Horizon English School
Reading Policy
Updated: September 2022
Review date: September 2023
Rationale:
HORIZON ENGLISH SCHOOL – READING POLICY
Reading is of high importance in the UAE National Agenda. H.E Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the UAE’s
vice-president and Dubai’s ruler, stated: “Our goal is to make reading a daily habit that is deeply ingrained… It is the
duty of relevant institutions to make this law a reality.”
At Horizon English School, we understand that effective teaching of reading has a significant impact on our
students’ overall achievement. We strive to develop children’s ability to independently de-code and
understand unfamiliar vocabulary which allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the texts they are
reading and it is this that impacts upon their enjoyment of a wide range of reading materials and their overall
reading literacy.
Through a structured approach to the teaching of reading objectives, we can equip our children with the tools
they need to be confident, effective readers – able to read for both meaning and for pleasure.
Aims:
The school and governing body are committed to:
Supporting students in EYFS at the start of their reading journey to develop their phonetic awareness
through the HES phonics programme (see phonics policy).
Teaching and modelling age-appropriate strategies that can be used to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary
when reading in English, Arabic or French.
Consistently providing students with opportunities to apply reading strategies in lessons across the
curriculum.
Enabling all students to understand the different elements of reading comprehension, through thorough
planning of reading objectives and the use of our whole-school progression in reading skills posters.
Developing competent readers, who confidently read for pleasure whilst acquiring higher order reading
skills.
Teaching children learning English, as an additional language, specific strategies to support their
vocabulary development.
Raising the reading attainment of all pupils.
Acquisition of higher order reading skills:
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HORIZON ENGLISH SCHOOL – READING POLICY
In order for our children to develop their understanding of the different aspects of Reading, it is essential that
teaching focuses on the specific skills of: inference, analysing authors’ choices, retrieving and interpreting
information, summarising key details and making comparisons. It is through consistent exposure to these skills
across the curriculum that our children will achieve their literary potential.
Developing Vocabulary:
All teachers and support staff will model and encourage a range of age-appropriate strategies that students can
use to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary in different contexts.
Three main strategies include:
1. Reading the sentence containing the unfamiliar word again (and explaining that reading the sentence
before and after can add context to the word).
2. Sounding out the word using strategies used in phonics lessons to blend and segment.
3. Covering up part of the word, so that the child can focus on a word that they recognise within the word
or a smaller number of phonemes to blend at a time.
Selecting Appropriate Reading Materials in English and Arabic
Selecting an appropriate level of difficulty, when choosing texts to
share with children, is incredibly important.
Instructional Reading
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At Horizon English School, we aim to ensure that children are
accessing texts at an instructional level during reading
experiences in English and Arabic – this ensures that there are
HORIZON ENGLISH SCHOOL – READING POLICY
Teaching of Reading
Ensuring our students read for pleasure is an essential component that underpins reading experiences at
Horizon. Reading skills are taught explicitly during reading lessons but also embedded throughout units of
work across the curriculum in areas such as Maths, Science, Moral Education and Social Studies. Although the
outcome of these lessons may be subject specific, reading is used as an effective means to immerse children in
their units of work and a fundamental part of the learning process in all subjects.
Early Years Foundation Stage
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HORIZON ENGLISH SCHOOL – READING POLICY
At Horizon School, our carefully planned EYFS provision is designed to meet the Early Learning Goal
requirements in the strands for the development of ‘reading’. This requires children to read and understand
simple sentences, using phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also
need to read some common irregular words and demonstrate some understanding when talking to others about
what they have read.
Please see Horizon English School’s Phonics Policy, for further information about the HES programme,
which starts in the EYFS and continues as part of whole-class teaching up to Year Two.
Key Stage 1
During Key Stage One, children will continue to follow the HES systematic phonics programme as part of
whole class provision. In addition to this, the children will focus on developing their comprehension skills
during structured reading sessions.
In Year 1, teachers plan at least 2 hours of reading teaching a week inclusive of phonics teaching. During these
lessons, children will learn phonics and have the opportunity to read with an adult or in a small group and
complete reading activities focused on a specific reading skill. For targeted children, 1:1 reading is used to
accelerate reading progress. Please refer to the 1:1 Reading Handbook for more information.
In Year 2, teachers plan at least 1 ½ hours of reading teaching, during which, children will have the opportunity
to read with an adult in a small group or as a whole class and complete reading activities focused on a specific
reading skill.
For Arabic, on average a minimum of 1 hour is dedicated towards the teaching of reading. Arabic units of work
are designed purposefully in a way that ensures that at the start of a unit, lessons will focus specifically on
reading, speaking and listening with age-appropriate vocabulary; at the end of units, writing will be the main
skill taught to allow children to apply the vocabulary they have learnt.
Key Stage 2
During Key Stage Two, students focus on further developing their comprehension skills and awareness of
unfamiliar vocabulary during structured whole class reading sessions.
Each week, teachers plan at least 1 ½ hours of English reading teaching, during which, children will have the
opportunity to read with an adult in a small group or as a whole class and to complete activities based on the
focus skill being taught.
For Arabic, on average a minimum of 1 hour is dedicated towards the teaching of reading. Arabic units of work
are designed purposefully in a way that ensures that at the start of a unit, lessons will focus specifically on
reading, speaking and listening with age-appropriate vocabulary; at the end of units, writing will be the main
skill taught to allow children to apply the vocabulary they have learnt.
Underperforming Readers
Underperforming students are identified through a systematic and robust reading assessment tracking system
(Appendices 1) in both phase 1 and phase 2 for English and Arabic. We recognise that underperforming readers
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can also be high attaining; therefore, when identifying underperforming readers, both progress and attainment is
considered. All groups of students, including Emiratis, who are underperforming readers are identified and age-
appropriate strategies are put in place to support these students. Strategies include phonics intervention, teacher-
led focus intervention sessions, targeted focus groups in lessons, parent reading workshops and 1:1 reading
intervention. Students identified as having more complex reading needs, for example reading processing
disorders are supported by the Inclusion department alongside quality first teaching and learning experiences
delivered by class teachers.
Explicit Reading Lessons
Teachers plan their reading lessons using objectives from the Classroom Monitor, which details the year group
specific objectives for Years 1-6. In English these are used alongside our Horizon English School reading
posters, which break down each of these objectives into the key reading foci in a teacher and child friendly
format. These visual reminders of our reading foci are displayed in each classroom from Years 1-6 and
represent the clear progression of skills throughout the reading curriculum.
Example of the progression of skills across ‘language for effect’
Reading Lessons – key components:
1. Strategy check - introduction of the text and recap of the strategies that we use to de-code/ understand an
unfamiliar word.
2. Share the session focus (L.O.) – refer to the horizon reading poster that links to your current focus.
3. Allow the children to read the text and apply focus, listening to individual children read. Ask questions
linked to the session focus to allow children to apply the skill.
4. Follow up discussion – share the key questions that you want the whole group to reflect on as they apply the
focus skill of the session.
Application activities
Whilst the teacher is reading with their focus children or group, the other children should be provided with the
opportunity to further develop their reading skills independently.
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These activities could include:
- Comprehension questions linked to the text that the children have read with the teacher – to consolidate
the learning objective they have been working on.
- Independent reading of a text they have chosen – with a reading/ writing follow up/ reflection task.
- Peer reading and discussion
- Use of technology to access Bug Club or Fiction Express – directing the children towards a reflection
task once they have read their text.
- Vocabulary development activities linked to the text/ a given text extract.
- Question generating activities, linking to the reading skills posters.
Assessment of Reading
Formative
Teachers formatively assess children’s understanding of reading throughout reading sessions, recording
observations of children’s attainment and next steps in conjunction with OTrack objectives. This information
supports the teacher with their teacher assessments, when considered alongside the responses that children can
make independently in response to their reading.
Summative
Teachers use a range of age-appropriate standardised summative assessments in reading: Internal Horizon
Arabic Reading Assessments, Arabic Phonics Assessments, NGRT, PM Benchmarking, SATs, GL and phonics
assessments. These assessments are mapped out on ‘The Horizon Reading Assessment Model’ (Appendices 1).
The outcomes from these assessments are used to identify underperforming students and inform subsequent
teaching and intervention.
Recorded Learning
In Year1, reading is recorded on Seesaw through the use of recordings and pictures.
From Years 2- 6, work completed in reading lessons is recorded within their reading workbook and on Seesaw.
Home Learning Links
Reading is an important element of home-school partnership and all children in Years 1 – 2 are given a reading
record, where 1:1 reading is recorded within this. This is a means of communication from school and home,
enabling teachers to communicate effectively with parents about their child’s reading.
