Reading

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

Intent:

At Holmesdale, every child has the opportunity to become a confident, independent, and fluent reader. Reading is woven throughout our curriculum to foster a lifelong love of language and literature.  We create a literacy-rich environment filled with high-quality texts and inspiring learning experiences.  A rich vocabulary is essential to this journey, empowering children to express themselves clearly, understand complex ideas, and connect with the world. We prioritise vocabulary development, with staff actively modelling varied and rich language to encourage children to continually expand their vocabulary, building both confidence and comprehension. We see reading as the foundation of all learning, enabling children to access the wider curriculum, engage deeply with ideas, and grow as thinkers, creators, and future makers.

Implementation:

At Holmesdale, our approach to teaching reading is systematic, consistent, and inspiring. We aim to ensure every child becomes a confident, fluent reader who develops a genuine love of reading.

We foster a love of reading by:

• Staff modelling positive reading behaviours and sharing their enthusiasm for books.
• Promoting whole-school reading initiatives that celebrate reading for pleasure (e.g. book fairs, author visits, national reading events, and themed weeks).
• Creating literacy-rich environments with inviting book corners in every classroom and regular access to our school library at protected times.
• Reading to children every day and encouraging children to read about what interests them.

We teach reading through:

• Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, a systematic, synthetic phonics programme.
• Modelling the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside phonics lessons and across the curriculum.
• A strong focus on language development, fluency, and comprehension in all reading lessons.

In EYFS and KS1, we provide a strong foundation through:

• Sharing high-quality stories and poems.
• Learning a wide range of nursery rhymes and action rhymes.
• Engaging in activities that develop focused listening, attention, and oral blending skills.
• Exposure to high-quality language and vocabulary.
• Daily Keep-up sessions to ensure every child makes progress and learns to read confidently.

Whole-Class Reading Sessions

• Explore and explicitly teach new vocabulary using the text as context.
• Provide opportunities for oral rehearsal through drama, role play, and talk partners.
• Include teacher modelling of reading and ‘think-alouds’ to develop comprehension strategies.
• Encourage links between current and previously read texts and personal experiences.
• Celebrate “marvellous mistakes” as valuable learning opportunities.
• Offer scaffolds to support understanding (e.g. pictorial prompts, sentence stems).
• Provide high-quality, in-the-moment feedback to move learning forward.
• Offer regular exposure to ambitious vocabulary to strengthen understanding and expression.

 

Our following core texts have been carefully chosen to enrich children’s cultural capital and provide a broad, inclusive literary foundation. They celebrate diversity, promote empathy, and build understanding of different cultures, traditions, and ways of life. Through imaginative stories and rich language, children at Holmesdale develop emotional literacy, creativity, and foster a love of reading. These shared texts connect children to a wider storytelling heritage, nurturing confidence, curiosity, and a strong sense of belonging within our school community and the world beyond.

 

