Reading & Phonics

Reading Intent at Alderton Junior School

The intent of Reading at Alderton Junior School is to develop a life-long love of reading within our children and give them the opportunity to enter the wider world equipped with reading skills needed for everyday life. Children will experience a wide range of reading material that will inspire, motivate and challenge them as readers. By the time children reach Year 6, reading for pleasure is embedded. They are intelligent readers that enjoy reading for sustained periods of time and can discuss and explain what they are reading with confidence.

The teaching of Reading at our school includes:

Daily 30 minutes sessions delivered through a structured approach that focuses on fluency, vocabulary and the skills needed to read for meaning.
Phonics teaching in Year 3 and phonics support and intervention for other year groups to ensure all children make accelerated progress throughout their time with us.
Accelerated Reader - interactive activities to assess children's understanding of what is read.
Daily whole class reading where teachers' and pupils share their love of reading through a class novel.
Regular theme days and reading events such as World Book Day and more.

Phonics in KS2

On arrival in Year 3 all children are assessed to see which children still need support in phonics with segmenting, blending or spelling.

Any children who do still require this support receive daily phonics sessions.

We use the Little Wandle ‘Rapid Catch-up’ Programme. This programme is fast paced and has been created to help children catch up quickly.

The programme has been developed to ensure plenty of repeated practice in blending, word reading and spelling in each lesson.

Accelerated Reader

Accelerated Reader is a programme used at Alderton that helps teachers and parents manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book at his/her own level, reads it and when finished, takes a short quiz on a computer. Passing the quiz is an indication that your child has understood what has been read. AR gives children, parents and teachers feedback based on the quiz results which then informs and helps the child’s development within reading.

Please see our parent guide for any further information.

Guide for Parents: Helping Your Child with the Accelerated Reader Programme

Accelerated Reader parent information.pdf

Support your child's reading at home

At Alderton Junior School, we believe that while children learn the mechanics of reading in the classroom, they fall in love with reading at home. You are your child’s first and most influential teacher, and the time you spend reading together is invaluable.

Why Home Reading Matters

Vocabulary Growth: Children who read at home are exposed to thousands of words they might not hear in everyday conversation.
Confidence Boost: Sharing a book in a relaxed environment helps children practice without pressure, building the fluency they need for school.
Stronger Connections: Beyond the educational benefits, reading together is a quiet, special time to bond and talk about the world.
Academic Success: Regular reading for pleasure is more closely linked to a child’s success in later life than their socio-economic background.

It Only Takes 10 Minutes

You don’t need hours of free time to make a difference. Just ten minutes a day of reading-whether it’s a school book, a graphic novel, or a bedtime story- can spark a lifelong curiosity.

Please see the attached PDF with tips on how you can support your child’s reading at home.

supporting your childs reading.pdf