Walton on the Hill Primary School recognise that reading is at the absolute core of excellent primary education. Reading allows children to learn and access knowledge and the more language your child has the greater their success at reading will be. At Walton on the Hill, children enjoy listening to and sharing ideas about stories by talking. The children learn the letter sounds and key words in phonic sessions, which are the first step to reading.

The National Curriculum sets out very clear expectations for English with reading at the core. At our school we base our teaching of reading on this

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

We promote the saying that ‘A child who reads will be adult who thinks’.

“Young people who enjoy reading very much are three times as likely to read above the level expected for their age as young people who do not enjoy reading at all”

Children’s and Young People’s Reading in 2015, National Literacy Trust, 2016