Reading

Home reading at St Thomas' Catholic Primary School

Here at St Thomas' we want the children reading as much as possible both at home and school. We aim to foster of love of reading and encourage children, as much as possible to celebrate all things literature.

EYFS and KS1

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will be on the RWI programme for phonics. They will all bring home a 'book bag book' which has been carefully linked to the sounds and the text that they are doing in school. This is their school book which will come home with them on a Thursday and needs to be read every day for 10 minutes following the timetable below as a guide. It will come back to school the following Thursday to be swapped for the next one. Once children in KS1 finish the RWI programme they will be placed on a book banded book (we have banded books that go up to band 20). We aim to have the children off of RWI by the end of Y2. The children will also want to read a book for pleasure, this may be a book from school or it could be a book from home or the library- these are 'stories to share' and we wouldn't expect the children the decode them or understand them independently and may need some support from someone at home. It is just as important that the children develop skills of comprehension and fluency as it is their ability to decode text.

KS2

Once your child has complete the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, they will no longer receive a RWI. Book Bag Book to take home. Instead, please see the provision below.

Colour Banded Book (Collins Big Cat, Oxford Reading Tree…) – This book is designed to build your child's fluency at an age appropriate level and to broaden their reading experience. This book will be changed by their class teacher. Please have this book in school every day.
School Library Book or book from home - This book is to encourage your child to develop their own interest in books and is selected by your child.

Click here for access to many free online reading books.