Reading

By the time pupils leave Anderton Park School, we expect them to be avid and competent readers; children who read fluently and avidly and are able to express preferences and opinions about the text they read. They read a range of genres and text types, including poetry and have a thirst for knowledge. At APS, reading lies at the heart of the curriculum and we are dedicated to enabling our pupils to become life-long readers, as we believe reading is key for academic success.

In our approach to the teaching of reading, we aim to build on the strong foundations of the teaching of a rigorous systematic phonics programme in EYFS by ensuring that all children are exposed to high-quality, age-related texts, whilst still allowing teachers to meet the needs of individual learners. Reading is therefore taught across the school through a combination of whole class, small group and targeted 1-1 sessions using a range of a high-quality texts to ensure that all children make good progress from their starting points.

At APS, we believe in the importance of developing children’s love for books and reading, as well as their discrete word reading and comprehension skills. We recognise that both of these elements rely on each other and are both essential for creating life-long readers. Through developing a love of reading, children are able to unlock new knowledge, excitement, passion and intrigue. It is beneficial to their education achievement across the curriculum as well as providing a lifetime of enjoyment. We encourage children through weekly trips to the school library, reading buddies, engaging book corners and celebrating authors, books, poetry and more.

At APS, we highly value relationships with families and consider ourselves a community of readers.