Reading and Phonics
"Keep reading. It is one of the most marvellous adventures anyone can ever have."
- Lloyd Alexander
Reading is at the heart of Leeming - in lessons, book-talk, class libraries, quality texts, story times, homework, clubs - reading is everywhere. We know that being able to decode and understand text unlocks the world for children and confident readers make the best progress in all learning. Plus, of course, there's nothing like the joy of losing yourself in a book.
Below are a number of resources to explain our curriculum approach and to support your child's learning in Reading. Please read with them every day - it's the best way to help them with all their learning!
Curriculum Design
Please see below for information about the design, rationale and priorities of our Reading curriculum.
Phonics
We have adopted a new Systematic Synthetic Phonics programme - Little Wandle Letters and Sounds, which was revised in 2021, and validated by the DfE. This comprehensive programme details the progression through the sounds, and how to teach their acquisition, both in terms of speaking, reading and writing.
The full document detailing progression in phonics can be found here:
There is a wealth of resources for parents on their website, which can be found in the links below. This also includes video guides on how to pronounce the various sounds correctly.
Little Wandle have published a parents' information presention, which can be found below.
In addition to the above, we host an online Parents' Information event for Phonics at the start of the year. If you missed this, you can find the presentation and notes below:
Progression Framework
The National Curriculum outlines in detail what pupils should learn at each stage of their Reading journey. Using the principles outlined in our Curriculum Design document above we inspire pupils with their reading both in terms of decoding and comprehension.
Further details about Reading in EYFS can be found in the Literacy area of our EYFS curriculum plan.
Reading for Pleasure
"Reading for pleasure is closely associated with intrinsic motivation; it is reading that children do for themselves at their own pace, with whom they choose and in their own way."
Cremin et al., 2019
We are determined that our children should develop a love of Reading, as we know that this underpins so much of the rest of their learning and life - and there's so much to be enjoyed in the pages of a good book!
In order to develop children's love of reading in KS2 we took part in an Open University / UK Literacy Association research project, which allowed us to develop further strategies and initiatives in Book Talk. Book Talk is an integral aspect of Reading For Pleasure in our school. Explore the presentation below to see our rationale, outline and the impact of the exciting project.
Reading for Pleasure Project Presentation
Top Tips and Resources
Please see below for an example of our Reading Newsletter - sharing some of the children's reviews, and the books we've been covering in school.
Below are a series of fun ideas, top tips, and creative ways to support your child(ren) with reading at home.
