Our Vision for Reading

"Reading is the Gateway to all Learning."

At Longlevens Infant School we believe that Reading is the Gateway to all Learning. Our aim is for every child to become a confident, fluent reader and to develop a lifelong love of reading. We are extremely passionate that every child will become a reader. By prioritising early reading, we give pupils the strong foundation they need for success in school and beyond.

Early Reading and Phonics

Early reading is taught through the Read Write Inc. systematic synthetic phonics programme. This structured approach enables children to develop secure decoding skills, fluency and comprehension from the start of their reading journey. Regular assessment ensures pupils read books that are closely matched to their phonics stage, allowing them to practise and apply the sounds they know. Our aim is that pupils leave Year 2 as fluent readers, ready to access the Key Stage 2 curriculum.

Our Reading Curriculum

Our reading curriculum is carefully designed to reflect the needs, backgrounds and interests of our pupils, while also broadening their knowledge and experiences. We have developed a Reading Spine of high-quality core texts for each year group from EYFS to Year 2. These carefully chosen texts expose pupils to a wide range of authors, genres and themes, while also developing vocabulary, language and understanding of authorial choices.

Developing Fluency and Comprehension

Reading aloud is prioritised through daily story time, allowing children to hear high-quality language, expression and develop a love of stories. Texts are also used as stimuli for writing in English lessons and for comprehension work using our Six Principles of Comprehension, helping pupils develop skills such as vocabulary understanding, inference, prediction and explanation.

Promoting a Love of Reading

We are driven to create a reading-rich environment across the school. Classrooms, shared areas and our school library encourage pupils to explore books and read for pleasure. We also work closely with parents and carers to support reading at home so that children can practise their developing skills and build positive reading habits.

Assessment and Support

Reading progress is regularly assessed and carefully monitored so that teaching remains closely matched to pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils who require extra support receive timely intervention, while confident readers are provided with appropriate challenge. Staff receive regular training to maintain high expectations and ensure that reading and phonics are taught consistently and effectively across the school.

What we do to enrich reading:

For more detailed information about how we teach phonics and reading at Longlevens Infant School, please see our Reading Handbook.

Supporting your child to read:

Here is the link to a video we have made to help you with reading at home with your child. It includes a range of reading strategies to use for all levels of reading. With short video clips allowing you to see the reading strategies being put into practice.

For more activities for EYFS please visit our EYFS phonics pack here.

For more activities for KS1 please visit our KS1 phonics pack here.

The sounds from our phonics scheme are split into different sets - 1, 2 and 3. In this video, it explains how the sounds are pronounced and which are the bouncy or stretchy sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yln6PpV1G1I

Please see the document below for strategies to support your child when reading at home:

Our parent phonics sessions are a great way to share what we do with parents and carers.

Additional resources

Take a read of our Reading Newsletters and listen to the stories read by our lovely members of staff. Can you visit your local Library and find any of the books recommended? Do you have any books you would like to recommend?

Below are some activity packs to support your child to read and write using their phonics. These are the resources they are familiar with and use at school.

The table below outlines the terminology used in school to support your child's reading: