At Avenue, we always promote the importance of children learning to read well and developing a love of reading. It is such a fundamental skill, that we place great emphasis on developing reading fluency and comprehension. We want every child to have the skills to be able to read, and to want to read, for pleasure and for information. 

EYFS

We begin by exposing children to a print rich environment; sharing and enjoying a range of rhymes, songs, stories and books; creating reading groups which are central to the week; teaching phonics based on letters and sounds; ensuring reading books are sent home on a weekly basis as soon as the children are ready for this and by including big book activities with a shared reading and writing focus each week.

KS1

In Year 1 and 2 the children continue to enjoy reading as they are taught to read through daily phonics lessons, based on Letters and Sounds, and guided reading sessions, as well as within topic lessons. The children begin to develop their understanding of what is being read to them and what they are reading through verbal comprehension, moving to written responses to a variety of genres. We ensure all children are heard read by the class teacher and the teaching assistant on a weekly basis and more often where needed.

Children take reading books from the reading scheme home and from their class book corner each week. Children are encouraged to read at home and comments are written in their reading record, which is signed by both parents/carers and the class teacher.  Every day, each class has a specific time to read for enjoyment. During this time, a broad range of quality texts, from a variety of authors, are used to help children develop reading skills and deepen the children’s understanding of our literary heritage.

KS2

By the time children enter the juniors (Y3), the majority of children are fluent at reading, and we develop their skills by supporting them in reading more challenging books, developing their comprehension skills, and building their vocabulary. 

Children in KS2 are taught reading through comprehension lessons and guided reading sessions based on the National Curriculum. Each group reads with the teacher once a week.

Additionally, children are also read with individually if further support is needed.

Children in KS2 continue to take books from the school reading scheme, along with book corner books, until they become ‘free readers’. They are then guided towards choosing age appropriate texts from school or they bring in alternative reading material from home. Children are encouraged to read at home and comments are written in their reading record daily, these are then checked by class teachers at least weekly and parents/carers are encouraged to sign these.

A variety of quality texts are used to help children develop an appreciation of reading. Each class has time to read for enjoyment every day. The children are exposed to a range of authors and text types to support their reading development and to deepen their knowledge of our literary heritage.

Book fairs

We hold termly book fairs through Scholastic UK which always does incredibly well and earns the school money to spend on books. More information about the next book fair will be shared with parents and carers. 

Reading Trails

Each year group has a reading trail for the children to work their way through to support further reading for pleasure, additionally this supports parents with selecting age appropriate, highly recommended texts. See below for links to our reading trails.

Oxford Owl e-Book Library 

Our subscription to ‘Oxford Owl for Home’ provides access to a collection of tablet-friendly e-Books and helpful tips and activities for parents to support children’s learning at home. All of the reading scheme books we use at Avenue are available through the Oxford Owl e-Book Library, which should make it easier to select an appropriate book. This website provides extra opportunities for reading at home and contains lots of useful videos and tips to support parents in developing their child’s reading skills. To access the eBooks, visit the Oxford Owl website: www.oxfordowl.co.uk/