St. Michael's CE School
Working Together For The Good Of All
“St. Michael’s Church of England School, established upon Christian foundations and living out the Christian faith, is committed to providing every child with an excellent education.”
READING AT ST MICHAEL'S
Reading is a priority at St. Michael's....
At St. Michael’s we work hard to enthuse pupils to learn to read as well as enjoy reading. We firmly believe that it is one of the most important of the life skills as it opens not only the book of print, but also the world of knowledge and life. It is at the heart of the curriculum and permeates across everything we do and across all areas of the curriculum.
Reading is seen to be at the core of our teaching and learning and of vital importance to life. We have a rigorous approach to how we implement reading into lessons. We strive to celebrate and encourage a love for books, in order to allow children to access a plethora of writers and genres.
Everything else depends on it, so we put a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm into reading underpinned by a rich book environment that promotes reading both indoors and outdoors. One of our key aims is to ensure that pupils are taught to read to enable them to not only become independent and love books but also to enable them to access the wider curriculum.
Above all, at St Michael’s we believe that a positive reading culture is imperative and we strive to promote a love for reading.
All staff ensure that children are immersed in the world of literature and impress upon pupils this skill that will remain with them for life.
Reading Leader
Each school has to have an experienced 'Reading Leader' who has experience of teaching in Reception and Key Stage 1, has an excellent subject knowledge of phonics and early reading in order to develop the consistent systems within the school and is passionate about reading and the development of reading for each child ,
The 'Reading Leader' at St. Michael's is Mrs Gemma Jennings.
Mrs Jennings role includes:
Monitoring the quality and consistency of the programme of teaching phonics and early reading;
Coaching teachers and Teaching Assistants regularly to build up an excellent reading team;
Overseeing assessments;
Ensuring every child receives the right support and monitors their development to prevent pupils falling behind.
Please see below a video from Mrs Jennings explaining the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Scheme.
Phonics and Reading Presentation for Parents (1) (2).webmTop ten book tips
To assist parents/carers with the selection of books to read together we have compiled a list of recommended books (both fiction and non-fiction). The lists are not set in stone, rather they can be a guide for the year groups. These books are just a suggestion and further information can be found at your local Libraries/book shops……….Happy Reading for Pleasure!.
We hope that these links help parents and carers to support their child with reading. It is important to share books with your child regularly and talk about different types of text. Children who have secure phonic knowledge need to read to an adult and have opportunities to discuss literature:
Apps
If you are looking for apps to download for your children, the following is a useful website that gives you plenty to choose from:
Everybody read!
'A love of reading is the biggest indicator of future academic success!'
Here is a PowerPoint presentation which outlines the importance of reading to your child. It highlights that every interaction with books has a positive impact on your child's learning.
Take a look at the LittleWandle Website for more information, along with helpful reading tips, book recommendations and much much more...
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/my-letters-and-sounds/everybody-read/
Our Library
We have an amazing library filled with an array of books. It is a very stimulating and welcoming area for the children and is overseen by a Teaching Assistant and our Junior Librarians.
The JuniorLibrarians work on a rota system to oversee the management of the Library and take great pride in ensuring it is a wonderful place to come and read. They have given us some quotes about what they think of their library - please click on the link to find out their pupil voice views
We are an Outstanding Reading School!
At St. Michael’s we believe that reading is one of the most important life skills that we can instil in our pupils. Across the school we promote a love of reading and develop their skills all pupils so that they:
read easily, fluently and with good understanding
develop the habit of reading widely and often, both for pleasure and information
develop and broaden vocabulary through reading
appreciate our rich and varied cultural heritage
Furthermore, as part of the work we do to adhere to the ‘Basic Skills Quality Mark Award’ we promote the teaching of the basic reading skills is of a high priority for us as a school. Regular reading takes place across the school and we promote a love of reading. We are always striving to maintain being an outstanding reading school.
Our-Outstanding-Reading-School.pdfA celebration of Reading for Pleasure (RfP): Autumn 1 2021
Each term we hold an RfP session where parents come into school and share books and reading. Please click on the link to view our wonderful RfP session for Autumn 1: A celebration of Reading for Pleasure: Autumn 1 2021