Reading

Reading at Ashton Hayes Primary School

Vision for Reading

At Ashton Hayes Primary School, we believe that reading is the key that unlocks the entire curriculum and opens doors to a lifetime of learning, enjoyment and opportunity. We want every child to become a fluent, confident and enthusiastic reader who reads widely, thinks deeply and develops a genuine love of books.

As a small rural primary school in Cheshire, we recognise that books enable children to experience places, cultures, perspectives and ideas far beyond their own community. Through carefully selected, high-quality literature, our reading curriculum broadens children's horizons, celebrates diversity and helps pupils develop empathy, curiosity and an understanding of the wider world.

We believe that reading should be a source of both knowledge and pleasure. We strive to foster a lifelong love of reading by surrounding children with exceptional books, inspiring authors and engaging reading experiences. Our recently refurbished library, inviting reading environments and learning walk encourage pupils to discover new books, develop personal reading preferences and choose texts that both challenge and inspire them.

Strong foundations are essential. We are committed to ensuring that every child becomes a successful reader through high-quality systematic synthetic phonics teaching and carefully structured reading instruction. As pupils progress through the school, they develop increasing fluency, comprehension and critical thinking, enabling them to access increasingly complex texts with confidence and enjoyment.

Reading is central to life at Ashton Hayes Primary School. We believe that every child deserves to experience the joy, wonder and opportunity that reading brings.

We aim for all pupils to:

develop a lifelong love of reading for both pleasure and learning
become fluent, accurate and confident readers
develop strong comprehension skills through discussion, questioning and reflection
experience a rich and diverse range of high-quality literature
broaden their understanding of different cultures, communities and perspectives
develop ambitious vocabulary through regular exposure to rich texts
apply reading skills confidently across the wider curriculum
become thoughtful, independent readers who enjoy exploring books throughout their lives.

Implementation

Reading at Ashton Hayes Primary School is taught through a carefully sequenced curriculum that develops pupils from early readers into confident, fluent and reflective readers.

In EYFS and Year 1, children learn to read through Essential Letters and Sounds, a systematic synthetic phonics programme that provides a structured progression of phonics knowledge and early reading skills. Daily phonics lessons develop children's ability to decode words accurately, blend sounds fluently and build the secure foundations needed for lifelong reading. Reading books are carefully matched to each child's phonic knowledge, ensuring that pupils experience success, build confidence and develop fluency.

Children who require additional support continue to receive targeted phonics teaching and intervention beyond Year 1, ensuring that every child is supported to become a successful reader.

From Year 2 onwards, pupils develop reading comprehension through Ready Steady Read Together from Literacy Counts. This carefully sequenced programme is built around high-quality, vocabulary-rich literature and fully reflects the expectations of the National Curriculum. Through carefully selected texts, pupils encounter a diverse range of authors, genres and perspectives that broaden their understanding of the world while developing increasingly sophisticated reading skills.

Teachers explicitly model fluent reading through expression, pace, intonation and prosody, helping pupils understand how skilled readers construct meaning from a text. Lessons provide regular opportunities for discussion, questioning, vocabulary exploration, drama and high-quality talk, enabling children to deepen their understanding while developing confidence in expressing their ideas.

At Ashton Hayes Primary School, we believe that reading extends far beyond English lessons. High-quality texts are used across the curriculum to enrich learning in history, geography, science, RE and other subjects. This helps pupils develop disciplinary knowledge whilst recognising reading as a gateway to understanding the wider curriculum.

Developing a love of reading is central to our approach. Our refurbished school library, attractive reading environments and dedicated reading learning walk encourage pupils to explore books independently and discover authors, genres and topics that interest them. Staff actively promote reading for pleasure through regular story time, book recommendations, author studies and opportunities to discuss and celebrate books together.

Teachers use ongoing assessment to ensure that pupils receive appropriate support and challenge. Reading is carefully monitored so that every child, regardless of need or background, develops the fluency, vocabulary and comprehension skills needed to become a successful reader.

Impact

Through the reading curriculum at Ashton Hayes Primary School, pupils develop into fluent, confident and enthusiastic readers who understand that reading is both a source of enjoyment and a gateway to lifelong learning.

Pupils leave our school with secure decoding skills, excellent reading fluency and the ability to comprehend increasingly complex texts. They use a range of reading strategies confidently, discuss literature thoughtfully and justify their ideas using evidence from the text.

Through regular exposure to ambitious, diverse and vocabulary-rich literature, pupils develop broad cultural knowledge, empathy and an appreciation of different perspectives and experiences. They understand how reading enables them to explore places, cultures and ideas beyond their own lives while deepening their understanding of the world around them.

Children develop positive reading habits and see themselves as readers. They confidently select books for pleasure, enjoyment and information, making full use of the school's library and reading environments. They understand that reading is not simply a school subject but an enjoyable and valuable part of everyday life.

Ultimately, pupils leave Ashton Hayes Primary School as enthusiastic, reflective and accomplished readers who embody our vision to 'Aspire to be Amazing'. They possess the knowledge, skills and love of reading needed to thrive in secondary education and continue exploring the world through books for the rest of their lives.