In Years 3-6, target children are issued with a reading record to ensure 1:1 reading is ongoing at home.
Targeted 1:1 sessions are recorded within this and it is a means to communicate children’s progress during
intervention.
In library sessions, children have access to a wide and varying range of fiction and non-fiction texts. In
addition, in KS2 it is where they are issued their banded reading books. These books are intended to be read in
class and at home. Please refer to our library policy for more details on this.
Furthermore, children have individual logins for apps such as Bug Club and Fiction Express, which give them
access to reading books online, through any device, at home.
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HORIZON ENGLISH SCHOOL – READING POLICY
Reading Across the Curriculum
At Horizon English School, we understand that reading, alongside proficient language development, is
fundamental to unlocking the rest of the academic curriculum. However, children do not just become readers
and reading engagement is not possible without the basic mechanics of reading. This is why, at HES, a whole
school approach to reading ensures that all learners are catered for within the broad scope of lessons.
Teachers are familiar and are confident in modelling the 3 core reading strategies, previously mentioned within
this policy. The 3 strategies are used in lessons across the curriculum in order to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary in
different contexts.
Within, Maths, Science, Social Studies and Moral Education new and unfamiliar vocabulary will be discussed
at the beginning of lessons. Further support, during lessons will be given to those children who are identified as
target readers and those with difficulty in reading.
Further Considerations include:
Create a print-rich environment around the school including duel language displays.
All classrooms should have key vocabulary boards and homework should include key vocabulary.
All reading data to be shared with all staff so that they know the appropriate level of reading challenge.
Teachers will develop strategies to teach pupils how to participate orally in groups and in the whole
class, including: using talk to develop and clarify ideas; identifying the main points to arise from a
discussion; listening for a specific purpose; discussion and evaluation.
The school has explicit, common expectations across subjects regarding the accepted quality of spelling,
punctuation and grammar.
EAL considerations to be made (see separate document)
Data from the previous year will effectively be used in order to provide new teachers with an accurate
baseline of reading.
All classrooms to have a designated reading area which encourage reading for pleasure
Library Provision
Reading for pleasure is at the heart of the Horizon library provision. At Horizon English School, all children
visit the library at least once per week.
FS children: 40-minute session
Years 1-2: 1-hour session
Years 3-6: 30-minute session
Our skilled library practitioners immerse the children in a wide range of engaging and inspiring texts from a
multitude of authors and languages, during these sessions. Children complete activities based on reading
comprehension, text features and the use of the Dewey decimal classification system. This is a fantastic
opportunity for the children to enjoy reading texts with an adult, a peer or independently. At the end of each
session, the children choose a text to borrow for the week.
In order to engage parents with reading and offer a wider range of reading materials for use at home, our
parents’ library is open in each library after school three times a week – this is an opportunity for parents to
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HORIZON ENGLISH SCHOOL – READING POLICY
borrow an additional three reading books and spend time reading with their children in our fabulous, inviting
library environments.
Future Curriculum Links
At Horizon, in line with our school vision and developing future curriculum, The Horizon Reading Scheme was
created to enable teachers to select appropriate high-quality texts when planning whole class reading.
When selecting a text, teachers must consider the following:
Promoting Diversity: How does the chosen text reflect a range of main characters i.e. gender, nationalities and
cultures etc?
A Range of Themes and Conventions: How do texts expose children to a range of themes which will allow
them to make connections to real life situations?
Links to Moral Themes: Does the text have a moral? Does it help the children to understand the world around
them?
By asking these questions during the text selection we ensure that at Horizon our range of high-quality texts are
linked closely to the future curriculum, preparing our children for the world out with and beyond school.
Innovation
At Horizon English School, we believe that a wide range of reading materials can inspire children to read for
pleasure and encourage them to further their learning independently in both English and Arabic. We introduce
the children to online reading platforms such as I Read Arabic, Asafeer, Bug Club, First News and Fiction
Express, where they can access high quality texts and comprehension challenges on their iPad or computers.
These platforms are used across phase 1 and phase 2
and each provides a range of benefits to our students. For example, Fiction Express is an innovative reading
platform that connects students with professional authors, encouraging reading for pleasure through fun co-
creation of stories. This platform enables children to read and respond to engaging fiction texts and vote on the
content of the next chapter before it is released. It provides exposure to real authors, highlights a purpose for
reading and writing and encourages our young authors to innovate when considering ideas for the next chapter
– a key skill that they then apply during writing lessons.
