Reading

Reading at Sandfield – A Foundation for Learning 

At Sandfield, reading is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that developing a love of reading not only supports children’s learning across the curriculum, but also opens up a world of imagination, curiosity, and lifelong enjoyment. 

 Reading at Home and School 

Children take home a reading book every day to enjoy with their families. These books are carefully chosen to match each child’s reading level and help build fluency, confidence, and pleasure in reading. 

In school, teachers and teaching assistants listen to children read regularly. We use Learning Diaries to support two-way communication between home and school, and we actively encourage families to read with their children as often as possible. 

• In Key Stage 1, every child is heard read at least once a week. 

• In Key Stage 2, children read to an adult every two weeks. 

Personal Reading Books 

Each child has a personal reading book to read both at home and in school: 

• In Key Stage 1, books are matched to each child’s current phonics ability. 

• Once children complete all phonics phases, they choose from our colour-coded reading boxes, which increase in challenge and complexity. 

• Children are expected to read their book with 90% fluency before it is changed by an adult. 

In Key Stage 2, children select books from our Top 100 Book Lists, tailored for lower and upper KS2. Where needed, children also receive an online phonics-linked text via the Bug Club Phonics programme. All children can borrow books from our school library to enjoy alongside their personal reading book. 

Assessing Progress 

We use the PM Benchmark scheme to assess reading levels and ensure children are progressing at the right pace: 

• In Key Stage 1, children are benchmarked after completing the ‘green’ and ‘turquoise’ book bands. 

• In Key Stage 2, children are benchmarked at the end of the ‘white’ level. 

We also use the reading assessment programme by FFT in Key Stage 2 as a measure for assessing reading fluency.

Each phase group has a set of the top 100 books, which are recommended for children to read at their age.

Useful website links for Reading: