Headteacher’s Welcome

Reading

We are passionate about reading at Rectory Farm. As it is so important, we invest heavily in making sure that the children have the best possible books available to them and it is a focus throughout school. We believe that providing greater access to a wide range of expertly written, content-appropriate, engaging REAL books is the single most effective way of improving standards of receptive and expressive language for children - in terms of expanding vocabulary, deepening comprehension, sharpening authorial technique, nurturing a love of stories and a thirst for knowledge.

Planning for English lessons is usually based around quality whole class texts, where children are introduced to real books. We use the Power of Reading approach and ensure children encounter both fiction and non-fiction. This drives the learning throughout the term: providing stimuli for oracy activities, securing reading comprehension through our Critical Reading sessions, grammar focuses as well as real opportunities for writing outcomes for a variety of audiences.

During the school day, the children have time to change their home reading book; additional times are available for those enthusiastic readers and devourers of books. We are fortunate to have a school librarian, who supports the children with their reading choices and each class has a time to visit the library and learn how to access the reading material.

In addition, we have a team of committed volunteers including Beanstalk helpers, who are invaluable in helping our staff, in ensuring our children develop a lifelong love of reading