English

At our school, reading is at the heart of the curriculum. We believe reading is a fundamental life skill and are committed to ensuring every child becomes a confident, fluent reader who can access the full curriculum and develop a lifelong love of reading. Reading is prioritised because it provides the strong foundations pupils need for future learning and success.

We aim for all pupils to:

• Read accurately, fluently and with confidence.
• Develop a rich vocabulary and strong comprehension skills.
• Read widely and often across a range of genres.
• Discuss and recommend books thoughtfully.
• Become enthusiastic, independent readers who read for pleasure.

We use a range of high-quality resources, including Read Write Inc. (RWI), Bug Club and class Kindle libraries, to support reading development.

How We Teach Reading

Reading is taught through a rigorous, systematic and carefully sequenced approach. Early reading is prioritised through systematic synthetic phonics, ensuring children develop secure decoding skills and the foundations needed to access the wider curriculum. Regular assessment identifies gaps quickly so that targeted support can be provided.  

Our approach includes:

• Daily Read Write Inc. phonics lessons.
• Carefully matched reading books.
• Targeted phonics interventions and Fast Track Tutoring.
• Explicit teaching of vocabulary and comprehension.
• Daily story time and high-quality read-aloud sessions.
• Regular opportunities for book talk and discussion.
• Exposure to a broad range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
• Additional support and 1:1 reading where required.

Children read regularly with adults and take home books matched to their phonics levels to develop accuracy, fluency and confidence.

Reading for Pleasure

Developing a strong reading culture is central to our curriculum. Every classroom follows a carefully selected Reading Spine that exposes children to ambitious, diverse and inclusive texts. Daily story time, high-quality literature and regular opportunities to read for pleasure help pupils develop confidence, broaden their vocabulary and foster a lifelong love of reading.

Children benefit from:

• Well-stocked classroom reading areas and a school library.
• Weekly library visits.
• Dedicated time to read for pleasure.
• Daily opportunities to listen to and discuss high-quality texts.
• Exposure to a wide range of authors, genres and themes.

Reading Enrichment

We enrich our reading curriculum through:

• Author visits.
• World Book Day celebrations.
• School Book Week.
• The Cirrus Trust Poetry Competition.
• KS1 Book Club.
• Reading Buddies.
• Library sessions and book fairs.
• Participation in local and national reading events, including the Summer Reading Challenge.

These experiences encourage children to read widely and often, deepen their understanding of literature and develop positive reading habits that will last a lifetime.

45 books to read before Year 3

Our recommended collection of 45 high-quality books helps children read widely, develop rich vocabulary, broaden their knowledge and build confidence as readers before moving into Key Stage 2.

45 book to read before Year 3

Book Week

Each year, we celebrate our love of reading through a dedicated Book Week, designed to inspire children to read widely and often. Activities include:

• Author visits
• Whole-school reading events
• Dress-up days
• Book fairs
• Quizzes, scavenger hunts and book-themed classroom activities

A highlight of the week is Books Before Bedtime, where children return to school in their pyjamas to share stories with teachers and celebrate the joy of reading together. These memorable experiences help foster enthusiasm for books and encourage positive reading habits beyond the classroom. Last years performance was 'What the Ladybird Heard' by Julia Donaldson.

Reading communities: 

• Participation in local reading competitions including the summer reading challenge
• Visits to the school library every week
• Book fairs  
• Participation in World Book Week dress up and enrichment events based on the national theme
• Reading buddies - teaming up older and younger classes to share favourite books together

Reading environments and choice: 

• An engaging, clearly labelled, tidy book corner with a range of classic and new, high-quality fiction and non-fiction texts. 
• Advice on how to choose a book that they will like and exposure to new authors and genres.   
• Time every week to choose a book and read for pleasure. 
• Dedicated time each day where an adult will read to them. 
• Time each week to read to an adult and other children in the classroom. 
• Daily opportunities to engage in quality book talk. 

Author visits: 

Regular author and storyteller visits help to promote reading for pleasure, broaden children's experiences of literature and inspire lifelong readers. Every child takes part in at least one author event each year.

