A message from our Reading and Phonics subject leaders
“At Tollerton Primary School, we believe that learning to read is one of the most important achievements in a child’s education. Reading opens the door to the entire curriculum and provides children with the knowledge, vocabulary and confidence they need to succeed both in school and beyond. Most importantly, it gives children access to the endless enjoyment, wonder and opportunities that books can provide.
Research consistently shows that children who become confident readers early in their school journey are more likely to achieve well across all subjects. Strong reading skills support language development, academic success, wellbeing and future life chances. This is why we place such importance on ensuring that every child receives high-quality, systematic early reading instruction from the moment they join us.
At Tollerton, we use Read Write Inc. (RWI) as our chosen phonics programme. Read Write Inc. is a rigorous, evidence-based approach to teaching reading and writing that provides children with the essential building blocks they need to become fluent readers. Through daily phonics lessons, children are taught to recognise sounds, blend sounds into words and develop the decoding skills necessary for reading success.
The Simple View of Reading tells us that successful reading relies on two key elements: word recognition and language comprehension. Children need to be able to accurately decode words while also understanding the language they hear and read. Read Write Inc. provides a systematic approach to developing these crucial decoding skills, whilst our wider curriculum, story times and rich language experiences ensure that children’s vocabulary and comprehension continue to grow.
Our Early Reading curriculum begins in Reception, where children quickly learn the sounds that letters represent and how to blend them together to read words. Through carefully planned, daily lessons and regular assessment, we ensure that every child is taught at the right level and receives the support they need to make strong progress.
Reading is about much more than decoding words, however. Alongside our phonics teaching, children are immersed in high-quality stories, poems and non-fiction texts every day. We want children to develop a love of books and see themselves as readers from the very beginning of their school journey.
As children move through Key Stage 1 and become increasingly fluent readers, they continue to build their confidence, stamina and comprehension skills. Most children complete the Read Write Inc. programme by the end of Year 2 and are then ready to transition into our whole-class reading curriculum, where they continue their journey as thoughtful, fluent and enthusiastic readers.
We know that parents and carers play a vital role in supporting children to become successful readers. By working together and encouraging regular reading at home, we can help children develop the habits and confidence that will stay with them for life.
Our goal is simple: we want every child to leave Tollerton Primary School as a fluent, confident reader with a genuine love of books. We believe that reading has the power to transform lives, open doors and create opportunities, and we are committed to giving every child the very best start on that journey.”
– Mr Isted and Miss Sandells, Reading and Phonics Leads