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Early Reading

At Fritchley CofE (Aided) Primary School we are deeply committed to developing a love of books in our children. This is achieved in two main ways; teaching reading skills and giving the children the opportunity to read for pleasure.

Developing Reading Skills

We begin with our youngest learners following the ‘Little Wandle Revised’ program for phonics. The children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 take part in daily lessons where they learn letters and sounds which are grouped into phases. Intially, these start as 10 minute sessions when children start in Early Years building up to 30 minutes each day. Little Wandle's thoughtful planning ensures that children learn new letters and sounds whilst revising and consolidating those prevously learned. 

Alongside this, children in Reception and Year 1 read a book aligned to their phase, 3 times per week with an adult in school. We use 'Collins Big Cat' books which are linked to Little Wandle to ensure consistency and progression. These early steps give the children the skills they need to be able to read aloud with fluency and understand what they have read.  

Everyone learns in their own way, at their own pace therefore some children may need to repeat a phase, have catch up or keep up support or a different reading book to their peers. This also extends to children beyond Year 1 who need support to master phonics. 

You can find a glossary of terms for the Little Wandle Revised scheme below. Additional resources for parents including helpful videos can be found here Little Wandle for parents .

Reading for Pleasure 
All children in school are exposed to a wide range of books during their school day. This may be a book from their book corner, the library or a book linked to their topic. The books may be fiction, non-fiction or poetry; books, magazines or newspapers.  Additionally, they are given time to be able to sit and read and chat to their friends about what they've read or are reading.
 
For children in the Early Reading stage, they also bring home a 'book to share.' This book will have been chosen by the child and may be beyond their skill level but they would like to 'read' nonetheless. Early readers love the rhyme and rhythm of books such as 'The Gruffalo' or are enchanted by Max's adventure in 'Where the Wild Things Are.' Research has shown that the sharing of books has a big impact on later learning and we encourage parents to read to their children regularly too.
Supporting your child at home
The Collins Big Cat books have in built resources to help you develop your child's reading skills. Begin by reading inside the front cover before you read with your child. Under the 'Talk about it' heading, there'll be some helpful prompts of how to look at the front cover and talk about it.
 
This page also covers the essential letters and sounds that are shared in the book. Please don't skip this page. It helps to embed the phonemes and graphemes that the children are learning.
 
Once you've read the book, there's a helpful 'After Reading' page which will give you further ideas of how to talk about the book with your child.