At Keep Hatch we want all children to see the benefits of reading, but we also want it to be something that they choose to do because they love it! There is strong evidence linking reading for pleasure and educational outcomes but the benefits of reading for pleasure go beyond this and stretch throughout a person’s life. Reading increases our understanding of our own identity, improves empathy and gives us an insight into the views of others.

Reading skills are developed at Keep Hatch through the careful use of quality texts from EYFS through to Year 6. Opportunities are provided to read independently and listen to stories every day as well as group and individual reading sessions. These develop children’s discrete word-reading skills and comprehension as well as stimulate their ability to discuss a range of books and authors with confidence. Of course, it is well documented that reading supports writing and therefore, meaningful links are made with the writing curriculum to utilise this. Where relevant, books are used in other curriculum areas too to enhance the reading and learning experience.

At Keep Hatch, we want our children to be life-long readers.  We want them to see value in reading for pleasure, reading for meaning and reading for practice.  We want them to seek out non-fiction texts to answer their curiosity about the world, poetry to enjoy and speak to them, as well as enjoy a rich diet of high-quality fiction texts. With so much competition for children’s time and attention, it is vital that we embed a culture of reading into the core of what we do, both as teachers and parents. It is so important.