Reading Scheme and Phonics
Reading at Sacred Heart
At Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School we aim to inspire every child to develop a love of reading through immersing them in high-quality, engaging texts. All year groups share a wide range of stories with their children, from traditional tales and nursery rhymes to intriguing picture books and gripping novels. Please see our reading overview which shows the provision in place from Nursery to Year 6.
We also have a number of audiobooks across the school to support all children in their reading fluency. Please see our Audio book list to see some of the titles we have on offer.
At Sacred Heart we place a great emphasis on teaching our children to read and instilling in them a love of reading. This love is modelled daily by adults in school through many aspects of our curriculum and is encouraged at home. We recognise that reading is a hugely important life skill and therefore place great emphasis on producing confident and fluent readers.
Please find further information on appropriate books for children to read from Year 1-6. Many books have been recommended by children at Sacred Heart.
Recommended Books to read LKS2
Recommended Books to read UKS2
Phonics and Key Stage 1 reading
Before children start Reception at Sacred Heart, teachers liaise with nursery colleagues to ascertain previous phonics teaching. As some nursery children are enrolled on our phonics programme in the Summer term, we anticipate that children will have started to develop their listening skills and are starting to discriminate between sounds whilst also recognising rhythm and rhyme. Children’s phonics knowledge is assessed on their entry into Reception and children across Reception and KS1 are streamed into appropriate smaller groups. This enables children to learn at their pace using the Read Write Inc phonics programme.
Children will take home a Read, Write Inc reading book to support their reading at home. Children should predominantly focus on accurate reading before moving on to pace, fluency and developing a 'story teller's voice.' Books are matched perfectly to each child's phonics level therefore improving children's independance and confidence with reading.
Children’s progress is reviewed every half term to provide the most accurate assessment data. The national Phonics screening check is performed in June in Year 1. The purpose of the screening check is to confirm that all children have learned phonics decoding skills to an age-appropriate level ready for Year 2. If children do not meet the required standard then support can be put in place in Year 2, where they will repeat the screening. As children enter KS2, provision is put into place for children who require extra support with their phonics.
Please find below further information on how you can support your child reading at home from Reception.
Key Stage 2 reading
As pupils move into Key Stage Two, they begin to read books from our Oxford University Press book banded scheme to support different reading abilities.
These books should be read aloud and enjoyed with parents each night to develop fluency and comprehension skills. They are still encouraged to borrow books from their class libraries to read for pleasure.
Support for Parents
Reading regularly and exploring books both at home and school is so important when a child is learning to read. Reading resources online can also be a fantastic tool to motivate children when reading. Please see below for a a list of recommended websites to support your child.
www.wordsforlife.org.uk - offers a huge variety of tips and activties for engaging your child and supporting them with reading at home. Click on the Parent Support area for more information.
www.phonicsplay.co.uk – play free online games to increase phonological awareness and practice sounds taught in school.
www.oxfordowl.co.uk- find lots of information and resources about reading and writing, including helpful phonics videos to demonstrate sound pronunciation.
www.topmarks.co.uk- phonics, spelling and punctuation games.
www.spellingshed.com- children from Year 1 to Year 6 can log on to their learning area to practice their weekly spelling and high frequency words for their year group. Spelling, punctuation and grammar games can also be played. Children to play alongside their peers and earn points on their leader board.
If you would like any more information about Literacy at Sacred Heart, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Mrs K McCaffrey
Literacy Lead