Intent 

At Edale Rise, we aim to develop fluent, knowledgeable and engaged readers who can make meaning from a wide range of high-quality texts and who read for both understanding and enjoyment. 
 
We recognise that reading is underpinned by the secure acquisition of phonics, alongside the development of language comprehension. A systematic, synthetic phonics approach (SoundsWrite) ensures that pupils become accurate and automatic word readers, enabling cognitive capacity to be devoted to meaning-making. 
 
Our curriculum is content-led, based on the principle that comprehension depends on knowledge. Through exposure to a carefully curated, increasingly ambitious canon of literature, pupils build rich schemas of language, literature and the world. 
 
We therefore prioritise phonics as the foundation of early reading, fluency (accuracy, automaticity and prosody) as the bridge to comprehension, explicit teaching of vocabulary and background knowledge, expert modelling of reading processes, high-quality discussion, and equity of access for all pupils. 

Implementation 

Phonics (Early Reading) 

A systematic synthetic phonics programme (SoundsWrite) is delivered daily from EYFS to Year 2, with additional provision beyond for those who need it. Teaching is explicit, structured and delivered with fidelity to ensure consistency. Pupils practise blending, segmenting and phoneme manipulation while developing understanding of the alphabetic code. Frequent practice secures speed, accuracy and automaticity. Decodable texts are closely matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge to support successful application. 

Fluency Development 

Fluency is developed through teacher read aloud, echo and choral reading and repeated oral reading. Practice is deliberate and structured using appropriately challenging texts. Teaching emphasises prosody and meaning, ensuring pupils understand what they read, with clear links between automatic word reading and comprehension. 

Comprehension and Meaning-Making 

Teachers use explicit modelling, ‘thinking aloud’, carefully planned explanations, and text-driven questioning and discussion. Pupils are supported to build mental models of texts and connect ideas to prior knowledge. Vocabulary is taught explicitly and revisited frequently. Rich discussion develops understanding, language and engagement. 

Curriculum Design 

A carefully sequenced reading curriculum ensures pupils encounter a broad and diverse range of high-quality literature with increasing complexity. Knowledge builds cumulatively, enabling pupils to understand more complex texts over time. Reading also supports learning across the wider curriculum. 

Adaptive Teaching 

Teachers use targeted adaptations to ensure all pupils keep up with the core curriculum, including pre-teaching, glossaries, summaries, scaffolded questioning, structured responses and guided support. 

Intervention 

Pupils’ needs are diagnosed precisely (phonics, fluency, comprehension). Targeted interventions include phonics support, repeated oral reading, reciprocal reading and pre-teaching. Interventions are additional, time-bound and carefully monitored. 

Impact 

Pupils develop secure phonics knowledge, enabling accurate and automatic decoding. Pupils read with increasing fluency and demonstrate secure and increasingly sophisticated comprehension. They engage in high-quality discussion and can articulate and justify their ideas. Disadvantaged and lower-attaining pupils access the same ambitious texts as their peers. Pupils show enjoyment in reading and read widely. Over time, pupils become confident, fluent and knowledgeable readers, fully prepared for the next stage of education.