Helping your child to learn - and read!

Parental support for learning is the most valuable thing you can do to help your child do well in school. There are many ways you can do this - talking about and discussing work, school, the world and everything in it is the first and most important step in this. Taking an interest in what they are doing in school and extending their learning and thinking is guaranteed to support your child and equip them with the skills to succeed. Visiting places, quizzing them, helping them to solve problems, telling the time, making sure they know shapes, number bonds and times tables and so on - it all goes a long way!

Keeping up to date with homework, and even going beyond tasks set, is crucial in this. And especially READING with your child - read, read, read, discuss what different words mean, help them to decode words, and make sense of what they are reading. If children can read well, they can do most things well, so the more support (daily, a minimum of 5-10 minutes, all the way up to Y6 is ideal) you can give, the better! We regularly have reading or phonics events and curriculum presentations in school - please try to come to these as you will find out ways that you can help, and this signals to your child that you take their learning seriously. These are well-attended events, so please join us - we would love to see you there! We send out newsletters about Reading - they include recommendations from staff and children, and LOTS more - have a look below!

Reading Newsletter (1)

Reading Newsletter (2)

Early reading at home - parents' role (for children who are learning phonics - generally Infants, but also into Y3 for some pupils):

We teach the children to decode, and then have 3 Reading Practice sessions in groups every week, where children read the same 'matched-decodable' book as a group each session, and discuss it with an adult.
We then send this book home. Your child should be at least 90% fluent with this book. Let them read it to you and build up to 100% fluency. Praise them, encourage them, it's them 'showing off' to you how well they can read, so the book should appear to be 'easy' to read for them. Read it to mum, dad, sister, nan, and whoever else they can!
We will also send home a book for sharing. This is a book they have chosen that interests them - they might not be able to read all the words, so help them, read it to them, talk about it, explain what any unfamiliar words mean, and build up a love of reading with them.
These two very separate approaches will hugely help them - decoding on their own with the Big Cat decodable book, and Reading for Pleasure with the book for sharing - 5 minutes a day, little and often, or more if you have time - thank you!

There are plenty of educational apps that can enhance learning too - we send information home about these (e.g. Times Tables Rock Stars), so look out for these. If you are unsure of the best ways to help your child - in reading, maths methods, or any other area - please speak to a teacher, or member of the Senior Leadership Team, who will be very happy to help. Please click on the links below for ways that you can support your child's learning in school.

For ways you can help with Little Wandle Phonics, please see the Phonics page (under 'Curriculum' banner), as well as KS1 and Foundation Stage tabs (under 'Pupils' banner)

Spelling

Learning spellings at home

Spelling strategies and games to help your child

Reading

Supporting your child as a reader - tips for questioning & reading record comments

5 tips for reading

Pre-School reading list

Suggested books for Reception

Suggested books for Year 1

Suggested books for Year 2

Suggested books for Year 3

Suggested books for Year 4