Reading

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Dr. Seuss, Children’s Author

Why we teach your child to read:

Supporting children to develop good language and literacy skills underpins educational success in all areas of the curriculum as well as building future achievement and rewarding lives.

By the time children leave Queen’s Manor Primary we want our children to be competent readers who can recommend books to their peers, have a thirst for reading a range of genres including poetry and participate in discussions about books including evaluating an author’s use of language and the impact this can have on the reader.  

Overall, it is our aim to promote a real love of reading which will ensure that they continue to be life-long learners.

What our curriculum looks like:

We have developed an ambitious curriculum that starts from the EYFS to Year 6. Texts chosen are high quality and build on children’s language and reading skills. In EYFS and KS1 we place a strong emphasis on the teaching of phonics, so children quickly become fluent readers. As they progress through the school, we also develop comprehension knowledge so children leave use able to read and comprehend fluently.

In EYFS we share stories with children daily and develop a love of reading – we encourage them to retell and role-play their favourite stories. Children will be exposed to a range of texts – from traditional tales to nursery rhymes and this support their oracy.

In KS1 they continue to read and hear and read a range of texts which become more challenging. They receive daily phonics sessions, participate in comprehension sessions and read across the curriculum.

By the time pupils enter KS2 we expect them to have mastered phonics and will focus on developing their comprehension skills. The school has carefully designed a sequential reading curriculum which exposes children to texts which increase in difficulty as they progress through the school.

All children are read to at the end of the day for story time, this consists of carefully chosen texts which leaders have chosen to expose children to a wider range of literature which includes diverse authors.

We are fortunate to have a well-stocked library which children visit regularly to choose books to read for pleasure.

Phonics

At Queen’s Manor, in EYFS and Key Stage 1, we teach phonics every day using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme. Little Wandle is a Department for Education validated systematic synthetic phonics programme that provides children with the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers and writers.

Children are taught to recognise and pronounce sounds (phonemes), learn the different ways these sounds can be represented by letters and letter groups (graphemes), and develop the key skills of blending, segmenting and manipulating sounds to read and spell words. Lessons are carefully structured and build progressively so that children can apply their learning with increasing independence.

If you would like to find out more about the Little Wandle programme and how it is taught in school, please visit our parent page here:

For support with pronouncing pure sounds, Little Wandle provides video examples to help ensure sounds are pronounced correctly at both school and at home.

In addition to daily phonics lessons, children take part in phonic reading practice sessions three times per week, focusing on decoding, prosody (reading with expression) and comprehension. These sessions help children to develop fluency, understanding and enjoyment of reading.

If children need additional support with phonics, we provide gap analyses and timely intervention sessions to help them keep up with their learning. These may take place in small groups or on a one-to-one basis.

Fluency

We believe the development of reading fluency is a key component of becoming a confident and successful reader. Fluent reading—characterised by accuracy, automaticity and appropriate prosody (expression)—is essential for comprehension and overall academic progress.

Teachers model fluent reading regularly, demonstrating phrasing, intonation and expression to help children internalise what fluent reading sounds like. Through guided practice and targeted support, we aim to ensure all children develop fluency and a love of reading. We believe the development of reading fluency as a key component of being a great reader. We understand that fluent reading - marked by accuracy, automaticity, and appropriate prosody - is essential for comprehension and overall academic success. Our approach includes regular opportunities for pupils to engage in guided and repeated reading, where they practise reading aloud with feedback to build confidence and expression. We also model fluent reading through teacher-led sessions, helping students internalise phrasing and intonation. By embedding fluency instruction across subjects and tailoring support to individual needs, we aim to foster a love of reading and ensure all learners can access and understand increasingly complex texts.

Comprehension

As a research informed school, we have developed our own unique reading learning journey for the teaching of comprehension alongside the teaching of phonics in EYFS and KS1. Our whole class approach focuses on the teaching of background knowledge as this ensures children will be able to understand the text they are about to read (Willingham, D, 2009). Our journey starts with building background knowledge; moving on to the development of vocabulary and incorporates the teaching of the reading domains as outlined in the national curriculum.

How you can help your child at home

Your child is learning through the Little Wandle phonics scheme, therefore they will bring home two types of books: a reading practice book and a sharing book.

The reading practice book is carefully matched to your child’s current phonics knowledge. This means it should be mostly decodable, allowing your child to practise what they have already learned. If the book feels easy, please do not worry—this is an important part of building fluency and confidence. Please listen to your child read and offer plenty of praise and encouragement. If they are unsure of a word, you can support them by saying it for them.

The sharing book is a book for you to enjoy together. This book is not expected to be read independently. Instead, read it to or with your child, talk about the pictures, discuss the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for characters, and explore any information in non-fiction texts. The focus is on developing a love of reading.

Sharing a wide and diverse range of stories at home

Above are the links to a variety of stories featuring Black and ethnic minority characters and a range of settings from around the world for you to enjoy listening to with your child. These can be accessed by scanning the QR codes above each of the front covers. You can scan these using a camera on a mobile phone/device or a QR reader app. These QR codes will open the stories using YouTube.  We recommend that parents or family members watch these stories with their children so they can discuss the themes of the stories and also ensure children are not using YouTube unattended.

We have put together lists of texts which we consider to be age appropriate for your children:

EYFS and Key Stage 1

• Join your local library and encourage your child to choose books they are excited to read; Fulham Library or Hammersmith Library.
• Turn off distractions, enjoy the story together and talk about the pictures and characters.
• Encourage your child to read their Little Wandle reading practice book several times during the week. Re-reading the same book helps develop fluency and confidence.
• Talk about the print you see every day, such as road signs, shop signs and food packaging.
• Visit our Little Wandle for Parents page for videos and resources to support reading at home; Little Wandle for Parents

Key Stage 2

As children become more independent readers, your support continues to make a difference.

• Visit your local library and encourage your child to explore different authors, genres and non-fiction texts; Fulham Library or Hammersmith Library.
• Encourage your child to carry a book with them wherever you go (this is something you can do too!)
• Have a family bookshelf of your family favourites.
• Continue to share books together and talk about what you are reading as a family.
• Ask questions about what your child is reading and encourage them to explain their ideas using evidence from the text.
• Encourage reading beyond books, including newspapers, magazines and high-quality online articles.
• Talk about current events and the wider world to help build vocabulary and background knowledge.