We Love Reading!
Reading is central to our learning at Horfield. In our English lessons we are inspired by high-quality texts that we all enjoy.
Here is a video about the texts we are using this year.
Scroll down to find the Powerpoint and videos from our recent Phonics Information Evening
At Horfield we love reading! Our school is packed with some of the best books around so there is always something good to enjoy.
We start the year with the Horfield Book Award linked to our whole school theme which this year is 'Identity'.
In our classes we share 14 picture books and then we vote for the best one. We celebrate this in a special Horfield Book Award ceremony.
EYFS and KS1 book list final updated 2023
We commit to purchasing the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) book awards shortlist every year so we have a fresh supply of high-quality books that we know the children will enjoy. We have visits from authors every year to inspire us and we often have the opportunity to share with others what we have enjoyed reading.
As soon as we arrive at Horfield, we start our reading journey. One of the very first things we do is come for a story time as part of our getting to know you sessions. Then, from our very first day, we start learning phonics. We sing, learn rhymes and hear a story read aloud every day. Home reading is encouraged and we take home both decodable books and story books to share. As we get better at reading, we become more independent and are able to choose to read as part of our continuous provision.
As we go up through the school, we continue to learn phonics until we are fluent readers. In our classes we our read to every day by the adults who share their love of books with us. There are plenty of high-quality books for us to read both in school and at home.
We have a very well-stocked library and every class has weekly library sessions to learn how to use the library and to enjoy a range of fiction and non-fiction books.
Last year we started our monthly book swaps where children can bring used books and swap it for a new one. This helps us to ensure that all children have a supply of high-quality books at home.
We have opened our outdoor Reading Cabin so we can even continue reading at playtime. The suitcase libraries mean that there is a wide selection of books for us to choose from.
Reading at Home
We really value the help and support we get from parents with reading at home; we have produced a short guide to help parents and children get the most out of home reading sessions.
