Reading Intent

At Tyrrells Primary School, reading is taught through our overall English sequence. Our aim is for our children to use their reading to further their understanding of the world around them and to aspire towards their future lives.

Our teaching of English enables our children to become fluent readers and to see reading as a comfort and a safe haven as well as a tool that can be used to continue their learning throughout their life. Reading allows children to access the world around them, to stretch their minds and further their opportunities.

Our English curriculum provides children with skills that they need throughout life and continue their learning – being not only able, but confident, to write, read, articulate, comprehend and communicate.

Our teaching of English encourages children to read about and experience viewpoints from different walks of life – historically, geographically, within society. We ensure that our reading material, writing stimuli and purpose for writing are inclusive and diverse. Through these texts, our children develop their empathy skills and learn to value and celebrate our differences.  

Our Reading and Poetry spines set out the books and poems that are used to support units of work in English. The books have been chosen carefully to ensure that there is a range of modern texts, picture books, classic texts and non-fiction. We have also ensured that children are exposed to the works of Shakespeare and experience a range of myths, legends of fables.

Early Reading and Little Wandle

At The Tyrrells Primary School, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. This is why we teach phonics and early reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

Reading at home

Supporting your child with reading stages 1-5

Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their reading journey by continuing their practice at home.

There are two types of reading book that your child may bring home:

• A reading practice book. 
• A sharing book. 

Reading practice book

This book will be a Big Cat LWLS book. It has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.

Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together to extend their comprehension skills.

Sharing book

In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. The sharing book is a book they have chosen for you to enjoy together.

Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun! The book is labelled 'Free choice book' and has a chili to represent how difficult the book may be.

Stages 6-11

After reading the Big Cat LWLS books, your child will progress onto stages 6-11. Your child will be given more freedom to choose the title that they are reading and can still bring home a sharing book, this will be from the 'free choice books' or from the young reader section of the library. After stages 6-11, children become a free reader. 

Becoming a free reader

After stage 11 (lime colour), children will move to being a Free Reader. Free Readers can choose their own fiction book from the library area and will change their book when they have finished. Free Readers should still record reading in their diary. Children will have the additional opportunity to extend their interests of the world around them by choosing a non-fiction book. 

Parent Workshop - Phonics

Please find below the resources from the most recent parent workshop for phonics (November 2024).