Learning to read is the most important skill your child will develop at school. Reading opens the door to every area of learning and helps children become confident, curious and independent learners.
At our school, we want every child to love reading—not just because it helps them learn, but because stories, poems and information books ignite imagination, inspire thinking and bring great joy. We work hard to make sure every child develops both strong reading skills and a lifelong love of books.
Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read adn write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from an another in the English language.
We are proud of our dedicated Early Reading Lead, Mrs Bicknell, who closely monitors progress across Early Years and Key Stage One. She ensures that every child gets off to a flying start in reading through high‑quality phonics teaching and carefully chosen books that match their reading ability.
In Early Years and Key Stage One we use Read Write Inc. to teach phonics in a clear, systematic way. Children learn to decode (sound out) words confidently and apply their skills in reading and short writing activities. If a child needs extra support, staff provide additional 1‑to‑1 sessions tailored to their needs.
By the end of Key Stage One, children are expected to decode text accurately using a range of reading strategies. Progress is assessed through the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check and ongoing teacher assessments.
In order to support your child at home, please see the links below for tools, phonics games and further information.
Once a child has exited the Read Write Inc Programme they take home book‑banded books that match their reading stage. Each colour band represents a level in reading development, and children work steadily through these bands as they progress. Although we use books from a variety of schemes—including Project X, Oxford Reading Tree, Ginn and Dandelion—we do not follow a single scheme. Instead, we offer a rich diet of high‑quality texts within each band.
To support reading at home and school, we invite all families to join our Read to Succeed challenge:
This reading can be anything—a school reading book, a comic, a recipe, a magazine, a library book, or a favourite bedtime story. Every read counts.
Whenever a child shows engagement with reading—at home or in school—they earn a raffle ticket. These tickets go into a draw to win exciting prizes such as:
This is our way of celebrating effort, encouraging regular reading, and showing children that reading is something to enjoy and share.
Developing a genuine love of reading is central to our ethos. We promote reading for pleasure in many ways:
Reading supports learning across every area of the curriculum. In each class, children encounter high‑quality texts linked to their topic work, deepening their knowledge, broadening vocabulary and encouraging curiosity.
Teachers also support reading through:
If you have any questions about reading or how best to support your child, please speak to your child’s class teacher—we are always happy to help.