Phonics and Reading

Reading is a skill we continue to develop throughout our lives, but starting this process as early as possible has significant benefits for our continued success as readers. This is why, as parents and carers, you play a vital role in supporting your child in becoming a fluent reader who is confidently able to apply their reading skills across all areas of their lives.

The teaching of reading and reading comprehension within the classroom is only part of a child's learning, and the value that is given to reading at home is equally important. Research suggests that children who read regularly outside of school perform significantly better in school assessments and so your support at home is essential in ensuring that your child makes the progress they are capable of. You can help your child to achieve their full potential by listening to them read daily (for about 15 minutes), reading regular bedtime stories and by encouraging them to enjoy reading and sharing books together. Reading widely through all of these approaches will help develop your child’s vocabulary, which in turn will make them more confident when reading more challenging books.

Giving your child a choice over what they read is an important factor in boosting their enthusiasm for reading and children are more likely to be interested in books they have selected for themselves. Your local library is an incredibly useful resource in providing regular reading material for your child and best of all – it’s free!

To help us track how much reading your child is are doing at home, it is important that you sign their reading record every time you have listened to them read, along with a brief comment. (At the upper end of Key Stage 2 when children are more likely to be reading with confidence and fluency, they should be keeping their own daily records, which should be signed by parents/carers at least once a week.) Your support with reading at home is essential and only by working together can we ensure your child achieves their potential as a reader.

If you require any further guidance regarding reading, please ask your child’s class teacher. To help you and your child(ren) make appropriate choices about the books they read, we have placed a list of book recommendations for each year group on this website. The links are letter below. This is not an exhaustive list but may give you some ideas of where to start.

If you purchase any of these books or already have any of these books at home and they have been read then we would be extremely grateful if you could pass them on to us (to the relevant year group) we can then share the books in class and lend to those who may not be in a position to purchase.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Jane Cross

For further information regarding the teaching of reading in school, click on the link below.

• In 2019 our Year 1 Phonics Screening Check result was again strong and above the National Average.
• Our result was 94% of our Year 1 pupils achieved the expected standard.
• We continued to assess Year 1 pupils in 2020 and 2021 despite the pandemic leading to the cancellation of the screening check. We based the results shown on the 2019 check materials and pass mark.