At St Michael’s Primary School, we believe that all children can and have the right to develop a love of reading. We firmly believe that reading is the key to all learning and that a love of reading can set our pupils up for education success as well as introduce them to people, places and ideas they may not encounter in their everyday life.
Instilling a love of reading early gives children a head start on expanding their vocabulary and building independence and self-confidence. Reading helps children learn to make sense not only of the world around them but also people, building social-emotional skills and of course, imagination.
We promote reading for pleasure as part of our reading curriculum. Children are encouraged to develop their own love of genres, to review their books objectively and to provide their teachers and peers with recommendations. Throughout our curriculum, teachers in our school share their love of reading with their classes through daily story time. Our Headteacher reads with each year group on a weekly basis, where she reads exciting and new high quality texts. A moment in the week that the children cherish just as much as Mrs Robson. Active participate between pupils is also highly valued, from our Year 6 and Reception buddies reading together regularly to our class and school librarians who assist their peers and manage their class and school library.
With strong links between reading for pleasure and educational outcomes, it is important that we work together with families to encourage children to read at home. We thank all those parents, carers and grandparents that volunteer their time to read with children on a weekly basis and to those who have attended our ‘Early Reading and Phonics’ parent workshops.
Reluctant Readers
At times, some readers can find it difficult to engage with reading for pleasure at home, particularly if reading is difficult or children are exploring authors and genres that they enjoy most. Reading stories or texts together, hearing stories read by adults, reading with older or younger siblings or even listening to audio books can all make reading time enjoyable and special. Some companies sell books specifically designed for an older audience who still need some reading support such as Barrington Stokes. Click the buttons below to discover age appropriate recommended reads or explore what your child can read next by following a map of linked texts that they may enjoy.