At Stanley Park Infants', we teach phonics through the Read Write Inc. (RWI) systematic synthetic phonics programme. Phonics is prioritised as an essential foundation for learning, enabling children to develop accurate and fluent word reading, spelling and writing skills so they can successfully access the wider curriculum. 

Our phonics curriculum is carefully sequenced and cumulative, ensuring that children build their knowledge of sounds and letters step by step. From Reception, children participate in daily phonics lessons where they learn to blend sounds for reading and segment words for spelling. As their knowledge develops, they learn increasingly complex grapheme-phoneme correspondences and apply these confidently in both reading and writing. 

In Nursery, children develop strong foundations in communication and language through stories, rhymes, songs, vocabulary-rich experiences and high-quality interactions. These early language experiences prepare children for success in early reading and phonics. 

To ensure all children achieve success, we:

• Deliver daily, high-quality phonics lessons.
• Group children according to their stage of phonics development.
• Regularly assess progress to identify gaps and provide targeted support.
• Prioritise keeping up rather than catching up through timely intervention.
• Use fully decodable books closely matched to children's phonics knowledge.
• Provide additional teaching and practice for pupils who need extra support.
• Promote the application of phonics in reading and writing across the curriculum.
• Work in partnership with families through workshops and guidance. 

Reading Books

Children take home fully decodable reading books that are carefully matched to their current phonics knowledge, enabling them to practise and consolidate their learning, develop fluency and build confidence as readers. Alongside this, children are encouraged to choose books from our library and classroom collections to develop reading for pleasure and a lifelong love of reading.

Supporting Phonics at Home

Parents play an important role in helping children become successful readers. You can support your child by:

• Reading with them every day.
• Practising blending and segmenting sounds and words.
• Using Read Write Inc. rhymes and resources to reinforce learning.
• Talking about books together to develop vocabulary, language and comprehension.
• Encouraging regular reading for pleasure. 

For more information about the Read Write Inc. programme and how to support your child at home, please see the resources below.

Parent FAQs

Reading workshop to parents

We aim for every child to become a confident, fluent and purposeful writer. Our writing curriculum is carefully sequenced to build knowledge and skills progressively, enabling pupils to write effectively for a range of audiences and purposes. Strong foundations in communication, language, reading and spelling are prioritised to ensure all children can successfully access the wider curriculum. 

We teach writing through the Talk for Writing approach, which supports children to:

• Learn and internalise high-quality model texts.
• Adapt and innovate familiar texts.
• Apply their knowledge and skills independently in their own writing.

Writing is underpinned by the systematic teaching of phonics, vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure. Through approaches such as Colourful Semantics, children develop their understanding of language and learn to construct accurate, coherent sentences before progressing to longer pieces of writing. Opportunities to develop vocabulary and communicate effectively are woven throughout the curriculum.

Handwriting and Spelling

Handwriting is taught daily, with a clear progression from correct letter formation in Reception to fluent, joined handwriting in Key Stage 1. We use the Read Write Inc. handwriting scheme to promote consistency, accuracy and fluency. 

Spelling is taught systematically through our phonics curriculum. Children learn to spell using the phonemes and graphemes they know, while also developing their understanding of spelling rules and statutory Common Exception Words. Spelling knowledge is explicitly taught and revisited through daily Sticky Knowledge activities to help children retain and apply their learning accurately in their writing. 

In Key Stage 1, children are set half-termly spellings on Spelling Shed to practise at home. These focus on the statutory Common Exception Words, supporting pupils to develop accuracy and confidence in their written work.

Celebrating Writing

Children write regularly for meaningful purposes across the curriculum and are encouraged to share, perform and publish their work. We celebrate writing throughout the school, fostering creativity, independence and pride in pupils' achievements as young authors.

National Curriculum

English Programme of Study

Teacher Assessment Framework for Key Stage One

Early Years Long Term Progression Planning

Nursery Literacy Progression Map

Reception Literacy Progression Map

Whole School Writing Planning

Whole School Writing Planning

Handwriting Policy

Handwriting Policy

RWINc Handwriting rhymes

Spelling Progression

Spelling Progression

Reading

Reading Spine

Inclusive Books

45 Books to read before Year 3

Reading workshop to parents

Phonics 

Parent FAQs