Developing a love of reading is the single most powerful attribute that can make a difference to our children’s future attainment. From Foundation Stage right up to Year 6, the children at Sir Thomas Abney are encouraged to develop an enjoyment of reading and books.
Children at Sir Thomas Abney are taught reading skills through a programme of synthetic phonics (Read Write Inc) and reading good books to develop an interest in stories.
Once they are on their way to reading, children are taught individually, in small groups and as a class to develop their reading further.
We follow the STA Loves Reading (Destination Reader) scheme approach to the teaching of essential reading skills. The children learn the scheme’s main strategies which include, Predicting, Questioning, Clarifiying, Inferring, Summarising, Making Links and Evaluating to deepen their understanding of different genres and texts.
Children in Early Years and Key Stage One read with an adult at least once a week and older children are involved in group reading tasks with an adult just as frequently. We also send home reading books every week for children to read with parents and carers. Sir Thomas Abney also encourages parents and carers to read more complex texts to their children at home and school. If you are interested in volunteering to read with some of our children please contact us on admin@sirthomasabney.hackney.sch.uk.
We also offer the opportunity for parents/carers to read in class with their child every Friday in Early Years. In addition parents/carers can visit our Early Years’ library to borrow books up to three times a week.