Reading at Home

Phonics & Reading 📚

In Reception, developing a love of reading and giving children strong foundations for reading and writing is a very important part of our learning.

Red Rose Phonics 🌹

We follow the Red Rose Phonics scheme. Children take part in daily phonics sessions where they learn to hear, say and recognise sounds. They are taught to blend sounds together to read words and to segment words into sounds to support spelling and writing.

Children progress through phonics at different rates, and the work and homework they receive will reflect the sounds and phase they are currently working on.

Kinetic Letters ✏️

Alongside our phonics learning, we use Kinetic Letters to support handwriting and letter formation. Children use Kinetic Letter pens in school and are taught how to form their letters correctly.

Developing good habits from the beginning helps children to become increasingly confident and independent writers.

Reading Books & Reading Records 📖

Children should bring their blue school book bag to school every day.

Reading books are collected on Tuesday and children receive their new books on Thursday. Please keep your child's reading record inside their book bag.

We ask that children spend around 10 minutes reading with an adult at home each day. Little and often really does make a difference.

Please remember to sign your child's reading record each time you read together at home. This helps us to celebrate their reading and keep track of how regularly they are practising.

Reach for the Rainbow 🌈

We love celebrating reading at home!

Our Reach for the Rainbow challenge encourages children to read regularly with an adult. Each week, children can move up to three clouds on our classroom rainbow display depending on how many times they have read at home.

We use children's signed reading records to see how many times they have read, so please make sure you record each reading session.

Reading for Pleasure ⭐

We also encourage children to enjoy books simply for the pleasure of reading. During the year, children take part in our Reading for Pleasure challenge, working their way through the alphabet and completing different activities linked to countries.

We suggest completing approximately one activity every fortnight. Children can work towards certificates as they progress through the challenge.

Most importantly, we want our children to see reading as something enjoyable. Sharing stories, talking about books and enjoying just a few minutes of reading together at home can make a huge difference.