Early Reading
Early Reading and Phonics at Haslam Park Primary School
Reading Is at the Heart of Everything We Do
At Haslam Park Primary School, we believe that learning to read is one of the most important things a child will ever do.
Reading is the foundation of educational success. It opens doors to the wider curriculum, develops language and communication, builds confidence and independence, and creates opportunities that extend far beyond the classroom.
We are determined that every child will become a confident, fluent and enthusiastic reader, regardless of their background, individual needs or starting points.
Our school serves a richly diverse community, with significant levels of socio-economic disadvantage, a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), children who speak English as an additional language (EAL), and pupils who join us at different stages of their education.
We understand that children arrive at Haslam Park with very different experiences of language, books, communication and early literacy. Some have enjoyed extensive opportunities to develop these skills, while others may have had fewer opportunities or experienced barriers to their development.
We do not allow these differences in starting points to become differences in our expectations.
Instead, our context strengthens our determination to provide exceptional early reading teaching, rich language experiences and the additional support that some children need to succeed.
We know that children who struggle to learn to read can quickly fall behind across the curriculum. That is why early reading is an absolute priority, and why we are committed to identifying difficulties quickly and providing effective support before gaps become entrenched.
Our ambition is simple: every child deserves to learn to read, to love reading and to experience the opportunities that reading brings.
A Consistent, Systematic Approach to Phonics
At Haslam Park, we teach early reading through Floppy's Phonics, a systematic synthetic phonics programme.
Our carefully structured approach teaches children the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and the letters that represent them (graphemes). Pupils learn to recognise these correspondences, blend sounds to read words and segment sounds to support spelling.
Learning is cumulative, with regular opportunities to revisit, practise and apply previously taught knowledge so that children develop increasingly secure and automatic reading skills.
We recognise that accurate decoding is essential to developing reading fluency, and that fluency supports children in understanding and enjoying what they read.
Our phonics teaching follows a consistent sequence of revisiting and reviewing prior learning, explicitly teaching new knowledge, practising skills and applying them in reading and writing.
Staff have access to professional development and agreed teaching resources to support a consistent approach.
Our Context Makes Early Reading Even More Important
We understand that early language development and reading success are closely connected.
For children who enter school with gaps in vocabulary, communication or early literacy experiences, high-quality teaching and rich opportunities to develop language are particularly important.
At Haslam Park, we recognise that:
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Disadvantage must never determine achievement. We work to ensure that every child has access to high-quality books, effective teaching and opportunities to develop a love of reading, irrespective of their circumstances.
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Pupils with SEND deserve ambitious reading provision. We identify individual barriers, adapt teaching appropriately and provide additional practice and targeted support while maintaining high expectations.
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Multilingualism is a strength. We value the languages children bring to school and provide explicit support for English vocabulary, comprehension and phonics where needed, without confusing learning English with having a learning difficulty.
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Pupil mobility requires a responsive approach. When children join us partway through their education, we prioritise identifying what they already know, any gaps in phonics knowledge and the teaching they need next.
We do not assume that children from particular backgrounds will struggle with reading. We assess individual needs carefully and respond accordingly.
Our context does not lower our ambition. It increases our responsibility to get early reading right.
Inclusion and SEND: Every Child Is a Reader
Inclusion is central to our approach to reading.
Haslam Park has developed a positive reputation locally for welcoming and supporting pupils with SEND, and we recognise the trust families place in us when choosing our school.
Our commitment extends to ensuring that pupils with additional needs receive the teaching, resources, encouragement and specialist support necessary to develop their reading.
We recognise that some children require more repetition, smaller teaching steps, adapted resources or individualised approaches to develop secure phonic knowledge.
Our approach is informed by assessment and the individual needs of each child. Teachers, support staff and the SENDCO work together to identify barriers and plan appropriate provision.
We understand that children may progress through early reading at different rates, but we do not confuse a need for additional support with a lack of potential.
We are ambitious for every reader. We adapt the pathway, not the belief in what children can achieve.
Identifying Gaps Early and Responding Quickly
We recognise that the effectiveness of early reading provision depends not only on the quality of whole-class teaching, but also on how quickly and effectively we respond when a child needs additional help.
Assessment is used to identify gaps in phonics knowledge and inform subsequent teaching.
Children at risk of falling behind receive additional phonics practice and opportunities to consolidate their learning. These sessions reinforce the knowledge and skills taught through our systematic programme.
For older pupils who have not yet secured essential early reading skills, support continues beyond Key Stage 1. Teachers, support staff and the SENDCO work together to identify specific gaps and provide targeted teaching.
Our aim is to ensure that pupils receive the right support at the right time and that additional teaching helps them develop increasingly secure, independent reading skills.
We do not accept that falling behind in reading should mean staying behind.
Developing Language, Vocabulary and a Love of Reading
Learning to decode words is essential, but becoming a successful reader involves much more.
We want children to understand, enjoy, discuss and develop a lifelong relationship with books.
We recognise that vocabulary and language comprehension are particularly important in our school context. Children need opportunities to hear and use ambitious vocabulary, listen to stories, discuss ideas, ask questions and explore the meaning of texts.
Our phonics programme incorporates opportunities for discussion, vocabulary development and comprehension alongside the systematic teaching of decoding.
We believe that children should experience the pleasure of stories and high-quality literature from the very beginning of their education, including while they are still learning to read independently.
We teach children the skills to read, while nurturing the desire to become readers.
Working in Partnership with Families
We recognise the important role families play in children's early reading development.
We also understand that parents and carers have different circumstances, experiences, languages and levels of confidence in supporting reading at home.
Our responsibility is to make home-school reading partnerships welcoming, practical and accessible.
Families are supported through home reading books, weekly phonics resources shared through ClassDojo and access to Oxford Owl eBooks.
We encourage parents and carers to enjoy books with their children, listen to them read and celebrate their growing confidence.
We want every family to feel that they are a valued partner in their child's reading journey.
Our Ambition and the Difference We Want to Make
Our ambition is for every child to develop secure foundations in reading as early as possible, so that they can access the curriculum confidently and enjoy increasing independence as learners.
We evaluate the effectiveness of our approach through pupils' developing phonics knowledge, reading fluency, assessment information, progress over time and their confidence in reading.
We are particularly attentive to the progress of disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND, children learning English as an additional language and those who join our school at different points.
We recognise that different children may need different levels of support, but our commitment to helping them become successful readers is unwavering.
At Haslam Park, reading is not simply another curriculum priority. It is a fundamental part of our commitment to equality of opportunity, educational excellence and changing children's lives.
We work tirelessly to ensure that children's starting points do not define their end points.
Together we explore, learn and grow — and through reading, we open up a world of possibilities.
Further Information
Please see our supporting documents for more information about our early reading provision:
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EYFS Policy 2025–2027
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Approach to Teaching Phonics — Floppy's Phonics