At St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, we believe that reading is at the heart of learning. It opens up imagination, builds knowledge, and inspires a lifelong love of stories and information. In Key Stage 2, we continue to nurture confident, fluent readers who can both enjoy reading for pleasure and use it as a tool for learning across the curriculum.

We use EdShed’s Comprehension Plus, which is built around the VIPERS framework:

• Vocabulary

• Inference

• Prediction

• Explanation

• Retrieval

• Summarising

This structured approach ensures that children are taught the full range of reading comprehension skills. Each unit is carefully designed around engaging texts that challenge and excite learners while developing their understanding of language, meaning, and context.

Through whole-class lessons, guided practice, and discussion, pupils learn how to unpick a text, explore themes and characters, and develop critical reading strategies. Comprehension Plus also provides opportunities for children to respond creatively, make connections with other subjects, and share their own ideas with confidence.

Reading for Pleasure

Alongside our comprehension lessons, we place great importance on fostering a genuine love of reading. Children enjoy listening to high-quality class novels, exploring our well-stocked school library, and taking time for independent reading. Teachers model reading for enjoyment and regularly share stories, poetry, and non-fiction to inspire pupils to discover new authors and genres.

We encourage children to talk about the books they are reading, recommend stories to their friends, and celebrate their reading journeys. By combining structured comprehension teaching with opportunities for reading for pleasure, we ensure that our pupils grow not only as skilled readers but also as enthusiastic ones.

At St. Joseph’s, we want every child to see themselves as a reader – someone who not only decodes words but also understands, questions, and enjoys the richness of literature. By the end of Key Stage 2, our pupils are well-prepared to approach the wide variety of texts they will encounter in secondary school and beyond.