Reading in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS):  the Nursery and Year R

 Reading in the Nursery and Year R is a key part of the ‘Literacy’ area of the EYFS Curriculum (although there are also key links to the Communication and Language; Expressive Arts and Design; and Understanding the World areas of the EYFS Curriculum). Within the provision at Portsdown Primary School and Early Years, the children in EYFS will be immersed in hearing high quality stories and non-fiction texts being shared with them and being supported to remember key sections of the texts, retelling (orally and through actions) and discussing their viewpoint on familiar stories and the characters in the texts.

The children will be supported to understand the five key concepts about print: that it has meaning; print can have different purposes; we read from left to right and top to bottom (for English texts); the names of different parts of a book; and page sequencing. They will be supported to develop their phonological awareness so that they can spot and suggest rhymes, count syllables in words and recognise the same initial sound, such as mother and money, before being immersed in reading simple sentences and words with known letter-sound correspondences and, where necessary, a few exception words.

 Reading Progression Overview

Below is a summary of the different reading activities and interventions completed at the school. If you need further information, olease not not hesitate to ask the class teacher.

Reading Programmes Progression Updated October 2024

Reading at Key Stage One and Reception – Key Information for Parents. Any questions about reading at Portsdown please just ask Mrs. Bartlett.

Reading at KS2 – Key Information for Parents. Any questions about reading at Portsdown please just ask Miss Gibson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Every week, children are chosen that have been excelling either in demonstrating the school values or with their reading.  They receive a gold coin in the Celebration Assembly which allows them to choose a book from our book machine!  Another way that we promote a love of reading at Portsdown!

Reading at Portsdown

Reading is one of the most important skills your child will learn at primary school. With your support, we want every child to grow up to be a confident reader so that they can be successful at Portsdown Primary and beyond.

We use an exciting range of quality books in English sessions to get the children talking and learning new language. Themes of friendship, nature, feeling like an outsider, migration and conservation feature in many of the books we use to allow children to extend their knowledge of the world around them.

There is lots of good information to help you support your child on the ‘BookTrust’ website: https://www.booktrust.org.uk

Here you will find good advice about sharing books together, reading aloud to your child or supporting your child if they are not enjoying reading at home.

Top Tips for Reading at Home:

  • Little and often is best
  • Make books part of your bedtime routine
  • Find things to read that they enjoy
  • Visit your local library
  • Read to your child as well as listening to them read
  • Talk about the book together
  • Use phonics (letter sounds), picture clues and thinking about what the book is about to help work out unfamiliar words

If your child is struggling with reading or you’re not sure how to support them, please pop in and see us. Helping your child to be a good reader is one thing that you can do that will really make a difference to how successful they are at school.

Phonics teaching in the nursery, Year R and Years 1 and 2

Little Wandle Letters and Sounds

English Guidance