Our Reading Intent 

At St Peter’s Church of England Primary School, we believe that reading is the master skill that unlocks every area of the curriculum. Rooted in our vision for excellence, we ensure that every child learns to read fluently, accurately, and with deep comprehension, fostering an enduring love of literature from their first days in school. 

Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) 

Reading is taught through systematic, high-fidelity daily phonics instruction beginning in the Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception) and continuing across Key Stage 1. 

• Consistent Pedagogy: We follow a validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme [Unlocking Letters and Sounds], ensuring a structured progression where children are systematically introduced to phonemes, graphemes, and tricky words. 

• Decodable Books: Children take home reading books that strictly match their current phonic stage, ensuring they can blend words with confidence and experience early reading success without guessing. 

• Rapid Intervention: Daily "keep-up" tutoring is integrated across EYFS and Year 1 to ensure children who find decoding challenging receive prompt, targeted support to prevent them from falling behind. 

Reading for Pleasure & Our Library 

Beyond phonics, reading comprehension and fluency are systematically nurtured through carefully chosen whole-class core texts, diverse class book corners, and author studies. Daily story times occur regularly in every classroom. 

Unlocking Excellence: English Hub 

Unlocking Excellence English Hub, based at St Peter’s Church of England Primary School in Portishead, is one of 34 English Hubs designated by the Department for Education. We primarily work with schools in Bristol, BANES, North Somerset and parts of Somerset. 

Our work with schools includes:

• Developing and delivering phonics showcases  to share strong practice
• Supporting schools to complete (and then review) action plans
• Carrying our early reading audits with school Reading Leaders and Senior Leaders
• Supporting some schools to buy in phonics resources (eligibility criteria applies)
• Providing staff CPD and medium level support for schools
• Working with our Literacy Specialists  to support their work in our partnership schools

Having this national centre of expertise based within our school community ensures our own teachers and support staff remain at the very forefront of early reading research and classroom pedagogy.

Visit the ULS (Unlocking Letters and Sounds) English Hub Website

Leaders prioritise reading across the school. They use the school’s English hub status well to share their excellent practice and high standards with other schools. Staff and pupils share a love of reading. Older pupils, in particular, read a range of challenging texts fluently. They say the books they read take them to a calm place which lets their imaginations run wild.

Ofsted February 2023