poor get poorer’. This is why it is essential that all children are offered a structured reading programme.

Whole School Strategies

Form Time Reading – The Big Read

Each year group has one tutor session dedicated to reading each week. Year 7, 8, and 10 participate in the Big Read on Wednesdays, while Year 9 participates on Mondays.

This session is delivered by form tutors who have received training on reading techniques and strategies. Each session lasts 20 minutes and adheres to the following structure:

Consolidation of what has been previously read
Teacher-led reading with strategic questioning
Summary and prediction questioning

Reading Books by Tutor Group

corver final the big read book selection 2.pdf

Reading in English

The texts studied in English are specifically chosen to ensure that students are exposed to a range of cultures, experiences, and opinions, helping to develop empathy and critical thinking.

Year	Texts
Year 7	Boy (Dahl), A Sound of Thunder (Bradbury), The Road to Canterbury (Serraillier), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare)
Year 8	The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Boyne), Anne Frank's Diary, Frankenstein (Pullman), Animal Farm (Orwell), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare)
Year 9	Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck), Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare), Edexcel Poetry Anthology: Conflict
Years 10 & 11	Macbeth (Shakespeare), A Christmas Carol (Dickens), An Inspector Calls (Priestley)

Tiered Reading Provision (Years 7, 8, 9 and 10)

We are committed to ensuring every student becomes a confident and fluent reader. Our reading provision is carefully structured so that all students receive the right level of support at the right time.

Universal Support for All Students

Every Year 7 and 8 student benefits from:

A weekly dedicated reading lesson
Vocabulary and comprehension development through Bedrock Learning
The Big Read tutor programme to encourage reading for pleasure
English classes set using GL assessment information

This ensures strong reading habits are built across the curriculum.

Extra Support for Students Who Need It

Some students receive additional small-group reading sessions. These focus on:

Improving reading fluency
Building confidence when reading aloud
Securing high-frequency words
Strengthening comprehension skills

Progress is checked regularly using GL assessments.

Intensive Support for Students with Greater Need

A small number of students access specialist support through the Lexia programme and our SEND team. This provision focuses on:

Phonics and decoding
Spelling development
Rapid improvement in reading age