Phonics and Reading
At Oakhurst Community Primary School, we believe that the ability to read is one of the most vital skills that a child will learn in their time at our school. Coupled with this should be a love of reading, stories and tales. We believe that everyone has a part to play in fostering this love of reading
‘Early Reading, whether it is in a parent’s lap, on the carpet of a classroom or in a snug reading corner, gently but indelibly imprints upon us the mould from which will cast a lifetime of communication in the world.’
Alex Quigley - Closing the Reading Gap (2020)
Reading and Phonics at Oakhurst Community Primary School
Parents can find a full breakdown of both our Phonics and Reading curriculum on our ‘The Oakhurst Curriculum’ page and you can navigate there by clicking the link below:
The focus of this particular part of the website is providing a little more information about what reading and phonics looks like at Oakhurst Community Primary School and how parents and carers can best support the developing needs and skills of their children at home.
Phonics Workshops for Parents and Carers
Towards the beginning of each new academic year at school, we run an event specifically for parents and carers of children in Nursery and Reception. This workshop is an introduction to how we teach early reading and answers the question, ‘What is Phonics?’
Throughout this workshop, we pause to discuss the best ways that parents and carers can use this information in order to support children’s reading at home.
Nothing beats attending the workshop in person because we introduce resources, play games and there is an opportunity for parents and carers to ask questions with the school’s Phonics and Reading Lead present. However, if you are unable to attend, the document below outlines most of the session’s content from the most recent workshop run in school for parents and carers.
parent and carer workshop an introduction to read write inc .pdf
Phonics Folder Contents Explanation
As part of the workshop, we discuss the intended purpose for each of the books you’ll be able to find in your child’s Phonics Folder (if they participate in phonics sessions). The handout below is a helpful guide to parents and carers regarding this.
The Oakhurst Read Aloud Spine
Here at school, we have developed our own bespoke ‘Oakhurst Community Primary School Read Aloud Spine’.
This spine documents the reading experiences your child will have all the way from Nursery to Year 6. Each year group has been designated a selection of books that children’s teachers will read aloud to them.
These books have been specially chosen to represent a broad range of authors, genre and interests. We have also organised these books to convey a series of themes and ideas across texts. Here are a selection of the reading themes we have woven throughout our spine:
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Kindness
- Overcoming Fears
- Animal Companions
- Dragons
- Extraordinary Young People
- Exploration and Survival
- Portal Stories
- Identity
- Against the Odds
All of the books that comprise The Oakhurst Community Primary School Read Aloud Spine are available to borrow from the school library, too. This way, children can relive the experience a second time for themselves.
The School Library
At Oakhurst Community Primary School, we take books and the business of reading very seriously. There is simply nothing better than being able to cosy up and read something special. To that end, we are fortunate enough to have a school library on site that children are free to visit and borrow books from.
The library is staffed by pupils from Upper Key Stage 2 (Year 5 & Year 6) who have been specifically trained to be school librarians.
We do our absolute utmost to ensure that the library is stocked with contemporary books from a wide range of authors, exploring a vast array of content and adventures that are intended to appeal to the children at our school. You will often find us running events and fundraisers in order to make sure that the library contains the best, most up-to-date literature.
Recording Our Reading Journey using My Bookshelf
At Oakhurst Community Primary School, we have made the decision not to use traditional ‘reading diaries’. Instead, we have developed our own tool for children and their families to use when documenting their reading journey. This document is called ‘My Bookshelf’.
Using this document means we can achieve a number of aims:
- Teachers can monitor the documents to ensure that children are accessing a broad reading diet comprising a range of genre and authors
- Anyone in school can start up a conversation with a child based on what they have been reading
- Children are able to hone what constitutes their sense of enjoyment and taste by rating the books they have read
- Children can make recommendations to one another using these records as a guide
Reading at Home
We would encourage all parents and carers to engage in reading activities at home with their children. This is not limited to simply hearing your child read to you, but also you reading to your child and helping them to experience cosy, special storytime.
Over the many years we have monitored the progress of our children, it would be safe to say that those children who read regularly and are read to by adults make the greatest rates of progress when learning to read. Every little helps - even if you can spare just a few minutes each day.
We can all play a role in helping foster a love of reading within the children of our school.
Helping to Develop Reading Fluency
As part of our ongoing support for your child’s reading journey, we help children to improve their reading fluency. Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy and proper expression - all essential for making sense of what they read and enjoying stories more deeply.
Here are some simple ways that you can help your child at home:
Daily Reading Practice
Read aloud every day
- Encourage your child to read aloud to you, even for just 10 minutes a day, can make a significant difference.
Re-read favourite books
- Repetition builds confidence and helps children move from decoding each word to reading smoothly and expressively.
Encourage Less Overt Sounding Out
- If your child can already recognise a word, gently encourage them to read it without breaking it down into sounds.
- Try prompting them with phrases like: “You’ve read that word before - can you remember it?” or “Let’s try that sentence again in one smooth go!”
Model Fluent Reading
- Take turns reading! Hearing an adult read with expression and flow gives children a pattern to follow.
- You might read a page first, then invite your child to “echo read” - repeating what you’ve just read in a similar style.
Try Paired or Choral Reading
- Read a sentence or short paragraph together at the same time. This is a fun, low-pressure way to build confidence and develop rhythm in reading.
Use Audiobooks & Read-Alongs
- Listening to audiobooks while following the text supports vocabulary and helps children hear what fluent reading sounds like.
- Oxford Owl
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/
- BBC School Radio
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p007g5y4
These platforms offer free, high-quality read-along resources.
According to recent literacy research, children become more fluent when reading feels like a natural, enjoyable conversation with the text, rather than a decoding challenge at every word.
Your encouragement and shared enthusiasm will go a long way in helping your child achieve this!
How can I find out more?
We are always more than happy to help.
If you have any queries, or you would like to find out more, please use the Enquiry Form found by navigating to the ‘Contact Us‘ tab on the main menu. Alternatively, you can direct your query to admin@oakhurst.swindon.sch.uk and we will put you in contact with the relevant member of staff.