Our Approach to Reading

Growing and Achieving Together in English

In English we take our children on a journey that is engaging, exciting and empowering for all.

At Sandiway Primary School we value reading as a key life skill and ensure reading is a fundamental part of what we do. Everything else depends on it, so we put as much energy as we possibly can into making sure that every child learns to read with confidence whilst developing a true love of reading.

How we Teach Reading

We follow a Mastery approach for the teaching of reading through the programme Pathways to Read. Units of work are delivered using high quality texts and children in all year groups are given varied opportunities for reading. 

Reading in School

Our goal is to foster a passion for reading. We provide a variety of excellent reading resources in the classroom. Stories, newspapers (First News), levelled reading materials (instruction books), library books, information books and more. Research shows that children who read a variety of books form preferences and incorporate ambitious vocabulary and writing styles into their own work.

At Sandiway Primary, we are passionate about reading for pleasure as this plays a major role in reading development. Each classroom has an inviting Book Area with high quality texts that have been carefully chosen. These include our Sandiway Readalouds.  The children have a dedicated time for silent reading with an aim to build reading stamina and develop a love of reading. Each class also has a Book Club slot timetabled into the week where new books are discussed and recommendations are shared. 

Sandiway Readalouds

Each class has a Readaloud Book Spine. We have chosen the books carefully to ensure they have a strong and meaningful narrative,they extend children's vocabulary and help children to understand the lives of people whose experiences and perspectives are different from their own. We encourage our teachers to include their own favourites in this spine too.

World Book Day:

You can hear some of our school staff read a story by clicking the YouTube links below:

Webpage updated November 2023

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