Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and we aim to provide children with the teaching and support they need to become confident, fluent readers as quickly as possible. 

Stage 1: Early Reader

When children join us in Reception, they are taught to read using ‘Read Write Inc’ which is a synthetic phonics programme that systematically teaches individual sounds and how to blend learnt sounds into words.  As children gain confidence, they read RWI ‘Core Books’ in school and take home the corresponding ‘Book Bag Book’ to practise the same sounds at home.  Children only take home scheme reading books that contain the sounds that they already know.

Stage 2: Developing Reader

Once children complete RWI, typically at the end of Year 1, they then move onto our wider reading scheme.  This contains books from Oxford Reading Tree, Project X and Collins Big Cat.  At this stage in their reading journey, children know how to use their phonics skills to decode new, more difficult words.  They continue to gain fluency and confidence as they work through the scheme.

Stage 3: Independent Reader

Children who can read the final level of the reading scheme with a high level of fluency and understanding are able to move off the scheme completely and take home two library books to read (one for pleasure and one that is more challenging).  Children complete their own Independent Reader Journal. We expect that the majority of children in Year 6 will become Independent Readers at some point during their final year with us.

All children are invited to take home a library book in addition to their scheme reading book.  Whilst children are still learning Phonics, parents are asked to share library books with their child and support them with any words that are not phonetically decodable.