Reading at SSMJ

At SSMJ we love to read! Our reading journey begins in EYFS and continues throughout our school career.

Phonics

A large part of reading is being able to decode the words on the page and we use the Red Rose Letters and Sounds Phonics programme at SSMJ to support the children to develop these skills. Please see the phonics page to find out more.

Reading Books

At SSMJ we do not use a particular scheme for reading books. Instead the children have the choice of a range of books that have been banded to match their needs. As the children work through the phonics programme, their reading books are closely matched to the phonics that they are learning in class. Once the children have exited the phonics programme, they then choose their reading books from colour banded books. The children move through the colour bands as they progress in their fluency and experience. We encourage the children to read across a range of genres and text types within the bands.