We believe that it is vital for children to learn how to fully immerse themselves in a wide range of exciting and engaging texts. We build our curriculum around books that grab their attention and give them great pleasure. We want all of our children to leave Cherrywood School with a love of reading across all subjects.

We go to great lengths at Cherrywood School to make time for reading for pleasure. We have used initiatives such as World Book Day to show children how reading can be fun and open doors to all sorts of adventures.

We have also enjoyed reading outside in the sunshine and have used competitions such as Get Caught Reading to drive interest. We use our classroom environments to make sure the children have access to a wide range of books and have an excellent main library space that the children visit weekly.

Story Time

We have a dedicated time each day when children listen to adults reading to them. The children enjoy this time thoroughly and are eager to read the stories themselves once the book is returned to the shelf. You can support at home by reading to your child for ten minutes a night.

Supporting at Home

You can support with reading at home in the following ways:

• Talk about the books you have enjoyed.
• Use the Farnborough library or help your child to access books online through SORA.
• Make the most of World Book Day vouchers and other offers to get cheaper books.
• Read a few pages to your child when you have time.
• Look at the links below to find out how to help support your child at home with reading:

Miss Hammond is our English and Phonics Leader at Cherrywood. If you would like further guidance on how to support your child with reading arrange an appointment with them at our school office or email them at adminoffice@cherrywood.hants.sch.uk.

What does research say about ways parents can help their children with reading?

The following suggestions have been beneficial to many parents:

• Provide a good role model — read yourself and read often to your child.
• Provide varied reading material — some for reading enjoyment and some with information about hobbies and interests.
• Encourage activities that require reading — for example, cooking (reading a recipe), constructing a kite (reading directions), or identifying an interesting bird’s nest or a shell collected at the beach (using a reference book).
• Establish a reading time, even if it is only ten minutes a day.
• Write notes to your school-age child; encourage written responses.
• Ask your child to bring a library book home to read to a younger sibling.
• Establish one evening a week for reading (instead of television viewing).
• Encourage your child in all reading efforts.

Credit: www.readingrockets.org