^{English has a pre-eminent place in education and in society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them.}

^{Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what they already know.}

^{All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised.}

^{National Curriculum (2013)}

Our school uses a range of texts to support the teaching of reading.  For early readers, we use a phonic-based scheme which is closely linked to the Unlocking Letters and Sounds Programme.  As the children become more confident readers, they progress through our ‘colour’ books, according to their reading development. These texts include those from the ‘Rigby Star’ scheme.  When we feel they have achieved a good level of decoding and comprehension skills, children become’ free readers’ and select from a wide range of age-appropriate books.