Reading at College Town

At College Town we recognise that reading is a vital tool in ensuring our children are given the best chances in life. It is a skill which underpins a child’s ability to access the wider curriculum and allows them to broaden their vocabulary.

We encourage our children to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.  We guide the children to appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage, becoming enthusiastic and critical readers. Above all, we aim to inspire our children to be life-long readers and authors, who read and write for pleasure. 

We aim to:

• Put reading at the heart of our curriculum in all classes

• Ensure that children receive a balanced programme of listening to stories, poems and rhymes that feed children’s imagination, enhances their vocabulary and develops comprehension skills

• Deliver systematic synthetic phonics teaching from the beginning of Reception

Reading for Pleasure

At College Town, we have a range of books in our libraries and classrooms for children to enjoy. Each class has a library slot allocated throughout the week where children have the chance to choose and read new books.

In all areas of the curriculum, reading is promoted and teachers are encouraged to use a variety of medium to teach reading, including: newspaper articles, video clips, non-fiction books etc. covering a breadth of topics. Books linked to curriculum areas are in classrooms for children to read while they are learning about a topic. Children are introduced to a range of different kinds of books, whether this is in Guided Reading, in an English lesson or as a Class Reader.