Leaders ensure that reading has the very highest priority across the whole school.  The passion for reading is palpable and allows all pupils maximum access to the wider curriculum.  As a result, pupils love reading.  Consequently, Y1 pupils year on year Phonics Screening Check outcomes are above national figures.  Pupils with SEND or those who have not met the school’s expected phonics learning sequence from Reception class to Y3 are immediately supported to keep up and make strong progress as a result.

From the moment our pupils begin in the Reception class, reading is of the upmost importance and our aim is that all children are able to read by the time they finish Key Stage 1. In Reception and KS1, we aim to ensure that the Holbrook curriculum provides rich and varied experience where language can be the foundation of learning and thinking. Using text-related topics allows us to support our pupils in the teaching of new vocabulary whilst being able to revisit learnt vocabulary.   All classes have a well sequenced and selected  River of Knowledge words, a web of vocabulary, that span the thematic curriculum and link knowledge, skills and understanding across all subject areas.

Early reading is prioritised by using a balanced approach where pupils have the opportunity to not only learn to recognise new phonemes and graphemes, but to make meaning of what they are being taught and apply it across the curriculum. Pupils will then revisit taught letters and sounds in a range of topics and texts in order to develop their current understanding. At Holbrook we have also adopted a ‘non-negotiable’ timetable where all classes are focusing on reading-based activities for the first 45 minutes of the day. For Reception and KS1, this includes daily phonics, reading with an adult or whole class reading sessions. 

Click below to read through the documentation sent out to all stakeholders regarding how we promote reading at Holbrook. This document includes lots of useful information about all key stages, particularly how pupils' phonics knowledge progress as they move through EYFS and Key Stage 1: