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Settling into a New School Year...

Friday 15th September 2023

 How are your little ones settling into their new school year? Lots of our members have been in touch to discuss how best to navigate this transitional period. Some schools seem to be sending books home straight away, whilst others are not, and the confusion surrounding book bands and phonics is as prevalent as ever.

So, we’d like to offer some ideas and reassurance for the school year ahead.

• Get back into a good reading routine – now that the initial chaos is out the way, try to settle into a good reading rhythm. Whether it’s bedtime reading or breakfast reading - just 10 minutes of reading a day can have a huge impact on your child’s progress.
• Ensure your child has access to books that really inspire and excite them. Enjoy picking titles from your Reading Chest ‘Favourites’ list to engage your child more. Reading Chest ‘Favourites’ can be from any book band or topic, so if your child just loves dinosaurs, then pick those. Even if they’re too easy or a bit tricky, it can encourage discussion and may get a reluctant reader back into the rhythm of opening books.
• Teaching methods at school can be daunting, particularly with the reliance on phonics in the earlier stages of learning to read. Be confident supporting your child at home and familiarise yourself with the way phonics is taught in schools. There are lots of useful sites to help with phonics such as www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/advice-for-parents/phonics-videos
• You might find that some reception classes won’t send books home with children until after Christmas. This is because some schools prefer children to have covered a certain amount of their phonics sounds in the classroom, before giving them their own book to read at home. So, if you would like a few books at home to get started, then take a look at our pink band books here https://www.readingchest.co.uk/our-books/pink?type=both.

The ultimate goal is to nurture a love of reading for life, whether that happens quickly or takes a bit of time!