Reading is at the heart of our curriculum at Shap CE Primary School. We want every child to become a confident, fluent reader who develops a lifelong love of books.

Our school environment reflects a passion for reading and we work closely with parents and carers to support every child’s reading journey.

Ofsted Recognition

Our commitment to reading was recognised in our most recent Ofsted inspection (July 2024):

“The school has prioritised early reading. Children in the Nursery class enjoy joining in with rhymes and sharing books together. This prepares them well for learning phonics in future years. Pupils practise reading using books that contain the sounds that they already know. Highly trained staff provide pupils with extra support if they need it. Most pupils learn to read fluently and accurately in readiness for key stage 2. Reading is threaded through all that the school does. Older pupils enjoy reading and appreciate the range of texts and authors on offer to them.”

Phonics

We teach early reading through the Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) phonics programme.

This systematic phonics approach teaches children how to read by identifying the sounds within words and blending them together.

Children learn to:

• Decode words by sounding out and blending sounds

• Encode words by segmenting sounds for spelling

• Apply their phonics knowledge to read unfamiliar words confidently

Children begin phonics in Reception, continue daily lessons in Year 1, and additional support is provided where needed to ensure every child becomes a confident reader.

 

Reading in School

Children experience reading in many different ways across the school:

Early Years

Children develop early language and reading skills through stories, rhymes, phonics and sharing books together.

Key Stage 1

Children read fully decodable books matched to the phonics sounds they know and take part in guided reading sessions to develop comprehension skills.

Key Stage 2

Children take part in guided reading sessions each week and explore a wide range of high-quality texts and authors. Reading sessions focus on developing understanding, vocabulary and discussion about texts.

Children also read individually with adults and are encouraged to become independent “free readers” as they progress through the school.

Supporting Reading at Home

Reading regularly at home is one of the most important ways parents can support their child.

We encourage children to read at least three times each week with an adult (daily if possible).

When reading with your child, try to focus on:

Decode
Sounding out and blending unfamiliar words.

Fluency
Reading smoothly and confidently.

Expression
Using voice and intonation to bring the story to life.

Parents record reading at home using Boom Reader, and children are celebrated for their reading effort through our weekly Reading Raffle.

Further Support for Parents

To find out more about the phonics programme we use, visit:

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/essential-letters-and-sounds/

You can also watch videos on how to pronounce pure phonics sounds on our phonics page.

 

 

 

Library Van Visits

                

We look forward to our Library Van visits!

It is an opportunity for our children to browse the bookshelves and select texts of interest to them that they will take home each week to 'read for pleasure'!

The librarian also reads their favourite story to our children, a real special time!