Reading  

We know that reading and developing a love of reading is essential for enabling success across the curriculum and building skills for life. We want our children to become lifelong readers who immerse themselves in high quality texts. Early reading is vital to the future success of our children and that is why so much importance is placed on reading at our school. This starts with early reading and phonics. 

All children in EYFS and KS1 will have at least a 20-minute daily phonics lesson. We use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds phonics programme. This is a comprehensive reading programme that ensures all children are taught the phonemes of the English language and their alternatives in a well-planned structure. Alongside this there are robust systems of assessment and ‘keep up’ sessions to ensure no child is left behind in their reading journey.

As a school, it is our aim that every child progresses into KS2 as a confident reader. All our children have daily reading sessions, which include guided reading, individual reading, and whole-class reading. They also access a range of high-quality texts through their daily English lessons. This includes both fiction and non-fiction, as well as poetry. This is supplemented by regular reading at home, recorded in their home-school diary. One-to-one reading is also utilised to support children in early reading acquisition. E-books are used to aid reading and consolidation at home.

Reading for Pleasure

Reading for pleasure has been defined by the National Literacy Trust as “reading that we do of our own free will, anticipating the satisfaction that we will get from the act of reading. It also refers to reading that, having begun at someone else’s request, we continue because we are interested in it” (Clark and Rumbold, National Literacy Trust, 2006).

At Gilthill, we recognise the joy that reading can bring to our children and the barriers it can help break down. As part of our Reading for Pleasure initiative, we have identified two key strands that we are developing within our school:

1. Improving Staff Knowledge: We are enhancing our staff's understanding of high-quality texts.
2. Creating a Supportive Environment: We are establishing an environment that fosters reading for pleasure within the school premises.

To address these goals, we have undertaken the following actions:

• Established designated class reading areas and introduced ‘book corners in a bag’ to provide children with access to reading spaces across the school for relaxation and enjoyment.
• Encouraged staff engagement by sharing recommended readings and discussing new texts through our staff Reading for Pleasure notice board and during staff briefings.
• Invited new and exciting authors to visit the school to share their experiences and discuss their latest works with the students.
• Enhanced our school library facilities (see photographs below)
• Encouraged teachers to recommend books to students, thereby enabling them to explore genres they may not have considered previously.
• Invested in new reading materials and collaborated with parents and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to procure new texts for both our library and classrooms.

If you would like any further information about our Reading for Pleasure development work in school please contact Miss Bult through the school office at Office@gilthillprimary.org