Reading
Children at our partnership are taught to read using the "Letters and Sounds" phonics scheme. Phonics sounds should be pronounced in a particular way for ease of learning. Please see Oxford Owl's Pure Sounds video to find out how each sound should be said.
All staff are committed to helping every child read by 6yrs old. This commitment begins in Foundation where children are systematically taught the most common phonemes, or sounds.
Once children are confident readers they then begin to explore other reading schemes, helping them to consolidate their reading skills.
For more information on how to support your child with reading at home, take a look at our Phonics, Reading and Writing Page under the Home Learning tab above.
Reading Scheme
Our Reading Scheme sits alongside our phonics programme, Letters And Sounds. The scheme extends from Foundation to Year 6, enabling all children to enjoy a wider selection of books from different authors and genres. Please refer to our Reading At PDP letter for more information.
Additional Reading
The most effective way of teaching reading is through small-group guided sessions. This may include individual reading with an adult or a small group session known as Guided Reading. We also encourage parents to share quality texts for pleasure with their children in the form of a bedtime story every day. This aids children’s vocabulary development and in turn helps develop their writing skills.
Our Library
We are very proud of our Library as it offers a wealth of books covering various topics including a significant number of fiction titles for all abilities.
Children can borrow a library book for 1 week before returning it and renewing it or exchanging it for another. Renewals and exchanges are done in the allotted class time. If there are any issues with books, the librarian is available at break and lunchtimes most days.
Reading and Book Events
The Library also works alongside the English Department, running some fun reading programmes throughout the year. One of our most successful events is the annual Book Swap – where children are encouraged to bring in a book that they no longer want and swap it for a book that someone else has donated.
We have also been very fortunate to have been visited by authors Simon Murray, Peter Murray and Ruth Wheeler.
Raising Money For Books In School
Raise money for Parsons Down every time you buy books from Scholastic, with Scholastic Book Club. Simply select "Parsons Down School" when checking out to earn a percentage of your sale, for us to spend on more lovely books for the children!