The English subject leader is Mrs Johnson

Intent – The Importance of Reading

At Sacred Heart, our goal is to nurture a lifelong passion for reading in all members of our school community. As Philip Pullman once wrote: “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” Reading offers children far more than academic skills. It opens the door to new worlds, introduces diverse cultures, and sparks imagination and creativity. Through books, children expand their vocabulary, enhance speech and language skills, and develop empathy by seeing life through the eyes of others.

Books are also a powerful tool for emotional development. By encountering characters who experience a wide range of feelings—such as joy, fear, anger, or sadness—children learn that emotions are a natural part of life. Reading allows them to safely explore and understand their own feelings, building emotional intelligence and resilience. At Sacred Heart, we understand that fluent and confident reading transforms children’s lives. Ensuring every child can access the world of reading lies at the heart of everything we do.

The Importance of Reading Across the Curriculum

Reading is a cornerstone of the curriculum at Sacred Heart Primary School and is fundamental to pupils’ development as independent, confident learners. To read effectively across all subjects, children must combine a wide range of strategies, including phonics, grammatical understanding, contextual awareness, word recognition, and visual decoding skills. These are promoted through our School Reading Policy and are fully aligned with the expectations of the National Curriculum (2014).

The National Curriculum highlights reading as a crucial component of educational success, identifying two key dimensions:

Word Reading – the ability to decode and recognise words accurately and fluently.
Comprehension – understanding texts, developed through both reading and listening.

Pupils are taught to read fluently, understand increasingly complex texts, and develop a genuine love for reading. By the end of primary school, our aim is for all pupils at Sacred Heart to read with fluency and confidence across all subjects, fully prepared for the demands of secondary education.

Reading is closely linked to writing. Through reflection, discussion, and analysis of the texts they encounter, children gain insight into how authors craft language and communicate meaning. This deep, critical, and imaginative engagement with fiction, non-fiction, and poetry helps pupils not only understand the mechanics of writing but also explore and interpret the world around them and their place within it.

English in the Early Years

In our Reception Class, we use Drawing Club to develop the children’s reading skills. This programme, allows our very young children to use their imaginations to make their drawings do magical things. Click on the link below to find out more.