We pride ourselves in celebrating a love of reading throughout school from the moment the pupils arrive until the moment they leave. We encourage pupils to develop a love of reading so that they become life-long readers. It is our aim to ensure that pupils become fluent readers as early as possible. We recognise how crucial this is for pupils to be able to access all areas of the curriculum.

We have two purpose built libraries on the primary side of the academy and each class has an allocated library time to further immerse themselves in quality texts. There are inviting reading areas situated throughout the academy where children may sit and read for pleasure in their own time. We have also invested in our home-reading books in order to ensure that all pupils have an appropriate text to help develop their reading fluency. Furthermore, books are strategically placed in classrooms and in corridors to allow children to further their knowledge on subjects that may interest them. Our intent is that no child should leave our school without being able to read.

We listen to the pupils read regularly and they are then encouraged to read aloud to an adult at home at least three times a week. This is to help reinforce their word recognition; improve their fluency and confidence; and share their love of reading with siblings and parents. We reward pupils who read at home with ‘regular reading’ prizes. They are recognised weekly and half-termly in assembly with special prizes and everywhere around school, you will see encouragement for reading. We acknowledge that not all pupils will have the opportunity to read at home. Therefore, we ensure these pupils are listened to as often as possible within school.

We want the pupils to develop a love of reading. This is encouraged through the use of reading challenges, two school libraries, book nooks, special reading areas and carefully selected class texts. We ensure all of our pupils read widely and often, with fluency and comprehension appropriate to their age. Furthermore, we arrange engaging experiences such as author visits and book fayres to expose the pupils to the joy that reading can bring. This aims to involve and inspire the community with developing a love of reading.

Our Reading Strategy

The Serlby Park Reading Strategy is based on a trust-wide approach to develop reading comprehension skills, it takes place every day for a minimum of 35 minutes. It incorporates age-appropriate, challenging texts which vocabulary rich therefore pupils are exposed to text which enables them to respond using a greater range of vocabulary. Each year group has carefully chosen texts which last for up to a term. All year groups have a reading response book which reflects the pride and enjoyment which children have towards their reading. The texts are supplemented with non-fiction and poetry to ensure a broad range of literature is experienced.