Reading is the key to all learning. Without it, children cannot confidently access learning in other subjects. It is a vital skill for life, and one which opens many doors of opportunity and imagination.
We know from research that children who read well have a more extensive vocabulary and are more successful at school and beyond. We see it as our duty to ensure we foster a love of reading in all our pupils and inspire them to be lifelong readers.
We are proud of our reading spine of over 40 high quality children’s books, which all our students will study in depth during their time at Princecroft.
We have carefully selected the reading material we teach, and each choice has a strong rationale for why and when it is taught.
Includes all years and terms
In Years 1-6, there is a whole-class daily reading lesson. The focus of this lesson is children’s literature; the class book for the term will be studied here along with linked non-fiction texts and poetry. The teaching of reading is not limited to this time however – it is an integral part of every single lesson here at Princecroft. Children read widely for a range of purposes in all curriculum areas and we have planned this reading carefully to match what is being taught.
In our nursery and reception classes, we want children to know some familiar stories by heart and to enjoy participating in stories with rhyme and repetition. They learn to make choices based on their preferences and enjoy sharing and discussing books together. Alongside this, the children in reception read phonetically decodable books in line with the sounds they have been taught in their Sounds~Write phonics lessons.
They progress through our reading scheme systematically, ensuring they practise their skills to become competent readers.
The books we use for this are a combination of:
When the children know enough of the code to begin to read independently, we also use Oxford Reading Tree and Project X books which are no longer organised by sounds, but continue to increase in difficulty.
All adults are reading champions. No-one at Princecroft is ever too busy to discuss books with children. Teachers will regularly facilitate ‘reading for pleasure’ sessions with their classes and we ensure our library stock keeps up with new releases to satisfy keen reading appetites.
During each year, the children work through our reading awards for the number of pages they read: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, ruby, emerald, sapphire and diamond.
For each of these achievements, children are awarded with a certificate and a pin badge to wear on their uniform.
Princecroft Primary School is a small, friendly school and nursery for children aged 3 to 11, serving families in Warminster.
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