	Nursery	Reception	Year 1	Year 2
Core Book list	Where’s Spot? Eric Hill   Dear Zoo Rod Campbell   You Choose Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt   We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Michael Rosen   Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  Polar Bear What do you hear?  Jasper’s Beanstalk Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen  The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle   Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy Lynley Dodd Each Peach Pear Plum Allan and Janet Ahlberg (Puffin) Hug Jez Alborough   The Train Ride June Crebbin   Colour Monster, Anna Llenas Feelings,   Amazing me, Steve Antony The Emperor’s Egg, Martin Jenkins Lulu Loves the Library by Anna McQuinn Would You Rather … by John Burningham Car, Car, Truck, Jeep by Katrina Charman and Nick Sharratt	Owl Babies, Martin Waddel The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson Handa’s Surprise, Eileen Browne Mr Gumpy’s Outing, John Burningham Rosie’s Walk, Pat Hutchins Six Dinner Sid, Inga Moore Mrs Armitage, Quentin Blake Whatever Next, Jill Murph On the Way Home, Jill Murphy Farmer Duck, Martin Wande Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown Shhh!, Sally Grindley The Colour Monster, Anna Llenas Super Milly and the Super School Day, Stephanie Clarkson Little Red Hen, Paul Galdone Pattan’s Pumpkins, Chitra Soundar Dipal’s Diwali, Twinkl The Gingerbread Man, Joseph Jacobs The Christmas Story, Elmer, David McKee The Magic Paintbrush, Julia Donaldson The Great Race, Christopher Corr Whatever Next, Jill Murphy Three Billy Goats Gruff, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen Three Little Pigs, Joseph Jacobs Jasper’s Beanstalk, Nick Butterworth Oi Frog, Kes Gray Izzy Gizmo, Pip Jones Commotion In The Ocean, Giles Andreae	Peace at Last Jill Murphy Can’t You Sleep Little Bear?, Martin Waddell Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak The Elephant and the Bad Baby Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs Avocado Baby, John Burningham The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Judith Kerr Lost and Found, Oliver Jeffers Knuffle Bunny , Mo Willems Beegu, Alexis Deacon Dogger, Shirley Hughes Cops and Robbers, Alan and Janet Ahlberg Elmer, David McKee Naughty Bus, Jan Oke Billy and the Beast Nina Shereen Beegu, Alexus Deac Stanley’s Stick, Neil Leyton Pug the Pig, Aaron Blabley The Dragon and the Nibblesome Knight, Ellie Woolard Bog Baby, Jeanne Willis	Traction Man is Here, Mini Grey Meerkat Mail, Emily Gravett Amazing Grace, Mary Hoffman Pumpkin Soup, Helen Cooper Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Book?, Lauren Child Dr Xargle’s Book of Earthlets, Tony Ross Not Now Bernard, David McKee Tuesday, David Wiesne The Flower, John Light Gorilla, Anthony Browne Emily Brown and The Thing , Cressida Cowell Frog and Toad Together , Arnold Lobel The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark Jill Tomlinson Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl The Hodgeheg, Dick King-Smit Flat Stanley, Jeff Brown Willa and old Miss Annie, Berlie Doherty The Journey Home,  Frann Preston Gannon The Minpins, Roald Dahl The Bear and the Piano David Litchfield Grandad’s Camper, Harry Woodgate Owl and the Pussy-cat, Edward Lear The Great Fire of London Emma Adams Ocean Meets Sky Eric Fan and Terry Fan The Polar express, Chriss Allsburg Last Stop on Market Street, Matt de la Pena Rosie Revere Engineer, Andrea Beaty

 

Barriers to learning / inclusion:

To ensure inclusion and remove barriers to learning, a range of targeted strategies are embedded within the reading curriculum. Vocabulary is pre-taught and keep-up groups for decoding operate with three-week assessment points to closely monitor progress. Visual aids, adapted texts, vocabulary mats, talking pegs, and daily oral vocabulary rehearsals support understanding and retention. Pupils work with talk partners using sentence stems, and techniques such as echo or choral reading promote prosody and fluency. Teachers model reading and comprehension through the I do, we do, you do approach, with regular opportunities for oral blending, phoneme manipulation, additional blending practice, and the use of story maps, chunked texts, dual-coded images, and narration or retelling frames to reinforce learning.

For pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL), strategies include using the home language to build meaning, same-day vocabulary rehearsal, and providing multimodal input through gesture, pictures, and actions. To support working memory, pupils are encouraged to use ‘repeat after me’ strategies, echo reading, and chunked instructions. For those with speech and language needs, staff model full sentences, use talk frames, and pre-teach key vocabulary.

 

Cultural capital and diversity:

Black History Month	Celebration and focus texts in class and library throughout October
Author studies	Diverse range of authors celebrated linking to topics and themes throughout the year. E.g. Chinese New Year, BHM
Parent workshops	Practical ideas to support reading at home, focus on decoding, prosody and comprehension strategies
School readers and parent volunteers	Weekly volunteers listening to children read and a story month where parents are invited into class to read an extract from their favourite children’s story.
Library Engagement	Monthly staff showcase of their ‘Favourite 5’ children’s books
Reading Club	Weekly reading club for children in Year 2 to support children in Year 1.
Publisher visit and workshop	Participation and engagement through exciting interactive storytelling, cultivating connection and creativity.

 

At Holmesdale, we are committed to developing every child’s cultural capital by providing the knowledge, skills, and experiences that help them understand and contribute positively to the world around them. The books we share are carefully chosen to reflect a wide range of voices, cultures, and perspectives, promoting diversity and inclusivity throughout our curriculum. Through rich language, inspiring characters, and meaningful themes, these stories nurture empathy, curiosity, and respect for others. They encourage children to celebrate differences, recognise shared values, and see themselves as part of a vibrant, diverse community.

Outcome:

Our rich and engaging reading curriculum has ignited a passion for books, transforming not only children's reading abilities but also their attitudes towards literature. This love for stories naturally spills over into their writing, inspiring them to create their own books to proudly share in the school library. The joy of reading is celebrated throughout our school, and it is truly heartwarming to see children eagerly discussing their favourite stories, characters, and authors with confidence and enthusiasm. At the end of EYFS and KS1, children perform higher than the national average.