At Overdale Infant School, we strive to equip children with a range of tools and strategies for reading, including decoding, accuracy, fluency, understanding and responding to texts. We endeavour to foster a love of reading for pleasure through engagement with a rich variety of fiction and non-fiction texts.  By the end of Key Stage 1, children will know and be able to recite a wide range of stories.

Children will be given many opportunities to practice and develop their reading skills. These include:

• Individual Reading 
• Whole class reading through Book Talk
• Guided Reading
• Story Time
• Home reading

Home Reading

At Overdale Infant School, we provide children with quality text reading books. We follow the Rising Stars Reading Planet reading scheme, which ensures that every child is provided with a reading book which matches their phonetic knowledge, to build confidence and fluency as a reader. Staff hear children read once a fortnight and provide feedback in the reading record. Children's reading books are changed every week on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Children will also be provided with a choose book, for them to read for enjoyment. Allowing children free choice helps them to develop their identities as a reader as they learn which books/ authors they like and which they do not.  Children’s exploration of books will be supported through our new Reading Challenge Trees.

It is crucial for both school and parents to actively teach their child to read. We need you to create a home environment where reading is encouraged and seen as a pleasurable experience. Spending just 10-15 minutes reading with your child every day will be invaluable in developing their ability and desire to read and learn. 

Reading Incentive

Our innovative reading incentive program creates a buzz about books and reading at our school. Our goal is to foster a love for reading and reward our students for their reading achievements. Our book vending machine is stocked with a wonderful selection of books catering to different ages and interests. It's a fun and unique way for students to choose a book as a reward for their hard work and dedication to reading.

How it Works:

• Reading Challenge: Children are encouraged to read 100 times either at home or at school.

• Reward System: For every 10 reading occasions completed, students receive a special reward. These rewards keep them motivated and engaged throughout the challenge.

• The Grand Prize: When a child reaches 100 reading occasions, they earn the exciting opportunity to visit our book vending machine.

Happy reading!

Book Talk

All children will engage in daily Book Talk sessions. Book Talk is a way of reading which helps to develop strong comprehension and language skills, through discussion of a text.

Book Talk helps children to trust their own ideas and interpretations, to talk effectively about a book, deepening their understanding, shifting their ideas, thinking together as a group and moving comprehension forwards.

We have developed a Reading Spine, which will expose children to a wide range of high quality texts, which will be explored through Book Talk Sessions.

Reading Charter

Overdale Infant School has been recognised for actively supporting the Reading Charter and putting reading for pleasure at the heart of school life.

Staff extreme reading

Our staff were set an extreme reading challenge to show how much they all love reading. Here are some of the unusual places and ways they found to enjoy a book.