Provision for children with special educational needs
Provision is made for children with special educational needs through differentiated activities and reading
materials during reading sessions and through support as appropriate within the class. Children who require
additional support with their reading, will take part in intervention sessions directed by the class teacher. These
interventions may include phonics provision, reading comprehension support, participation in the Nessy reading
and spelling programme (specifically designed to support children diagnosed with dyslexia or demonstrating
dyslexic tendencies), or 1-1 reading to develop the child’s confidence and understanding. Our inclusion team
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HORIZON ENGLISH SCHOOL – READING POLICY
offer an additional layer of assessment (WRAT5) and work closely with the class teachers to monitor and
deliver this support. Those children that are working at greater depth and demonstrating gifted and talented
attributes, are challenged and extended through high-order questioning and the use of more complex texts. They
are encouraged to read and compare a wider range of texts, from different authors and make comparisons,
considering effectiveness.
Provision for children learning English as an additional language
In an international context, it is essential that our provision meets the needs of children learning English as an
additional language. For these children, it is imperative that the text they are reading is suited to their reading
attainment level and that the quantity of unknown vocabulary is not so high that the meaning of the entire text is
lost.
Our Language Development Specialist facilitates EAL and ELL support, which involves the students
recognised as ELL receiving specific intervention for one hour each week to attend a focused language
development session. Through close work with teaching staff and parents of ELL students, this specialist works
to not only support students but upskill adults in their awareness of how to support ELL and EAL students. 1-1
reading sessions are used to monitor the progression of EAL students and ensure individual needs are being
met.
Recommended reading materials and resources:
Horizon Phonics Programme Resources (see policy)
Colour banded reading books (English and Arabic)
Benchmarking reading kits – to check/ determine the appropriate level of reading book for each child.
Class library books (to be renewed at least once each half term)
https://www.activelearnprimary.co.uk/login?c=0
https://www.firstnews.co.uk/
www.fictionexpress.com
www.ireadarabic.com/en/login
https://3asafeer.com/login
Accountability Leads
The Head of English is responsible for the strategic Reading Improvement plan and ensures time is invested in
monitoring and evaluating processes.
English Subject Lead and Arabic Assistant Headteacher - Reading Specialists
Language Development Specialist
Appendix
Appendices 1
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The Horizon Reading Assessment Model
Year Ongoing Assessments Assessments Impact of Assessments
Group
Termly End of Year
FS1 Early phonics tracker Early phonics tracker
FS2 HES phonics assessment HES phonics
assessment
Pupil outcome forms
1 PM Benchmarking Phonics Screening
Check Assessment information used to update
HES phonics assessment
pupil outcome forms and track progress and
tracker
attainment.
2 PM Benchmarking GL Assessment Focus groups
Phonics Screening Check NGRT assessment Assessment information used to plan
(Targeted children only) necessary support and challenge
End of KS1 SATs
Teachers interventions for individuals and groups of
NGRT assessment assessment
assessment in children. Information is also used to identify
lessons to children targeted for quality first teaching
3 PM Benchmarking GL Assessment
inform focus groups in whole class lessons.
progress and NGRT assessment NGRT assessment
Curriculum Adaptation
attainment
4 judgements PM Benchmarking GL Assessment Results are used to identify gaps in
against curriculum knowledge and skills that need
NGRT assessment NGRT assessment to be revisited. This information is used to
classroom
monitor inform future whole class reading lessons
5 PM Benchmarking GL Assessment and reading focus groups.
reading
objectives. NGRT assessment NGRT assessment Book Allocation
6 PM Benchmarking GL Assessment Children’s reading levels are identified and
readers (including bug club) allocated as
NGRT assessment NGRT assessment necessary.
SATs Assessments End of KS2 SATs End of year reporting
assessment
Ongoing, half-termly, and yearly
assessments support teachers in their
Arabic Arabic Phonics Internal Horizon
assessment of a child.
A Assessment Arabic Assessments
Arabic Internal Horizon Arabic
B Assessments
1-6
** WRAT5 assessments undertaken by LE team for Wave 2 and Wave 3 children. Class teachers are then informed of results and
use this to inform future planning of whole class lessons and intervention opportunities for specific children.
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