Reading

At Boxmoor Primary School we aim to produce:

• Children who want to read;
• Enthusiastic, independent readers;
• Efficient readers able to adopt a variety of strategies flexibly;
• Children who have developed an established reading habit;
• Children who are aware of the need to be critical and reflective about the material they read;
• Children who are able to access information efficiently from a range of sources including ICT.

Furthermore, we believe that this love of reading is best established via strong partnerships between parents, grandparents and school. Children will bring home school reading books to read. Each of our classes has a well stocked library with a wide range of texts for the pupils. The pupils have a dedicated times in class to read for pleasure. In addition, they will also have the opportunity to visit the school library regularly and choose books to read for pleasure. Our teachers love to read to the pupils, and have a time each day for this in class.

_Poetry

We have introduced a poetry spine to help develop a love of reading poems and rhymes. These poems have been taken from Pie Corbett’s poetry spine.  In EYFS and KS1, the children listen to and join in with rhymes and poems each day. 

In KS2, children have a key poet for each term. We have poetry recitals, where they can perform their poems. 

In addition to this, children will listen to a range of poems throughout the year, during their ‘read aloud’ time.  Children will also experience hearing and writing poems within their English lessons. Poems will be added to the poetry spine as and when teachers feel that they are appropriate. 

Library

All children have the opportunity to regularly visit our school library and choose books to read for pleasure. There is a wide range of reading genres, as well as poetry and on-fiction books. We have developed a wider range of books that promote diversity and inclusion.

Reading at Home

 Children are more likely to become fluent readers who choose to read for pleasure if they are exposed to books and words and are given the space to do so at home as well as at school. As such, we ask parents to aim to hear their children read every day where possible. Older children should be encouraged to read independently for longer periods of time to build their stamina.

Other ways to encourage reading at home include:

• Share stories with your child. Pick a book and read it together every night, discussing the story as you go. Studies have suggested that children need to be read to every day until the age of 11 if they are to become avid readers!
• Visit the library and choose books, including non-fiction;
• Tell stories. Make up stories whilst out walking or in the car. Encourage your child to be as imaginative as possible, giving detail to hook the listener in;
• Give your child access to a variety of reading materials e.g. newspapers, comics, magazines, recipe books, web pages.
• Read in front of your child. If they see you reading and enjoying it, they are more likely to pick up a book and copy you.