Reading at SRS

At Slated Row School, our aim is to ensure that our students have every opportunity to become part of our modern, diverse society, understanding the world around them, both locally and globally. In order for our students to have the skills necessary for the future, we know that reading is the key to accessing it.

SRS has striven to promote reading consistently across the school and for all ages. All classes have dedicated and specific ‘Reading Corners’, with an array of text choices. Specially selected texts are displayed and regularly rotated within key stages and pathways across the school, promoting careers, diversity and emotions. Students have regular access to their age-appropriate libraries, alongside specific texts selected for English lessons. Slated Row School has developed the delivery of Phonics (through ELS) and Reading for Fluency, to ensure that all students receive this input daily. Opportunities to expose students to reading are taken in all subject-specific teaching, with teachers keen to promote a love of reading in all curriculum areas.

By promoting a positive reading culture throughout the school, we have ensured that students can access the curriculum, supporting their wider learning, creating opportunities to raise engagement and academic progress.

As practitioners in the classroom, we are enthusiastic in our promotion of healthy reading habits: the calming and settling nature of story-telling and the importance of fostering a life-long love of reading, which can relax, soothe and regulate.

Reading inspires our students: stimulating creativity, promoting curiosity and feeding their imagination. It also exposes them to, and opens up, the world around them. This cultural capital gained by students aids in their self-discovery, their acceptance and empathy for others. Reading aids our students to become important citizens in the community around them, providing opportunities for independence, access to real-life scenarios and chances to exhibit their problem solving skills.

“Children who regularly read for pleasure have better self-esteem and emotional regulation, with lower levels of emotional and behavioural challenges such as anxiety and aggression than those who don't. Children who read have higher levels of mental wellbeing and happiness.”

“Stimulation from reading books, playing, talking, and singing with a parent or carer serves an important neurological function, enhancing cognitive, physical, social, and emotional growth.” Book Trust

Through reading, Slated Row School is ensuring that our students, irrespective of needs or ability, are being given the opportunities to become active participants in their community.  In line with our school values, we will enable our students to be H.E.A.R.D.