Reading

Reading at Highwood – Vision and Ethos

At Highwood, we believe reading is not merely a skill—it is a doorway. A child who can read holds the keys to understanding, imagination, and agency. We see reading as the single most transformative force in a child’s life, and we treat it with the reverence it deserves.

Our reading culture is built on three guiding principles:
Fluency, Understanding, Joy, and Partnership.

From the earliest stages, every child is supported to develop strong decoding skills through daily phonics and consistent one-to-one reading with adults. In Early Years and Key Stage One, every child reads aloud daily, and this progress is carefully tracked through reading records—a vital bridge between school and home. Alongside this, children take home two books: one matched to their phonic stage, and one to be shared—a richer text for adults to read aloud, building vocabulary, comprehension, and the magic of story.

As children move through the school, the focus gradually shifts—from learning to read, to reading to learn.

In Key Stage Two, the foundation of fluency gives way to more complex reading journeys:

• Pupils encounter sophisticated texts from a wide range of genres, cultures, and voices.
• They are taught to question, infer, analyse, and reason—developing a capacity not only to understand, but to think critically.
• Through whole-class reading, structured discussion, and targeted questioning, children learn to draw connections, interpret authorial intent, and consider multiple meanings.

Reading becomes not just a vehicle for comprehension, but for contemplation, for debate, for empathy.

Throughout the school, children enjoy regular Story Time—exposing them to high-quality literature read aloud with expression and care—and they have access to diverse, age-appropriate texts in their classrooms. Reading for pleasure is not an afterthought at Highwood; it is embedded in our rhythm, our rituals, and our heart.

But we do not do this work alone.

Reading at Highwood is a partnership. We ask parents to walk alongside us—to read with their child daily, to listen with attentiveness, to engage in the stories that shape their child’s mind. The daily reading record offers space for reflection, praise, and insight, and we treat it as a meaningful tool in the journey.

Because at Highwood, reading is not just a subject.
It is the beginning of everything.
And in time, it becomes how our children begin to shape the world.

Reading is one of the most important skills we can teach a child. When a child is able to read, their world opens up and their life prospects improve drastically.  

Because of the importance of reading, we have a dedicated attitude toward it at Highwood. As always, education is a partnership between school and home, so we urge you to work with us on enabling your child to discover the joy, wonder and opportunities that reading can bring.  

In key stage one and early years, all the children are heard read every day by an adult. We will record their reading in the yellow reading record which will be sent home with them. They will also be given separate books to enjoy at home, designed to be read to you. While our Highwoodians are developing their phonic awareness, they will receive books that closely relate to their phonics. Though evenings can be busy, we request for our parents/carers to do their absolute best to hear their child read every day. Once they have read with their child, we ask that they write a short comment in the record about how their Highwoodian did, for example any words they found tricky or learned, what they enjoyed about the story or how they responded to questions that were asked. We really value the dialogue that the records offer us, and we look forward to seeing how the reading of the children is coming along at home.  

Children learn to read in three ways. Therefore, alongside their usual reading books, you will also receive a ‘Shared’ story book, which you will read to your child (they may join in). I’ve created a video to show you exactly what this looks like and what to expect. Access this at:  

Highwood reading scheme information - YouTube

It’s important that children are given time to read for pleasure in school several times a week; they have access to a selection of books in their classrooms. We also read diverse, quality, age-appropriate literature to children several times a week through our ‘Story Time’ - you can see the book lists for these below.

highwood copse story time list 2023.pdf