Our Approach

At Twyford C of E School we value reading as a crucial life skill and so promote a culture where books, vocabulary and reading are highly valued. We recognise that being able to read opens the door for wider learning and life experiences. Therefore, it is our intention that all children become confident, independent readers who are fully equipped to read with fluency and understanding, to become life-long readers.

We believe that all our children can become fluent readers. This is why we teach early reading skills through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. Daily, direct phonics teaching begins with our Reception pupils and follows the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read as they move through school. As a result, all our children are equipped to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read.

Children at Twyford School are explicitly taught the fundamental skills of reading fluency and comprehension through the use of VIPERS which have been created by The Literacy Shed. VIPERS is an acronym to aid the recall of the 6 reading domains as part of the UK’s reading curriculum. They are the key areas which we feel children need to know and understand in order to improve their comprehension of texts.

V – Vocabulary

I – Infer

P – Prediction

E – Explain

R – Retrieve

S – Sequence/Summarise

We ensure our children are exposed to quality texts as they journey through the school, and have carefully selected a range of fiction and non-fiction books which we feel will build cultural capital, foster a love of reading and enhance the curriculum.

Above all, supporting our children to develop their love and passion for reading is undoubtedly our ultimate goal.

• VIPERS Progression
• KS1 Reading VIPERS
• KS2 Reading VIPERS
• Common Exception Words