Reading – Our Core Offer

“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.” Dr Seuss

We believe reading is central to everything. It is the key to learning and achieving aspirations.  Reading is important for learning but also for pleasure; it is a great escape into other worlds, other people’s lives and our imagination. It can inspire us all in so many ways. Children at Long Sutton learn to read and read to learn.

How we teach reading:

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr Seuss

Teaching Reading in EYFS and KS1:

At Long Sutton Primary School early reading is taught through the system of synthetic phonics.  We teach phonics using the ‘Unlocking Letters and Sounds’ scheme. It is taught daily from the start of Reception with phase 1 being taught in our pre-school.

Stories and book sharing are special times of each day, where teachers read a wide range of stories, poems, nursery rhymes and non-fiction books to the children. This is when children learn to understand the stories and texts they hear and where they develop a range of new vocabulary, ideas and comprehension skills. We use these books to support children’s personal, social and emotional development alongside their understanding of the world. We celebrate the work of different authors and illustrators and explore books through drama, art and role-play.

As they progress through Reception and into KS1 the children are taught further reading skills in Guided Reading sessions. These sessions are small group focus sessions with the class teacher where phonics is applied and where ‘sight’ words are reinforced. The focus is on developing fluency and building confidence. As the children’s fluency improves, there is a greater focus on comprehension skills.

How to help your child:

“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall. Then fill the shelves with lots of books.”

Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

We believe that reading to your child each day and enjoying stories with them are two of the most important things that you can do to support your child’s development as a reader. Your child will bring home a school reading book which they can read fluently; the aim is for them to practise the skills of reading taught in school and to further develop confidence.  They will need to read each book at least three times to fully develop their fluency. They will also bring home a book that they have chosen from our library for you to read to them.

Teaching Reading in KS2:

In KS2 we build on the children’s early reading success through daily reading lessons, where we teach comprehension skills, including using inference, prediction, summarising and retrieval alongside developing understanding of new vocabulary. They will also be given independent reading tasks that help them develop a deeper understanding of the texts they have read. The class will share a variety of stories, poems and non-fiction texts regularly and across the curriculum to develop a shared love of reading and teachers regularly read aloud a novel to children.  Within lessons the children will have access to a range of reading material including specific subject books, magazines and age appropriate newspapers.

How to help your child:

In KS2, as children become more fluent readers they still benefit from sharing books with you in order to continually develop their understanding of new vocabulary and comprehension and to foster a love of reading. Your child will bring home a school reading book that they have chosen for themselves from within their Accelerated Reader range. Here is a link to AR book finder, so your child can chose home books too. It is still really important that you listen to them read and talk to them about what they have read. Link to questions

How we develop a life-long love of reading:

We use exciting and engaging texts to help bring all areas of the curriculum to life. Children have opportunities to read a wide range of books by classic and contemporary authors. We also subscribe to the School’s Library Service – which means that we can provide the children with new books that are relevant to their interests and which support their learning across the curriculum. Staff share their love of books and bring in favourite books to share with the children. Each class has a book corner where new books or key authors are highlighted. We also have a group of dedicated volunteers to share books with the children.

We celebrate the bedtime story with ‘A Book at Bedtime’ where the children are invited back to school in their pyjamas in the evening to listen to stories.

How we assess reading:

The children’s reading is continually assessed through questioning and teaching. At the end of each term we carry out more formal, age appropriate assessments which inform our teaching.

How we help children who find reading difficult:

Children who find reading more difficult are given opportunities to develop their skills through 1:1 reading with an adult or through small group catch-up phonics and comprehension interventions. We take great care to support children to develop confidence and to have lots of opportunities to apply and reinforce their reading skills.

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney