Reading at Swan Lane First School
At Swan Lane First School, reading is at the heart of our English curriculum, and we have carefully designed both our programme of study and our school environment to instil a love of reading and books in our pupils, which we hope will remain with them all their lives.
Every classroom has a welcoming and comfortable reading corner bursting with exciting books which our children love to explore. Our school library is a treasure trove of fiction and non-fiction books that the children are able to borrow on a regular basis. We have a selection of bilingual books which will enable our EAL learners to share books in their home languages while supporting their acquisition of English.
Outside, we have a designated Reading Cabin so that children can enjoy reading in the great outdoors with friends during playtimes and social times and also during lesson times with their class teachers.
The English Curriculum
Important foundations for reading are laid in Reception and Key Stage 1, where our systemic and structured phonics programme introduces the key knowledge and skills children will need in order to become fluent readers. Right from the start, and throughout their time at Swan Lane, children are encouraged to read both in the classroom and at home, with access to a wide range of interesting and exciting books which have been carefully selected to match their developing reading ability. Our English curriculum is strongly rooted in literature, meaning that children are exposed daily to the work of a wide variety of authors and a broad range of genres during their time at Swan Lane, with lessons designed to focus children in getting the most from every book they read.
You can find out more information about the teaching of Phonics and our English Curricula at Swan Lane by clicking here.
Our Reading Scheme at Swan Lane First School
At Swan Lane First School, we want every child to develop the confidence, skills and enjoyment needed to become a lifelong reader. Our reading scheme supports children as they develop their reading ability, helping them to choose books that are appropriately challenging while encouraging a love of reading.
Children read books from our carefully organised colour-banded reading scheme, which supports progression through different stages of reading development. In Reception and Key Stage 1, books are closely matched to children’s developing phonics knowledge, ensuring that children practise the sounds and skills they have been taught while building accuracy and confidence. As children become more secure readers, they move through the colour bands, developing increasing fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Teachers and teaching assistants regularly monitor children’s reading progress to ensure that books provide the right level of challenge. We encourage children to read regularly at home and in school, discussing books, sharing ideas and developing their understanding of stories, characters and information texts.
Reading at Swan Lane is about much more than moving through reading levels. We want children to develop a genuine enthusiasm for books and the confidence to explore different authors, genres and ideas. Alongside our reading scheme, children enjoy a wide range of carefully selected texts through class reading, our school reading spine (’50 Books to Read at Swan Lane’) and opportunities to recommend and discuss books with others.
Book Bands
All reading books at Swan Lane are organised into coloured Book Bands according to their level of challenge and complexity. As children gain in confidence and skill with their reading, they progress through the Book Bands, so that the books they read provide an appropriate level of challenge for them. Teachers carefully monitor and assess children’s reading throughout the year, in order to ensure that the books they read – both in Guided Reading lessons and from the Home Reading Scheme – are suitable for their needs.
This chart gives an indication of the range of Book Band levels at which most children will be reading as they progress through school.
The chart shows the Book Bands for an ‘average’ group of children, but do remember that children are all individuals who learn and make progress at different rates, so the progression shown is only a guide. As well as periods of rapid progress, your child will probably have periods of consolidation, when progress is not as obvious. Although this may seem worrying, this is the time when they have the chance to develop confidence in using and applying their newly acquired skills.
It is really important that children develop their comprehension skills alongside their ability to read the words on the page so you may find that your child is able to read the words fluently but continues on the same Book Band colour for a while to enable them to focus on developing their understanding. Class teachers assess the children’s reading on a regular basis and will change their Book Band colour only when they are confident that both the comprehension and word reading targets have been fully met.
Click the links below to find out more about the different book bands in our reading scheme.
Oxford Owl Reading Buddies
Oxford Owl Reading Buddies provides you with an even greater range of reading material to support your children’s reading at home.
We are delighted to be able to offer such a rich and varied range of reading material to support your children’s learning journey. Sharing books together with the family helps children to foster a greater depth of understanding and helps to nurture in them a love of reading and learning, which we hope will remain with them all their lives.